Cigarette packs once included small baseball cards as advertising inserts from the late 1800s to the 1960s. While many see these as mere collectibles, the most desirable vintage cigarette cards can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cards from brands like T206 and 1909-1911 T206 tobacco have become some of the most prized possessions of collectors and investors worldwide.
The American Tobacco Company started including lithographed baseball cards in packs of cigarettes as early as 1886. It was not until 1909 that tobacco cards rose to prominence. That year, the American Tobacco Company introduced its most notable series, the T206 cards. Spanning from 1909 to 1911, the T206 set featured stars from both major leagues in colorful portraits. Its large size and superb artwork made these highly coveted items even as children collected and traded them. Today, in near mint condition, a T206 Honus Wagner card found its way into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2007 after selling for $2.8 million, making it the most expensive trading card ever sold.
Beyond the ultra-rare Wagner card, several others fetch six figures depending on grade and state of preservation. Ty Cobb’s 1913 card in a PSA 8 condition sold for over $300,000. A 1909 Eddie Plank card in PSA 4.5 condition sold for $194,000 and a high graded 1909 Johnny Evers went for $116,250. Other 1910s players like Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and Nap Lajoie also command five-figure sums. Even more common players have attained value owing to the supreme quality and nostalgia associated with tobacco era cards. A PSA 6 graded 1911 Chief Bender went for $27,600 and a raw 1910 Fred Merkle sold for $11,900 showing that condition and stars are not the sole drivers of price.
After T206s, the next major tobacco release appeared as inserts inside packages of Sweet Caporal cigarettes, also made by American Tobacco, from 1915 to 1917. Known as E90-1 or E99-1 sets, these featured the same lithographic techniques as their predecessors. While perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing or well-known today, high graded examples of stars like Walter Johnson and Edd Roush still attract serious bids. A PSA 8 1915 E90-1 Johnson sold in 2020 for $33,750. Demand and appreciation of these early 1900s cards shows no signs of slowing as collectors and aficionados seek to preserve pieces of history through condition census rarities.
Outside of the biggest stars, other notables from tobacco’s golden era and their highest prices include a PSA 4 1914 M101-1 Cy Young ($41,000), PSA 7 1914 C350 Benny Kauff ($20,000), PSA 7 1916 M101-3 Joe Jackson ($12,500), raw 1916 C313 Shoeless Joe Jackson ($7,000), and a PSA 4 1915 E114 Babe Ruth in his Brooklyn Dodgers days ($11,250). Even Ruth before becoming the home run king holds substantial value to collectors given his superstar fame and scarcity of early cards overall. Meanwhile, tobacco’s only other known series of significance, the less popular 1950s Red Man sets, have seen high grades of Mickey Mantle sell for roughly $13,000 showcasing the sustained fascination with the collectible medium’s infancy decades later.
While newer sets obviously don’t command the prices of smoking-era relics due to larger print runs, condition sensitive vintage cardboard from the 1970s-80s can still appreciate depending on the star featured. A mint PSA 10 1975 Topps Nolan Ryan rookie sold at auction for $27,850 demonstrating demand even for young collections over 30 years old. Beyond price and condition, provenance also affects value. An 1888/89 Old Judge tobacco cabinet card of Bid McPhee with a pedigree of once belonging to poet Ring Lardner sold for $9,600.
As any enthusiast will discuss at length, the allure of golden age tobacco memorabilia comes down to history, nostalgia, aesthetic beauty, and encapsulating baseball’s earliest superstars. Such factors continue pushing prices higher as these seminal cards representing baseball’s initial cardboard period achieve further recognition as true alternate currency in the collecting community. With origins tied to America’s pastime at the turn of the 20th century, tobacco cards will likely endure and appreciate further with time as authentic, tangible links to the sport’s formative days gain appreciation through each new generation.
