T206 Back Stamp Project Gets Recognized

For several years now I've been documenting T206 back stamps on my website dedicated to them at TheGreatT206BackStampProject.yolasite.com.

The project is my attempt to showcase as many different T206s with back stamps as I can in one central location on the internet.  There is a healthy collector base for this type of T206, whether it is a specific stamp or just stamps in general. 

Well, PreWarCards.com just posted an article about these T206 back stamps and mentions the project in the article.  I couldn't be more happy about the recognition by the site.  They even used images from the project for the article and link to the project's website.

So far, I've documented over 70 different stamps and have 34 pages of collections of stamps that are of the same type.  So when I have two or more scans of the same type of stamp, I start a new page for that stamp and start a new "collection" for that stamp. 

There are many different types of stamps that can be found on T206s.  Names are a very common thing to find stamped on them.  Collectors would've stamped their name on the cards for any number of reasons.  The most common reason would be to claim ownership.  However, I have one card stamped by an agent for the Saturday Evening Post that was used to make a type of business card.

T206 Wagner back stamp

There are also date stamps.  Perhaps the date the card was acquired.  All of the dates I have ever seen stamped on a T206 were from the 1909-12 period so a acquisition date seems logical.  There is even a Wagner with a date stamp on it; Oct 16, 1909. 

Other stamps are of any number of different objects or designs such as a castle, carriage, stars, pointing finger, dog or old time "Bobby" cop, just to name a few. 

In addition to stamps, there have also been tattoos or transfers found on these cards.  These are much more colorful and ornate that a typical one color stamp would be.  I have a clown, hot air balloon and boxer as examples on my site. 

I personally collect one specific type of back stamp.  They are purple numbers in a specific shade of purple, always the same size and font.  Here are some examples of this type of purple number back stamp below.

 

If you ever see one of these back stamps, please contact me as I would be very interested in it.  They don't seem to show up very often however. 

 



The Project is an interactive one.  In other words I rely on other collectors to help with it and supply scans/images of stamps that I don't already have.  If I don't have the image provided by a fellow collector then I update the website with the new image.  If it is the second example of a particular stamp then I'll set up a new page for that stamp. 

I also give credit to collectors that have helped on the Contributors page.  I'd be happy to add anyone's name who helped with the Project and isn't already listed. 

Let me know what you think of the Project and if you can help, please do.  Also check out PreWarCards.com if you haven't already been there.  It's a great site for prewar collectors of all sports, not just baseball.

Enjoy the hobby all...it's a great one.