Civil War Trading Cards-- Part 2

The information on the back of the cards was presented newspaper-style with headlines.

The packs came with five cards and were accompanied by a facsimile of Confederate paper currency (I don't remember the money and seem to remember gum in the packs, but maybe not).

The original price was a nickel a pack. (Let's see, skip the 25 cent school lunch and buy four packs of those wonderful cards.) Later, they were issued in cellophane-wrapped packs.

Since 1989, there has been a monthly newspaper "Civil War News" published by Historical Publications, Inc. of Turnbridge, Va.

#27 Massacre. White Oak, Va. June 20, 1862, which featured a Confederate soldier on the ground firing a pistol into the face of a Union soldier and another Confederate soldier about to bayonet a Union one on the ground.

Dean's Cards says the set was released in 1962. Cards sell for between $2.25 for #11 good to $60 for #3 grade near mint/mint. Most are over $10. They were also a hit in England.

Wish I Had Kept Mine. I Could Have Retired. Wait, I Am retired. Oh, Well. --Old Secesh

Civil War News Trading Cards-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

These were put out by Topps in the early 1960s to mark the centennial of the Civil War and you could get some great blood and gore, 5 cards for a nickel along with that super hard piece of gum.

These featured the colorful artwork of Norman Saunders and other artists, characterized by vivid color, graphic depictions of violence and death and blood. Card #21 "Painful Death" is a prime example. These scenes were an exaggeration of war.

On the reverse, each card had a brief history of campaigns, battles and persons.

There were a total of 88 cards, including a checklist.

Sure Wish I Could Find Mine. --Old Secesh

Yup, I Collected 'Em: Civil War Cards

I couldn't count the number of school lunches (25 cents) I missed back as a fifth grader in Greenville, NC, to plop down my nickel to buy a pack of those gory Civil War News cards (five and a piece of break-your-teeth hard, hard, really hard gum).

There was blood and guts all over that colorful front fronts and a short history blurb on the back. Just the thing for a ten-eleven year old Civil War nut. I eventually had all of them and even put some in my Civil War scrapbook.

I sure wish I knew what happened to most of them. And, not to sell them for money. Are they worth anything, anyway? I guess I'll have to check out e-Bay.

Maybe, someone should reprint the series in honor of the sesquicentennial. After all, back then it was the centennial. Folks might look strangely at a 60-year-old guy buying gum cards. No, these aren't baseball cards. I don't know most baseball players anymore, anyway.

Some History Next. --Old Secesh