Because cigar bands inherently were disposable items with no intrinsic value and were produced in huge numbers, as collectibles they have characteristics somewhat comparable to certain other types of paper ephemera such as matchbook covers or product labels. Generally speaking, as collectibles the vast majority of old cigar bands are still in relatively plentiful supply while the number of actual collectors of old cigar bands today is relatively small, especially in the U.S.

The value of old cigar bands varies somewhat depending upon the condition, age, design, and place of origin, but aside from a relatively few rare or unusual exceptions, old cigar bands are not particularly valuable collectibles from a monetary standpoint. This includes the majority of the bands displayed in the museum.

So, if you have come across a collection and expect that you have stumbled into a gold mine, relax . . . in all probability you have not. What you have is essentially a piece of visually interesting memorabilia, advertising history, or cultural artifact. If you've found and old collection and want to sell it, don't quit your day job, and if you want to buy an old collection, don't spend a fortune.

Still interested? What follows is a general commentary on the valuation of cigar bands. It is not intended to be definitive, however it is based on my experience as a collector and experience with other collectors.

As a point of departure, and so that you do not have to take only my word for it, consider the following excerpt from a very informative article on cigar bands by Tony Hyman, a noted author and historian of the cigar industry, that appeared in the Winter 1994 issue of Cigar Aficionado magazine.

Those two paragraphs highlight several fundamental points relevant to cigar band collecting.

First, there is a significant distinction between cigar bands produced for actual use on cigars and the "series" bands produced primarily in Europe in the last several decades specifically for collectors. Cigar band collecting remains popular in Europe in large part because since the 1950s there has been a wide variety of bands produced for collectors by European cigar manufacturers. For additional discussion of European cigar bands click here.

Second, although cigar band collecting was an immensely popular hobby in the U.S. in the early 1900s, it entered a rapid decline and near extinction as a hobby in the U.S. after the 1930s. There are relatively few active collectors today in the U.S.

Because there were once so many different cigar bands in circulation in the U.S. and there were once so many amateur cigar band collectors, a great many small collections are still around, often handed down as heirlooms from grandparents and great-grandparents. Although most people have never seen collections of cigar bands before, especially older bands made before the 1930s, such collections are not particularly uncommon. Small collections of a few hundred to a thousand or so bands turn up relatively often in attics, at flea markets, garage sales, estate sales or antique shops. I have looked at hundreds of small collections and most of them are remarkably similar in that they frequently contain many of the same bands. This reflects the facts that the most common bands came from most widely distributed cigar brands of the era, and that many cigar bands were generic "stock bands" such as displayed in Gallery 11 of the museum.

People who have never seen collections of old cigar bands before often have the expectation that they are valuable. However, the reality is that the supply is well in excess of collector demand. The small number of active collectors nowadays means that old cigar bands are therefore a very specialized collectible, and accordingly there is no well-established market for old cigar bands. There are no authoritative or comprehensive catalogues or price guides in print for old U.S. cigar bands.

Because old cigar bands from the U.S. cigar industry are not widely collected their monetary value depends to a great extent on what a buyer will offer to a seller at any given time. In my experience, antique dealers tend to either not be interested at all in purchasing cigar band collections, or will offer only minimal wholesale prices since they are looking to turn around a sell for a profit. Since the number of potential buyers is low, antique dealers generally won't take much risk in buying something they can't easily resell. Thus, the "market" for old cigar bands is pretty much restricted to the few collectors that exist, or the "man-on-the-street" who might purchase a small collection as a novelty (and often pay far more than the amount for which he would ever be able to resell it).

Further, the value of any one collection to an individual collector will also depend on the extent to which that collection contains duplicates of bands that a collector already has. For the most part, duplicates represent only trading material to collectors, so they seldom attach any significant value to duplicates. Most collectors prefer bands that are loose rather than those that have been pasted or glued into notebooks or albums. As with any collectible, items in excellent or near-mint condition are the most desirable. The desirability of specific cigar bands is mostly subjective.

The value of older, pre-1930 cigar bands depends on age, place of origin, condition, design, subject matter, etc. Based on my own collecting experience, such cigar bands have a "market" value between a few cents each for relatively simple non-picture bands in good condition to a few dollars each for very ornate gold-leafed or unusual portrait/picture bands in near mint condition.

A very few especially rare old bands from local or regional cigar brands that were not widely distributed can be worth more to an interested buyer. Also, old cigar bands whose subject matter make them of interest as "cross-collectibles" can be worth significantly more. A commonly recognized example of such cross-collectible cigar bands are the 1930s-era Coca-Cola cigar bands which can sell for $100 or more each. Overall however, cigar bands worth more than a few cents each to a dollar or two each are relatively rare exceptions.

The quality of cigar bands produced after the 1920s was far inferior to those produced in preceding years. By the early 1930s the majority of U.S. cigar bands and labels were manufactured by one large printing firm, and were produced using a less expensive printing process known as photolithography. There is still a sizable supply of U.S. bands left over as unused inventory from printing companies that went out of business as the cigar label printing industry consolidated during and after the 1920s. Various people have acquired some of those old supplies and often resell them in smaller lots. Click here for a picture of bundles of some common 1930s-era bands. Such bands are often found for sale in online auctions. They are for the most part "a-dime-a-dozen", are of minimal value, and are occasionally even sold by weight or in bulk packages the same way that some common foreign postage stamps are sold. Click here for a picture of another typical lot of very common 1930s-era cigar bands.

If you see a small collection of old bands and are interested in buying it, just bear in mind that you should only pay what you think it is worth to you. Avoid basing your decision on what you might be able to sell it for because there is virtually no established market. While it will often be suggested that items in a certain collection are "rare" or that the bands are "unique", "scarce", or "uncommon", they most likely are not, and just as likely the seller knows little more about them as collectibles than you do. This is especially true in online auctions.

Online auctions are a mixed blessing. They are beneficial to collectors in that they make available many more small collections than an individual might otherwise encounter, however they also bring in many inexperienced or uninformed buyers, as well as some with more money than common sense.


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