Cigarette labels are small but valuable because they record the history of cigarettes. Cigarettes are an imported product. They were introduced from overseas more than a hundred years ago and have gradually been accepted by people. At first, the Chinese imported cigarettes and did not have their own factories. Later, they had their own national brands. In 1880, in order to expand the influence of their products, cigarette manufacturers in the Austro-Hungarian Empire put a unique logo on cigarette products, namely "Neil Brand" - the world's earliest cigarette label was born, and was later imitated by cigarette manufacturers around the world. In 1902, the "Dragon Ball" brand produced by Tianjin Beiyang Tobacco Co., Ltd. was the earliest cigarette trademark in my country.

Although the variety of cigarettes is imported, the national brand is our own, and the cigarette labels record the history of the development of this variety in China. As product packaging, cigarette labels are a kind of packaging art. Its design, like the stamp, is part of the arts and crafts. Currently, cigarette labels are one of the four largest graphic print collections in the world, and there are cigarette label collectors all over the world. The value of a rare cigarette label is often much higher than the cigarette itself.

Cigarette labels have been around for a century. While they continue to expand and deepen their practical value, they also deeply reflect the characteristics of the times.

Cigarette labels from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China were mostly produced by foreign businessmen and feudal, bureaucratic or national capitalists. Because this type of mark is old and has only a small quantity in existence, the price is relatively high, generally around 1,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan.

In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, cigarette labels (factory names) were divided into state-owned, local state-owned, and public-private partnerships. There were many varieties and the paper quality was poor. They should generally cost between 20 yuan and 50 yuan. During this period, there was also a type of "Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea" labels. Since most of the products were donated to the Chinese People's Volunteers in Korea, very few of them were circulated in the country, so they were hard to come by. The auction price was generally more than 100 yuan.

Cigarette labels during the Cultural Revolution are a topic that is particularly valued by collectors. This topic is very popular because of its red sky, quotations, eight samples, and strong contemporary relevance, and its price is also quite high. , generally around 600 yuan to 30,000 yuan. For example, the price of a single cigarette labeled "Tiemei" five years ago was around 200 or 300 yuan, but now it costs at least 1,000 yuan. Whether to collect this cigarette label should be considered from four aspects: rarity, historical value, artistry and knowledge.

After the reform and opening up, cigarette labels have become more brilliant and widespread. In addition to state-owned and collective factories, individual manufacturers have also launched one after another. For a time, high-quality products and defective products coexist, fish eyes and pearls exist. The "three noes" include no registered trademark, tar content, and smoke type model (also called flavor). , such as: flue-cured tobacco type, mixed type, external flavor type, cigar type, etc.), "Smoking is harmful to health" aphorisms and barcode cigarette labels are even more common in the world. At present, the price of this type of cigarette label is relatively low, which should be less than 5 yuan.

It is worth mentioning here that during the Revolutionary War, the cigarette labels produced in the liberated areas were extremely limited due to environmental reasons and were difficult to find. Courageous and knowledgeable collectors will generally not let go of this kind of cigarette label easily.