This 1887 Chicago White Stockings scrip is a wonderful example of the baseball advertising notes that were produced during the late 1880s and early 1890s. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.HA.com.
Baseball Advertising Scrip at Bat By Philip Thomas Apple pie. Pickup trucks. Baseball. Advertising. Take two of these quintessentially American things (the last two to be specific), blend them together onto colorful rectangular pieces of paper designed to resemble late-19th century United States banknotes, add some geography to the mix, and what do you get? An exciting and eccentric exo-numismatic collectible class that has collectors from multiple areas of focus fired up. It is safe to assume that all bases pertaining to this baseball advertising scrip will be covered here, but before we deliver the first pitch on the specifics, let’s set the stage. By the late 1880s, America was a full generation removed from the end of the deadliest war in its history, and its populace had finally begun to turn the corner from conflict – economically and culturally. The nation was finally on the mend from its bloody bifurcation and coming into its own, for better or for
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worse. This “Gilded Age” – an era characterized by intense economic growth and rapid population expansion westward – was in full swing. Despite the presence of newer forms of social inequities and burgeoning wealth gaps and an occasional financial panic, times were still good for many as the new century approached. By 1895, the United States had overtaken Britain in manufacturing output. Invention and innovation led to improved engineering techniques, industrial machinery design, and steel fabrication processes, leading to a surge in the production of consumer goods and services enabled by them. At the same time, per capita income had nearly doubled since the end of the Civil War. Millions of people who were formerly enslaved were now wage earners, and immigration from Europe and elsewhere had reached new heights. Simply
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