50 Fast Facts from the T206 Set

Posted on March 18, 2019 by Pre-War Cards

The T206 baseball card set is arguably the most famous set in history. Here are 50 fast facts about the landmark set.

The cards were printed over a period of three years, starting in 1909 and running through 1911
The set received its name from Jefferson Burdick, author of the American Card Catalog. ‘T’ in the T206 name stood for 20th century tobacco issues while ‘206’ was simply a number assigned to it.
The set is commonly referred to as the ‘White Border’ set.
It is also nicknamed as ‘The Monster’ due to its large size
Significantly smaller than today’s baseball cards, the cards measure approximately 1 7/16″ wide by 2 5/8″ tall
While the size is somewhat consistent, the exact dimensions can vary slightly
Some collectors assume the name and team printed at the bottom of the cards is in black ink but it is actually dark brown
T206 cards were often glued into scrapbooks or affixed to other surfaces and, as a result, they are often found with paper loss on them from when they were removed
Pictures on the cards were color lithographs of players
Many of the images used were also used in other baseball card sets
The cards were issued by the American Tobacco Company (ATC) for their brands, which have tobacco advertisements on the back
A total of 15 different brands were used on the backs (American Beauty, Broadleaf, Carolina Brights, Cycle, Drum, El Principle de Gales, Hindu, Lenox, Old Mill, Piedmont, Polar Bear, Sovereign, Sweet Caporal, Tolstoi, and Uzit) …
… but there are nearly 40 different backs with several of those brands having more than one variation
While some of the backs represent different brands, the layout for some was shared by more than one brand (i.e. Broadleaf and Drum)
Some of the backs are rarer (and more valuable) than others – this thread includes a ranking of them by scarcity
In general, Piedmont and Sweet Caporal backs are the easiest to find
The T206 set is home to the most famous and expensive baseball card of all time – the Honus Wagner T206
Pound for pound, the Wagner is the most expensive card in the world with one selling for $3.1 million
The cards have steadily increased in value over the years
The Wagner T206 was shortprinted as it was pulled from production early
Besides the Wagner, there are three other rare and valuable shortprints and the group makes up what is called ‘The Big Four’
In addition to the Big Four, the set has two other tough rarities – St. Louis versions of Bill O’Hara and Ray Demmitt
A total of 524 cards are in the set but that number can be up for debate
And because most cards have more than one advertising back, the number for a master set would be in the thousands
Most T206 cards were distributed in packages of cigarettes but some were in packages of Polar Bear scrap tobacco (those often have tobacco stains and residue on them)
The cards were mass produced and, despite being more than 100 years old, most are relatively easy to find
Low-grade commons can be bought for as little as about $15-$25
In high-grade, the cards can be quite valuable – a near set sold for more than $8 million
Several unissued proof cards are known to exist
Many players have more than one card in the set and Hal Chase has the most cards (five)
The most popular/valuable cards, beyond the shortprinted ones, are generally the four cards of Ty Cobb
Of the four Cobb cards, his green background portrait card is the most sought after
In general, cards featuring portraits of players are more desirable than the cards featuring action shots
More than 75 cards in all feature Hall of Famers
In addition to professional major leaguers, the set includes minor league players and players from the Southern Leagues
Southern League cards feature mostly lesser known players but command more money than regular commons because of their rarity
Only one player is featured with a mustache in the set – John Titus
Cards have been found with an assortment of print errors – often, the crazier the error, the more valuable the card
According to Scot Reader’s book ‘Inside T206,’ it is estimated that approximately 370 million T206 cards were produced
Reader also estimates that approximately 3.2 million T206 cards exist today
More than 300,000 T206 cards have been graded by the three main grading entities, PSA, SGC, and Beckett
While the T206 cards are the most popular, the ATC’s T205 and T207 sets are significantly rarer
The T206 set, and other tobacco cards, were often viewed as evil, encouraging gambling and tobacco use among children
Cards have been heavily reprinted and even reprints of the more popular cards like Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb can sell for $10 or more
Many collectors believe that some cards, such as the T213-1 Coupon cards, should also be considered T206s
A Ty Cobb card with a Ty Cobb tobacco back is sometimes viewed as a T206 card, too
Collectors should be on the lookout for forged cards — particularly those of Wagner, the Big Four, or Cobb cards
Autographed T206 cards do exist but a large discovery of faked ones was made in 2018
Some cards have been hoarded by collectors (i.e. Shag Shaughnessy and John Titus), making their cards a little harder to find
With more than 50 cards, the New York Giants are the most represented team in the set