Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Aguila Roja
Year	1917
Size	1 3/8″ x 1 7/8″
Images	Black and White
Type	Tobacco
Number in Set	150+

1917 Aguila Roja Overview

The 1917 Aguila Roja set is a rare Venezuelan issue issued by a cigarette company. The cards are interesting because of their unique design.

The set features a mix of sports and non-sports cards. Of note is at least one baseball card in the set featuring a Venezuelan baseball team representing an area called Los Samanes.

Translated, Aguila Roja means Red Eagle in English. Collectors might be confused about the type of product being advertised here. That is because the Aguila Roja name is used for other products aside from tobacco. Notably, it is also the name of a Columbian coffee brand that is still sold today. However, these cards are undoubtedly a tobacco issue as the Aguila Roja cigarettes name is across the top of the backs.

Measuring only about 1 3/8″ x 1 7/8″, the cards feature small black and white images on the front with a black border. Small titles/captions are printed in the border area in white ink.

Backs of the cards are made to look like a postcard, despite their small size. They are printed in blue ink and have a card number, a fake stamp, and read ‘Post Card’. The bottom, loosely translated, encourages collectors to collect the cards for an album.

These cards are incredibly rare and even in bad condition, any sports cards can sell for good money. A low-grade Los Samanes baseball card sold for over $150 in 2012.

1917 Aguila Roja Checklist

I have not seen a complete checklist for this issue or the representative cards to make up a complete set. It is believed that there are more than 150 cards in the issue.

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