Unopened Piedmont pack guaranteed tobacco card enclosed

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

No - mine was missing the wax paper but should have been there (and was originally). That being said, there was an in depth write-up about one of these packs in REA and Rob added a lengthy addendum after some members from this board brought forth evidence as to the dating of these packs. 12-count cigarette packs were not allowed by law until 1917. This fact is not only in the tax codes but also confirmed by Springer's tax stamp guide. So, that means there are three possible theories to how cards got into Piedmont 12-count packs:

1.) They are fantasy pieces created after the fact (my belief). While this is just my theory and not a fact, I think a "scammer" could conveivably take a $300 mint T206 card and a $50 pack, re-make the pack and sell it for thousands of dollars. If the pack is ever opened, a T206 would be found inside and the buyer would be pleased he or she wasn't scammed.

2.) The T206 distribution strethed into 1917 and beyond, possibly because cards were left over and the factories were getting rid of them

3.) Either the law was wrong (and published incorrectly) or Piedmont was breaking the law and manufacturing 12-count packs before 1917. However, this theory doesn't explain how there has never been a Piedmont 12-count pack discovered with a tax stamp used in 1911-1917. Every Piedmont 12 count pack I've ever seen has the "Series A" tax stamp which wasn't produced until 1917.

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