N224 Kinney Military Starter Set of (375) Different Cards

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/26/2022

The N224 Kinney Military set is the largest 19th century chromolithographed set from any of the large manufacturers of tobacco cards. The set numbers 622 different subjects, and, while the cards are easy to find, there are no known complete sets of the cards. To make it over 600 cards is the first big achievement in collecting this set. Each card above 600 becomes much more difficult until you reach the last 10-12 cards which rarely, if ever, come up for sale.

The cards were issued in thirteen series, most of which had 50 cards. Little is known about how they were marketed or how the series were issued and distributed. Some of the series are prohibitively tougher than others--particularly cards from series J and F. Series K and I cards are also more difficult. There are back variations to the cards for the completist and there are background variations for a number of the cards.

The state crests and decorations typically bring stronger prices although most of them aren't any more difficult than some of the regular cards. The three Vatican cards are more difficult and are always in demand. And finally the tougher NGSNY (New York) and England cards are among some of the toughest cards to obtain.

Advanced collectors track the cards in this set very diligently. Known groupings include sets of 621, 620, 618, 611, 611 and 608. The 621/622 set belonged to Sir Wharton-Tigar and now resides in a museum in the UK. That collection is missing only the Huzzar of France which is present in 2-3 of the other collections listed.

This lot includes (375) N224 cards. The lot runs the gamut from poor to VGEX/EX with most cards falling into the G and VG categories. It's a pretty standard lot for an average N224 grouping. A number of the cards have pencil numbers on the back corresponding to the checklist number and cards throughout all groups are represented with some States, Countries and Medals as well. The cards are in order, in plastic ultra-pro 15 count pages ready to have missing cards added to this instant collection.