In the late 1880s collecting advertising trade cards was a national hobby. The public demand for these cards was so great that every consumer product vendor was obliged to obtain and distribute them. Advertising trade cards were made the size of a business card and larger. In 1887 an innovative marketing instrument was created - advertising notes were printed to appear as real money. That is, they were made in the same attractive general design, color and size as US Currency (National Bank Notes) circulating at that time. It was said that these advertising notes were scattered about on the street tempting people to grab them up revealing the advertiser's message.

Collector Base:

Advertising: The advertising collector has a similar goal as the currency collector in that a locale of certain types of businesses and types of products are of interest. For some collectors, the more antiquated the goods or service of the merchant's ad the stronger the appeal. Shown below is a database of merchants who used these notes to advertise their business.

Baseball: Baseball card collectors are drawn naturally by the baseball theme: the national baseball clubs and pictures of team players.

There are eight different types of Baseball Currency: each measures 7 3/4" X 3 3/8" and were printed between 1887 and 1893. The basic design features a curved Gothic typeface heading "National Base Ball League" spanning the two main figures followed beneath by a horizonally "SEASON OF" on all notes except St. Louis where "National" is horizontal and beneath a curved "National Base Ball Association" followed under the arc horizontally by "SEASON OF". A prominent baseball official is shown on the left on all notes. On the right both Chicago and Detroit Notes show an unidentified batsman (resembles Cap Anson). Printed on all notes, slightly above center is a large Gothic typeface date in color. Backs are printed with a motif in the same color as the date on the front and oval portraits of 10 or 12 players are shown with their last name identified in the curve of the oval at the bottom. Players are listed clockwise from top-center on all notes. On the front and back of each note a blank space was left at the center to accommodate advertising to be printed by individual merchants. A facsimile baseball game is pictured in the message area on the back of all but the St. Louis notes.

The advertisers who purchase these notes from the manufacturer would likely contract local print shops to have their custom made ad messages overprinted - on the front is generally the name and address of the merchant plus any supplemental business identification, slogan, picture or notice - but there are some of these notes found that follow no rules as to where or what to print on their notes. Although most of these notes were overprinted, some merchants merely rubber stamped them. Inside the ring of player portraits on the back is often a message for a discount on the product or service from the advertiser.

Chicago White Stockings

Detroit Wolverines

St. Louis Browns

National League All-Stars

Other Notes

1. A Theatre Note: An undated note featuring photos of John L. Sullivan on the left - Duncan B. Harrison on the right - each identified below. The curved Gothic typeface style printed "United States" heading followed by the message "Haymarket Theatre, Chicago, ILL. etc.". The back has a faded rose color ornamental design and shows the same JLS picture as is shown on the front but with "The World's Champion" added. Above is: "Haymarket Theatre" and below "One Week, Oct 12." Names and comments relating to the Play are printed inside ovals placed symmetrically in the space on the back of the note.

2. An Indian Note: In Gothic typeface style "National" is printed at top center, printed directly under in the same style but curved is "Indian Ball Game". In large green Gothic type face style "1887" is printed at the center. Overprinted at center is "Sportsmans' Park, Sept. 29-30, Oct. 1-2" a horizontal line separates an additional advertisement at the lower center: "Thos. Ward, Livery and Boarding Stable - Undertaker of Funerals. etc." An official is pictured on the left side with "Yours Truly" in script and a simulated autograph beneath. On the right is a banner announcing President Cleveland and wife will attend. (See Supplement).
The back is printed with a green motif and shows 10 oval portraits of Indians pictured in costume wearing a head feather(s) and earrings with their names printed in the arc in the lower part of the oval. Starting top-center clockwise: LONE WOLF, BLACK DOG, ISH A TUBBE, ONE SIX KILLER, MAN IN THE WATER, RAIN IN THE FACE, SPOTTED PIE, DIRT DEERFACE, K:ULLY O:HAHA, SNARE PUPPY. Question is whether these Braves were members of the ball team or just members of the tribe. On the left, printed inside a large seal coin-style, "GREATEST NOVELTY OF THE AGE". Printed horizonally "50 INDIANS WILL TAKE PART". On the right side a same size seal with a reminder of the dates of the ball games. Added at the center of the note is still another ad, this one for A. ZACHARIA'S Restaurant. (Four distinct advertisements/announcements on one note!)

Supplement:

President Grover Cleveland's Goodwill Tour of 1887 was a plan to strengthen public contact in order to regain the presidency in 1888. In May 1887, a delegation from St. Louis visited him in Washington, D.C. Its members pressed him persistently to make a visit to St. Louis, he agreed. The travel plan was expanded to include much of the mid-west and south. The assistance of George Pullman was enlisted to assemble a suitable train. Pullman offered his personal private car, the P.P.C., which were the initials of the Pullman Palace Car, for the carriage of the president and his wife powered by the Chicago Limited, the Pennsylvania Railroad's fastest train. A Pullman sleeper car was attached thus completing a three-car train. When the conductor called out "All Aboard" at the Pennsylvania Station in Washington on September 30, Mrs. Cleveland was the only woman in the party. Twenty-eight years younger than her husband, Frances Folsom Cleveland.

The train was an "extra" with priority rights over all other trains. As a precaution, a pilot train would precede the Presidential Special by a few minutes. There were dignitaries and thousands of well-wishers waiting for the President at stations along the way to St. Louis. Arriving on October 2, day three of the trip. It was Sunday, the last day of the Indian Ball Game at Sportsman's Park in which the President and Mrs. were to be a guests. Apparently that invitation was cancelled. According to the record, that day the President and first lady attended morning services at the Washington Street Presbyterian Church. A private luncheon was followed by a drive around town to see banners, flags, and portraits on nearly every building. They reviewed a Roman Catholic papal celebration parade. That chilly evening the official party gathered at the mayor's home to dine.

The tour went on - after twenty-three days on the road, the President's train rolled into Pennsylvania Railroad Station on the morning of October 22. Everywhere the Clevelands appeared there were overwhelming expressions of enthusiasm and lavish civic hospitality. Public curiosity about the young and attractive wife was satisfied to some degree. The president exhibited stamina and a hearty and simple manner. His speeches were alike, clear, simple, and pleasant. He understood that much of the excitement was over-seeing the president rather than in seeing Grover Cleveland. Yet for all its spectacle and the length of its reach, the trip did not assure his reelection the following year. Indiana Republican Benjamin Harrison would defeat him in the Electoral College in 1888. Yet perhaps some of the wave of voters that returned Cleveland to the presidency in 1893 remembered the grand tour of 1887.

Database of Baseball Currency Advertisements:

1887 Chicago White Stockings

1888 Chicago White Stockings

1889 Chicago White Stockings

1887 Detroit Wolverines

1888 Detroit Wolverines

1887 St. Louis Browns

1888 St. Louis Browns

1893 N.L. All-Stars