Collecting T206 cards is one thing. Collecting the various variations of advertising that show up on the backs of the 1909-1911 issue is quite another. Years ago, few collectors really cared much about what tobacco brand’s sales pitch was on the back. The player pictured on the front was all that mattered. No more. The set called “The Monster” by dedicated but often exhausted (physically and monetarily) collectors a legion of hobbyists who make it a point of pride to own as many different backs as possible inside their sets. This has driven interest—and prices—much higher than they were even at the end of the last decade. Some tobacco brands on the backs of T206s are very common such as Sweet Caporal, which was an ultra-popular and widely distributed brand a century ago. Others, like Hindu, are ultra-rare. This week, we've got one of those scarce Hindu backs in the form of a Hub Perdue PSA-graded card. Hindu Tobacco was only issued in certain areas of the south and only T206 players from the Virginia, South Atlantic and Southern Leagues are featured with this ad. Hindu advertising was printed in red and brown with only 616 brown Hindu backs on the PSA Population report as of now. Simple math will tell you that means there just aren't enough to put more than one or two in most collections. It’s considered the 12 th most scarce back of all that are represented in the T206 set. Brown Hindu cards were only issued in the 150 Series. Even though the Perdue card is rated only a ‘1’, it is well centered and presents much better than its technical grade and it’s not surprising that this ‘common’ card is drawing a lot of interest from seasoned collectors who pounce whenever a Hindu back card becomes available on the open market.
