The Legacy of T206 Continues – WorthPoint

As a new collector learning about the history of baseball cards, one of the first lessons you get about the hobby’s history is the story of the T206 set. While it wasn’t the first set of baseball cards produced, it gained a following in the hobby unlike any other in history.

Produced by the American Tobacco Company, the T206 baseball cards were inserts for cigarette packs and similar products. The company issued these trading cards from 1909 through 1911 with varying series, much like the standard baseball cards of today. The run later received its 206 designation by Jefferson Burdick, a hobby authority and pioneer.

Background of T206 Cards’ Backs

What makes the originals so unique is that their backs advertised the various brands that the American Tobacco Company produced, including American Beauty, Broad Leaf, Carolina Brights, and Sweet Caporal. But the most famous of all the card back variations is Piedmont. Piedmont is associated with one of the most valuable cards in baseball lore, the Honus Wagner, but its notoriety primarily stems from its popularity.

“Piedmont backs are the most common in the T206 set. Approximately half of all T206s were issued with Piedmont Cigarettes advertised on the back,” explains T206Museum.com. “Piedmonts were issued throughout the life of the set, including the scarce Southern League series.”

Further, some ad variations only appeared in some regions. Scott A. Reader, in his e-book Inside T206: A Collector’s Guide to the Classic Baseball Card Set, writes:

For example, Drum Cigarettes, while shipped from Factory 25 in Virginia, may have been marketed exclusively in St. Louis. Evidence for this is provided by a known preT206 Drum Cigarettes pack that identifies the Drummond Tobacco Company of St. Louis as the source of origin, and the recent discovery of several dozen T206 Drum cards from an original collection in St. Louis that adds considerably to the total population of these rare cards. It is possible that ATC acquired Drummond for the primary purpose of exploiting the company’s brand equity in the St. Louis metro area.

Resurgence with Renewal

It’s not surprising that the T206 set has received renewed interest. Across all sports, it’s pretty common to find retro-themed products, and one of the most popular sets from the tobacco era is no exception.

Even before the rise of the baseball card hobby in the late 1980s and early 90s, companies wanting to cash in on the popularity of the original set reproduced T206 cards. In 1977, a mysterious set with perforated edges appeared with “A Dover Reprint” denoted on the back with the Piedmont design. Another from that year, with Sweet Caporal backs, was purportedly created by Nostalgia Press. Additional cards were issued in the 1980s by Dover and Renata Galasso, the latter of which includes five-card panels in the product assortment.

The set was reborn in 1999 when Pacific Trading Cards used the famed numeric code as a miniature insert in its Private Stock baseball series. The fronts of these cards have modern design and photography, while the reverse pays tribute to the Piedmont backs. The concept was again part of Private Stock in 2001, with serial numbering for part of the checklist.

Traditional Blend

In 2002, long-standing baseball card manufacturer Topps re-introduced the T206 model with the modified name, Topps 206. This first product featured full-size cards with miniature inserts close to the original size. The design was as simple and elegant as T206, with artistic renderings to match the painted images that collectors have come to know and love.

The set was popular but only lasted one year. Too much of a good thing can spoil an appetite, and rather than extend a legacy that may fall out of favor quickly, Topps shelved 206 for several years. The product returned in 2009 and had a follow-up in 2010 before again going on the back burner of the Topps lineup.

Time and demand caught up with the Topps 206 brand, and it returned in 2020. It is now an annual product, albeit with a different distribution. Starting with that first release, Topps 206 became an online-exclusive product, with waves available for one month through the Topps website.

The concept was adjusted for 2023 with fewer waves of cards. Sample packs from Fanatics that we opened showed just how consistent the new release is with the original T206s. Just as they were from the start in 2002, the backs vary between an original design and various brand variations, including Piedmont, Sweet Caporal, Polar Bear, and others. The company also used its own variations, including a tribute to the Topps headquarters and an American League/National League variation. The limited scale for these parallels goes down to 1/1 copies for the Ty Cobb version.

From the start of the run, Topps 206 incorporated chase cards like game-used gear pieces (primarily jerseys) and autographs. The latter is particularly impressive on the minis when you consider that the cards are around 25 to 33 percent of the size of regular cards that athletes are used to signing. The David Ortiz signature I pulled is a prime example of how stunning these cards are.

With forty cards per mini box, which beautifully mimics cigarette packs from the day, you’re getting a good variety of base cards and inserts. I highly anticipate the next series going quickly.

The Future of T206

What’s interesting about the T206 originals is their affordability, even for a low-dollar collector. I’ve purchased two since 2005, one at a card show and the other on eBay. I paid less than $25 for each, partly because I didn’t care about the condition.

These cards, however, were purchased during a down period in sports cards between 2005 and 2017. The market has dramatically changed since then, with the COVID-19 effect—which brought collectors back to the hobby while stuck at home—still lingering in the air.

Surely those baseline prices have increased dramatically, right? You’d be surprised.

I scoped out a few recently completed auctions using the WorthPoint® Price Guide, and the results are very interesting. One auction from July 2023, featuring a raw Piedmont Heinie Berger with well-rounded corners and other wear, went for under $20. That’s right—for less than the price of a couple of movie tickets, the winning collector picked up a baseball card from the early 1900s.

Now, understandably, that collector and others (myself included) take a risk on an ungraded card since it could be counterfeit. Grading companies have helped the market immeasurably by confirming a piece’s authenticity. These cards go for bigger dollars at auction but are surprisingly affordable. Witness this auction for a Jake Stahl Piedmont card that earned a 40-Very Good grade from SGC. The card received a final bid of $78 and change. For less than the price of two tickets, parking, and food to many MLB ballparks, this collector got a strong-condition T206.

Of course, the ceiling for these cards is exceedingly high. Honus Wagners still go in the seven figures, while other superstar cards with high grades go into the fives and sixes. But to own a card that is more than 110 years old is shockingly affordable.

For those who want the modern touch, I recommend picking up some boxes or singles of Topps 206. Having both the originals and the modern interpretations in my collection is a great way to bookend my baseball card collection without breaking the bank.

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Jon Waldman is a Winnipeg-based writer. He has written for Beckett, Go GTS, Canadian Sports Collector, and several other hobby outlets over his two decades in the hobby. His experience also includes two books on sports cards and memorabilia. Connect with Jon on Twitter at @jonwaldman.

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