After the Civil War both chewing and smoking tobacco was shipped in wooden crates called caddies, branded or labeled with the maker’s name. Once the crates were opened, every company’s tobacco looked pretty much alike. Dishonest companies took advantage of consumer inexperience by refilling empty caddies with inferior goods, thus cheating both the manufacturer and consumer.
This lead to companies using tin tags to mark the actual tabacco with their brand.
Tag collecting became popular in the 1880's and still is to this day, with collectors cataloguing more than 12,000 different tags.
This lead to companies using tin tags to mark the actual tabacco with their brand.
Tag collecting became popular in the 1880's and still is to this day, with collectors cataloguing more than 12,000 different tags.