Charles Bender 1911 Helmar Stamp

I recently added this 1911 Helmar Stamp to my Charles Bender collection.  These things are not rare or nearly as expensive as some other issues from that era. By themselves, they don't seem that attractive but a page of them is pretty neat. Check out the Google search I posted below to check that out.

The Helmar Stamps came in cigarette packs. There were 180 ballplayers in total. They also issued stamps of actresses. A Google Image search turns up examples of both. The stamps are blank-backed and have straight, not perforated, edges. They run roughly an inch by an inch and a half. For the sake of perspective here is the Helmar scanned next to a modern, standard sized card.

And here's a 12-year-old article from SCD complete with quotes from Mr. Mint. <eye-roll emoji goes here> The Baseball and Tobacco website has a picture of the cigarette packs and the little envelope the stamps came in. Old Cardboard ( a wonderful resource btw) has the checklist and some additional info.

Adding to my Bender collection isn't like adding to my Ed Charles collection. With the cost of career-era pieces, it's slow going. But I'll plug along. One day I'll luck into something like the Bender Cracker Jack card.