1909-1911 T206

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of this set, Topps has issued a set of their own. That set is very polarizing. A lot of people do not like it. A lot of people love it too.

Perhaps the most iconic set in the history of trading cards, thanks to the Honus Wagner card (which inspired a great book called, The Card), the T206 tobacco series is what most people think of when they think of vintage cards.

Collectors are still trying to piece together this set. There are so many back variations and pose variations, it's almost impossible to own a complete set. Good luck trying to track down a few of the rarer cards. Unless you are very lucky or have disposable income to burn, you likely aren't going to succeed.

There are 523 cards in the set (that are currently known) and 16 different back variations. Not all cards will have the same brand variations, which makes the actual number of cards for a master set still a mystery. Card variations are still being discovered.

The back variations include American Beauty (thinner cut cards), Broadleaf, Carolina Brights, Cycle, Drum, El Principe De Gales, Hindu (found in both brown ink and red ink), Lenox (found in both brown ink and black ink), Old Mill, Piedmont, Polar Bear, Sovereign, Sweet Caporal, Tolstoi, Ty Cobb and Uzit. The card combination and variation possibilities are mind numbing.

There are 27 cards featuring the White Sox.

Atz, Jake
Burns, Bill
Davis, George
Donohue, Jiggs
Dougherty, Patsy (Arm in Air)
Dougherty, Patsy (Portrait)
Duffy, Hugh
Fiene, Lou (Portrait)
Fiene, Lou (Throwing)
Gandil, Chick
Hahn, Ed
Isbell, Frank
Jones, Fielder (Hands at Hip)
Jones, Fielder (Portrait)
Owen, Frank
Parent, Fred
Payne, Billy
Purtell, Billy
Scott, Jim
Smith, Frank (F. Smith)
Smith, Frank (White Cap) (Chicago & Boston Amer.)
Sullivan, Billy
Tannenhill, Lee (L. Tannehill on Front)
Tannenhill, Lee (Tannehill on Front)
Walsh, Ed
White, Doc (Pitching)
White, Doc (Portrait)

If you choose to chase any of the set, good luck. Here is a gallery of every card to help you identify cards along the way. The distinct white borders were the first thing that Jefferson Burdick noticed about the set. The mysteries of the set keep drawing people in. Happy 100th anniversary!