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Posted By: mr. moses

an EXCELLENT starting point. I have collected and researched many forms of tobacco, packs, tins, and advertising. I can tell you that plug and cut plug was both chewed and/or smoked in a pipe. It wasn't appropriate for rolling into cigarettes as it was condensed and often mixed with ALL kinds of additives from figs to molases making it difficult to roll and it wouldn't allow for a smooth or even smoke. Now part of the problem is the word "granulated". An inference could be made that in such small pieces (perhaps even made utilizing tobacco left over from processing other plug products) it COULD be rolled into cigarettes but still unlikely. I know nothing about the T206 cards and subsequent issues. I know there is a factory # designated on the card as well as a district (hard to see in scan and I don't own EVEN one-surprise-surprise). Good research should suggest the actual factory location and operation dates. If there is no information on the tin in that regard (hmmm I don't own one of these either) I would suggest that one possible source to research would be the patent office records. The configuration of the tin is quite unusual and it might in fact be unique as I don't recall ever seeing the same style. That would suggest a patent.
It is unusual or raises questions pro and con:
NO advertising has been introduced into the hobby relative to the specifics of the issue. No slide and shell box exists (so far)-As far as I know no-one has seen a Mino pack either.
The brand was short lived. The cards could have been an experiment or issued in OTHER slide and shells from the same manufacturer.
To think that the card and tin would be found in the same place and not related - except that perhaps the person collected Cobb just as there are player collectors today (we don't come close to being the first collectors).
The back is green (knowing he favored the use of this color and the back is green is a little weird but hardly a smoking gun and Tuxedo was a prolific advertiser -they would have linked the card and the tobacco together in print for sure).
It wouldn't be a stretch that the Cobb card could be the only player to be inserted into the product as it's all about Cobb - unlike most other brands of the day which were NOT named after a person (other than cigar products).
There is no severe tobacco staining on the cards when they were inserted along with MOIST and STICKY tobacco-at least when it was fresh. That is not to say it couldn't have been placed in the tin within a glossy envelope like some stamp and other issues of the day (silks and blankets) but again unlikely.
It sizes the same as many of the tobacco era cards and almost all cards from that period were found in slide and shell boxes - except it must be noted that it is generally accepted that Polar Tobacco held cards in it's paper package.
As usual more questions than answers.....