Classification of early baseball card sets is based on the categories found in the American Card Catalog (ACC). Although the scope of the ACC includes a wide range of cards featuring non-baseball subjects, the following categories are limited to only those that include baseball card sets.
B | "Blankets" and cloth-like cards |
C | Canadian tobacco (Imperial Tobacco, C46, is the only baseball set) |
D | Bakery sets. |
E | Early gum and candy cards; "E" cards fall primarily into two time periods: 1909-1915 (designated here as Group "E1") and 1920-1927 (Group "E2") |
F | "Food" cards. Includes cards used to promote a wide range of foods ranging from breakfast cereals to ice cream |
H | Clothing and sporting goods manufacturers and retailers |
M | Inserts and promotions for magazines and newspapers |
N | Nineteenth century cards |
P | Pins (includes PD "bakery button inserts;" PE "button inserts with early candy or gum;" PM "miscellaneous inserts" as defined in the Sports Collectors Bible; PR "button inserts with recent candy and gum;" and PX "other novelties of plastic, metal, etc.") |
PC | Postcards |
R | Candy, gum and some other cards of the 1930's and 1940's (beginning in 1928; generally, these are a continuation of the "E2" cards) |
S | Stamps and "silks" |
T | 20th century tobacco cards; a one digit number, such as T3, indicates an oversized premium or cabinet card. The baseball tobacco card era spanned a seven year period--from 1909 to 1915. One set from 1919 (Coupon Cigarettes T213-3) and several 1950s Redman tobacco sets (T232-T235) are also listed in the ACC as baseball "T" cards. |
V | Canadian candy and gum cards. Roughly, the Canadian equivalent of some of the American "E" and "R" cards |
W | Miscellaneous section (mostly, whatever doesn't fit above). "W" cards include anonymous issues, cards from games, strip cards, and a long series of sets produced by the Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago. |
WG | Game Cards |
With a few exceptions, the ACC definitions have remained intact and are widely used among today's collectors. In a few instances, they have been clarified and expanded in subsequent publications such as Bert Sugar's Sports Collector's Bible and Lew Lipset's Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards.
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