What to record for every matchbook in your collection, and how to tell how old it is

Quick answer: For every matchbook, record eight things: clear photos of the front and back, the venue or advertiser, the city and country, the category, the striker type (front or reverse), any printed date, manumark or footer, and the condition. Add where and when you found it and a line of your own notes. The striker type is the fastest age clue: covers with the striker on the front were made before federal rules moved it to the back in 1973, though old stock kept turning up until about 1978. Then check the condition before anything else, because a struck cover (one with a match already struck on it) is worth little to most collectors. Write down what you can verify, and mark the rest as an estimate.

Matchbook collecting, called phillumeny, is one of the cheapest hobbies there is to start and one of the easiest to lose track of. A shoebox of covers from restaurants, hotels, bars and shops turns into a pile fast. Six months later you cannot remember which diner that was, whether you already have a copy, or why one cover looks so much older than the rest. A catalog fixes that, and the catalog is only as useful as the fields you chose on day one.

The words collectors use

Knowing the vocabulary makes both cataloging and searching easier. These terms come from the hobby’s own reference pages.

• Matchcover: the folded cardboard sleeve. Many collectors use the word for a matchbook once the matches are removed.
• Striker: the rough strip you strike a match on. On a front striker it sits on the front flap. On a reverse striker it is on the back panel.
• Manumark: a line of text near the striker that names the maker or distributor.
• Footer: the text at the very bottom tip of the cover. Most footers are the ordinary “close cover before striking” line, but special footers exist and some are prized.
• Imprint: the maker’s identification printed inside the cover, which is a different thing from the manumark.
• Saddle: the middle section between the two central folds.
• Struck: at least one match has been struck on the striker.
• Bobtail: the striker has been cut off.
• Flat: a cover that was never stapled and never held matches.
• Full book: a matchbook with all its matches still in place.
• Die-cut and contour: covers cut to a custom shape, such as the outline of an advertiser’s product.
• Dupes: duplicates.

The fields to record

You can catalog on paper, in a spreadsheet or in an app. The fields are the same.

1. Photos, front and back. Photograph the outside of both panels, flat, in even light. Add the inside if it carries a design or an imprint. A photo is the only reliable way to remember which design you mean.
2. Venue or advertiser. The name exactly as printed. A hotel that changed names is two different covers.
3. City, region and country. Use the address printed on the cover. If there is none, write “not printed” and add your best guess in the notes.
4. Category. Pick a short list and stick to it: restaurants, hotels, bars, airlines, banks, events, products. Collectors often focus on one theme, and a consistent category is what lets you filter later.
5. Era. A decade is usually the honest unit. See the dating section below for how to get there.
6. Striker type. Front, reverse, or removable. This one field does a lot of work for age.
7. Printed marks. Copy any printed date, manumark and footer text. These are your evidence for dating, so record them as they appear.
8. Size and shape. Standard, small, large, or die-cut. Collectors name sizes such as the ten strike and the midget, and very large souvenir covers exist.
9. Condition. One short phrase from the damage list below.
10. Provenance. Where and when you got it: a trip, a flea market, a trade, a gift. This is the field you will be glad of in ten years.
11. Notes. Anything that makes it yours: who gave it to you, the meal you had there, a design detail.

That is eleven fields, but the first six take under a minute per cover once you have the habit.

How to tell how old a matchbook is

There is no single reliable stamp, so dating is a stack of clues. Work down this list and stop when the clues agree.

• Printed date. If the cover shows a year, it is the best evidence you have, but it may be an event or a copyright year rather than the print run, so note it as “printed date” and do not treat it as proof.
• Striker position. Federal rules required reverse strikers from 1973, and makers could use up existing front striker stock, so front strikers appear until about 1978. A front striker points to before the late 1970s. Early reverse strikers from around 1928 are called back strikers, so a reverse striker alone does not make a cover modern.
• Manumark. On front striker covers made before 1979, the manumark below the striker can often be matched to the years that maker used that style. Collector references list dated manumarks, and one commercial dating guide covers thousands of them.
• Footer. Footers can also be matched to the range of years a manufacturer used them. Special footers largely disappeared by World War II, so a distinctive one is an old-cover clue.
• Design and size. Dealer guides note that older covers tend to be longer and more varied, while later covers are shorter and more standardized. Treat that as a hint, not a rule.
• The business itself. If the venue opened in 1962 and closed in 1974, that bounds the cover. A quick search of the address often does more than the cover does.

Within the hobby, “old” has a narrow meaning: a cover from before World War II, so before 1941. Covers from before the 1930s are relatively rare, while covers from after 1945 are plentiful. When the clues do not settle it, record a range such as “1950s to 1960s, estimated” and move on. A range you can defend is better than a precise year you invented.

Condition: what to write down

Condition is where a cover’s worth is decided, and the damage terms are specific. Pick the one that fits.

• Unstruck, clean: no marks, no creases. This is what collectors want.
• Struck: a match has been struck on it. It is the most common damage, and a struck cover is generally treated as a placeholder until you find a clean copy.
• Bobtailed: the striker was cut off. Treated as worthless.
• Cut corners: corners trimmed to fit slotted album pages.
• Glued: stuck to an album page, which damages the inside and hides the design.
• Creased, water damaged, or faded: permanent crush marks, stains or a rippled texture, and color lost to bright light.
• Striker oxidation: the striker has turned green, soft or brittle, usually from damp storage.
• Writing, punctures or dirt: pen on the outside, tack holes from display, grime. Inside pencil writing is less serious and can be erased.
• Wear: frayed edges and small tears from handling.

Storing the collection

The care advice from collectors is consistent, and most of it is about what to avoid.

• Never glue, staple, paste or tape a cover into an album. Use pages or trays made for covers. Three ring binders with plastic pockets are the usual choice, and trays hold covers upright, save space and keep them flat.
• No rubber bands. They cut into covers and can fuse to the surface. Use paper wrappers for temporary stacks.
• Keep them dry and out of the light. Humidity grows mold and breaks down strikers. Strong light fades the colors. Avoid garages, basements and floors.
• Removing the matches is optional, and it takes care. Collectors who strip a cover open the staple gently, push it through, and take out the matches without damaging the cover, then soak the matches in water before throwing them away. Never strike a match on a cover you want to keep. If you are unsure, leave a full book alone and photograph it instead.
• Flatten stripped covers under weight for several days.

What your matchbooks are probably worth

Honestly, not much, and that is part of the hobby’s appeal. The vast majority of covers are worth pennies to a few dollars. Value goes up with age (especially before World War II), rarity, a small original print run, good condition, and a category collectors chase, such as a World’s Fair or Navy ship cover. Do not price from memory. Compare recent sold listings, and note the price you paid in your own record rather than guessing a value.

A sample entry

This is an invented example to show the level of detail, not a real cover.

Field	Entry
Photos	Front and back, plus inside
Venue	Harbor Lunch (example)
Place	Duluth, Minnesota, USA
Category	Restaurant
Era	1960s, estimated
Striker	Front
Printed marks	No date. Manumark present. Footer is the standard line
Size	Standard
Condition	Unstruck, light creasing on the back
Provenance	Flea market, summer trip
Notes	Fish illustration on the front. Matches stripped, staple intact

Doing it on your phone

Matchbook, one of our apps, is built around this checklist. You photograph the front and back, record the venue, city, country, era and category, add your own notes and condition details, then browse, search and filter the whole collection, with stats on how it has grown. Everything is stored privately on your iPhone, with no account needed. Get Matchbook on the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

What is collecting matchbooks called? Phillumeny. Collectors are phillumenists. North American collectors mostly collect matchcovers, while collectors elsewhere often focus on boxes and labels.

How do you tell how old a matchbook is? Combine clues: a printed date, striker position, the manumark, the footer, the cover’s size and style, and the history of the business. Front strikers point to before the late 1970s.

Are old matchbooks worth anything? Most are worth a few dollars or less. Pre-war covers, limited promotional runs and covers in sought-after categories are the exceptions, and condition matters a great deal.

Should I remove the matches? It is a choice. Many collectors strip them for storage, carefully and with the matches soaked in water before disposal. Never strike a match on a cover you want to keep.

How should I store matchbooks? In covers-only albums, binders with plastic pockets or trays, kept cool, dry and out of direct light. Never glue, staple or rubber band them.

What is a manumark? The line of text near the striker that names the maker or distributor. On front striker covers it helps date the cover.

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Sources and further reading

• Matchcovers: Vocabulary, Matchcover Vault, for the hobby terms.
• Matchcovers: Condition and Age for damage types and what counts as an old cover.
• Matchcovers: Cover Care for stripping, flattening and storage.
• Matchcovers: General Overview and Manumarks for the scope of the hobby, manumarks and footers.
• Matchcovers: Anatomy of a Matchbook for the parts of a cover and the front striker and reverse striker dates.
• How To Get Started In Matchbook Collecting, a beginner’s guide, a dealer guide that supplied the size and value notes. Treat its dating shortcuts as hints.
• Matchbook on Wikipedia for general history.
• Everything here that is not attributed above is a plain recommendation for how to keep your own records, not a claim about the market. Check any date you plan to rely on against a dated manumark reference.