So there is a retired partner in my office who still comes in on mondays and fridays -- rain, snow or sleet. He enlisted in WWII and has told me the amazing story of how he stormed the beaches on D-day, has showed me the the letter from the president given to the soldiers the night before, etc. A really good guy. He noticed a shipment of cigars I had in my office and mentioned that he had been a collector of cigar bands dating back to the 1920s. Said some even contained a bit of real gold. Some series had all the presidents depicted on them. He has many volumes in his collection, and is going to begin bringing some in next week. I showed him a couple of the more recent bands that were on the sticks in my office (he stopped smoking and collecting several years ago), and he noted that the My Father looked better than most of recent vintage. I'll post pics if I can get some good shots.

Yeah, so I'm topping my own thread that died an orphan.... I finally saw a couple volumes of this collection today. They go back to the turn of the century, actually. Really impressive. The guy isn't internet savvy, and asked me if I knew any sites that were good for these collectors to read up on the history of the bands and to trade, perhaps. Told him I didn't, but that I'd inquire. Don't think this implicates competitors of CBID, so if anyone knows of any good sites, I'd appreciate it. If it DOES implicate competitors: [email protected] Thanks.

Cool story

look here....

http://pages.ripco.net/~whizstrt/referenc.htm 

3. Thanks CE. He told me today he lit up his first cigar ever on Omaha Beach, when they learned they'd be "running it" for awhile. Don't hear that everyday.

4. Great. I'll check this tomorrow when I'm not on the berry.