Types of categories are only limited by collectors' imaginations and interests. I doubt if anyone could put together a

comprehensive list of categories, since just about any category can be refined to a more specific category. And, of course, new categories occasionally appear. For example, the turn of the century brought us a Millennium category, Microbreweries appeared, and the internet brought in Web Address and e-mail categories, etc. Still, the list below entails over 400 categories which are the most common within the hobby.

 

10-strikes 12-strikes 24-strikes 40-strikes AAA-approved H/M/R Acme Match Co. Acorn Match Co. Action Match Adam Hats Advance Match & Prtg. Advance Match Co. Adveraps Advertizit Match Co. Airlines Airports Albert Pick mm All-Trades (mm) Allis Press American Ace boxes American Legion American Match & Prtg. American Match Co. (old) American Quality Americana/Scenic Americana, Perkins Animals Anniversaries/Weddings Aristocrat Arrow Match Co. Art Match Co. Art Match Quality Art Safety First Atlantic Match Co. Atlas Match Co. (old) Atlas Foil Auto Dealers Autographed Babies Balloons, Hot Air Bank Checks Banks Barber Shops Barrel Boxes Bars/Taverns Bears Beauty Shops Beer Bell Machine Co. Best Western Bicentennial Bicycles Big Boy Restaurants Billards/Pool Billboard Birds Blimps/Zepplins Book Match Co. Bordellos Bottom Strtikers Bowling Boxes Boxing Breweries Bridge Sets Bridges Bus Lines Butterflies Cafes Camel 30 Singles Cameo Canadian Pullmatch Canadian Tax Stamp Candy Carousels Cartoon Characters Casinos Cats Caves CCC Cement Trucks Central Match & Label Chambers of Commerce Chapman Match Co. Chicago Match Co. Chicklets Christmas Clarke Match Co. Classic Collectible Souvenir Classique Click Book Matches Clowns Clubs Coal Companies Coast Book Match Co. Coca-Cola Coffee Coins Colgates Colleges Columbia XL Combos Comics Commemorative Contact Sets

Continental Match Co. Continental Quality Contours Cornucopias Coronations Country Clubs County Seats Cowboys Credit Unions Crests Crown Match Co. Dated Dated Auto David Lionel Press Department Stores Diamond Color Diamond Match Diamond...Approved No. 7 Diamond Quality Diamond Safety First Die-Cuts Diners, Full-length Disney Display Dog Racing Dogs Double Lengths Douglas Drinks/Beverages Drive-Ins (Theatres) Drug Stores Duncan Hines Rec. Eagle (F.O.E.) Eez-L (Easel Backs) Eddy Four--Color Eddy Quality Elks (BPOE) Embossed Empire Book Match Co. Empire Quality Errors Extend 'n Ad Fairs Famous Places Features Features, Flat Features, Giant Federal Match Co. Federal Prtg. Filigree Fire Departments Fish Flags Flats (not real covers) Florentine Florida Match Co. Flowers/Florists Foilite Foreign Fraternal Fraternities Fred Harvey Friendship Inns Front Strikers Full Books Ful Frontals Full-length Funeral Homes Gas Stations Geiger Bros. Gem (box) Gem Match Co. General Match Co. Giants Girlies, Sets Girlies, Singles Girlies, Stock Golf Golf-Tee Gopher Match Co. Grant-Mann Green Hat Grocery Stores/Supermarkets Group I Gum Hallmark Hamilton Match Co. Hard Rock Cafe Hats Hawaii Hearts Hellman Match Co. Hillbillies Hiltons Historical Characters Hockey Holiday Inns Horse Racing Horses Hospitals

Hotels Howard Johnson Hub Match Co. Hyatts Indians Insurance Intercontinentals International Harvester Interstate Press Irish Jersey Match Co. Jewelites Jewelites, Sports Jewels John Deere Jupiter One-Eight Jutes Kaeser & Blair (mm) Kentucky Match Co. Keys King Midas Match Co. Knights Inn Knothole Labels Laundries/Cleaners Leatherette Lenticular Lighthouses Lion 1929 (mm) Lion 21" Feature (mm) Lion 30-STICK (mm) Lion C(o) Lion (old) Lion Safety First Liquor Stores Literary Characters Lobsters Lodges Lone Star Match Co. Los Angeles Match Co. Lucky Match Co. Lumber Companies Made In the West For.. Magno Quality Manhattan Match Co. Manumarks Maps Marriotts Maryland Match Co. Masonic Match Companies Match Corp. Match Safes Matchorama Matchtone Merchants Industries Merit Match Co. Mermaids Metallic Meyerson Press Michigan Match Co. Midgets Mileage Charts Military/Service Military, Canadian Military, Foreign Millennium Milwaukee Match Co. Minimax Mirro-Gloss Moose Motels Movies National Match Co. National Press Navy Ships Navy Ships, Canadian Navy Ships, Foreign Newspaper/Magazine NRA Odd (Spot) Strikers Ohio For Safety Ohio XL Olympics Owname Pacific Match Co. Paddlewheels Parks, National Parks, State Patriotic,WW II Pearltones Perfect 36 Personality/VIP Phone Numbers, Low Photos, B&W Piggyback/Stickyback Pirates Pizza Planet Hollywood Playboy Pocketbox Pocketbox Slim Pocketbox Ultra Slim Police Political, Major

Political, Minor Pool/Billiards Presidents Presidential Printed Sticks Publix Pull Quicklys Pull Quicks Quality Inns/Courts Race Tracks Radio/TV Railroads Rainbow Raised-Ink Ramada Real Estate Red Cross Regal Book Match Co. Regal Match & Prtg Religious Republic Match Co. Restaurants Restaurants, Chinese Restaurants, Ethnic Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants, Sea Food Reverse Strikers Rex Match Co. RMS Conventions Roller Skating Roses Royal Canadian Legion Royal Can. Mounted Police Royal Flash Royal Match Co. Royalty Safety Sets Sambos Satin Savings & Loans Series Sets Shamrocks Sheboygan Match & Prtg. Sheratons Ship Lines Shipwheels Signet Silktones Ski Resorts Small Towns Soda Southern Match Corp. Space Sports Sports Schedules Standard Match Co. Star Match Co. Stickyback/Piggyback Stock Designs Superba Quality Tall Ships Taverns/Bars Taxi Tear-Outs Thank You Theatres Tobacco Tractors Trademarks Trader Vic's TraveLodge Trucking True-Color Uniglo Union Match Co. Union Blot-R-Match Union Match Quality Union Quality United Engr. Universal SF Universal XL USO Utilities VA Hospitals Veterans Administration VFW VIP/Personality Vista Lites Web Addresses Weddings/Anniversaries Wide-Strikers Willens & Co. Windmills Woodies World's Fairs YMCA/YWCA Zepplins/Blimps Zip Codes Zoos

 

Which categories are the most popular with collectors? Some years ago, I surveyed the wants of a random group

of 300 collectors. Here are the results in order of popularity:

(Be aware, though, that popular categeories come and go according to the times)

 

Girlies Casinos Banks Airlines Sports Transportation Country Clubs Railroads Military Features Holiday Inn Hotel/Motel/Res Best Western Beer Cigarette/Tobacco Auto Christmas Old Full-length Colleges & Uni. Elks Jewelite Gas/Oil Chinese Rest. VIP/Personality Golf Hotel/Rest Patriotics/WW II Political Bears Cats Drinks/Soda Hotels/Motels Shiplines Bowling Hotels Indians Navy Ships Boxes Contours Dogs Foreign Hard Rock Jewel Trucking County Seats Disney Lobsters Matchoramas Presidential Restaurants

World Fairs/Expo Birds Cameo Small Towns American Legion Camel/Camel 30s Clubs Horses Midgets Parks Planet Hollywood Radio/TV Roses Woodies Bars Filigree Foilites Hawaii Hillbilly Odd Strikers Phone #s, Low Rainbow V.F.W. 40-strikes Chickens F.O.E. Foxes Giants Holiday Inn, N/S Lighthouses Matchtones Mermaids Palm Trees Pandas Pigs Sets Sports Schedules Uniglos 10-strikes Animals Billiards Diners Fraternals Funeral Homes Hiltons Intercontinental Oriental Rest. Resorts Rt. 66 American Ace Angels

Amusement Parks Baloons Big Boy Rest. Blacks Can. Tax Stamps Cartoon Charact. CCC Cigars Coins Combos Conventions, Rms Credit Unions Dated Famous Places Fancy Flowers Food/Dept. Stores Group I H/M Chains Mexican Rest. Olympics Pepsi Printed Sticks Royal Flash San Francisco Sheratons Sports Jewelite Tall Ships Action 12-strikes Breweries Bridges Butterflies Chefs Chickets Coffee Cowboys Duncan Hines Farm Equipment Fish Fred Harvey Hearts Hotels, Chain Humorous Irish Gum/Candy Hyatts Jutes Knot Holes Liquor Marines

Matchcover Club Nautical Newspaper/Mag Night Clubs NYC Perfect 36 Perkins Americana Pocketbox U.Slim Port Authorities POW Camps Quality Court/Inn Seahorses Souvenirs Stickybacks Taxis Weddings 24-strikes Autographed Blimps Buslines Cactus Carousels Caves Clowns Coal Dragons Drug Stores Eddy Embossed F-L Bank Check H/M/R Chains Japanese Rest. Keys Maps Money Motels Motels/Rest. Movie Stars Outback Rest. Pizza Pocketbox Slim Rodeo Scenic Sheratons, N/S Ship’sWheels Taverns Thank You’s Tikis Tractors Veterans Admin. Vista Lites Whales Zip Codes

 

With matchbooks being used for advertising so much less now, the two big categories that were still cranking them out were Casinos and Cigarettes/Tobacco, although even these issues have greatly lessened now. Certainly, you can still find matchbooks being issued in other categories, but new issues in some categories have disappeared altogether. For example, you're not going to find any new Hospital covers anymore! But, always keep in mind, even if matchbooks were to stop being manufactured tomorrow...there are still hundreds of millions, or even billions out there! All you have to do is...find them!

 

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