In the past year, Stollwerck Chocolate cards of famous subjects have risen sharply in value. Leading the way is an early card of Leonardo Da Vinci.

Stollwerck cards number in the thousands with the bulk of the entire series consisting of six-card subsets. The majority of the key Stollwerck cards were issued in a series of albums 1-17. While not a complete card-by-card checklist, this page identifies the specific albums and number of cards available.

These narrow, rectangular shape cards cover all sorts of subjects, including places, people, animals, occupations, sports, and more. While the sports cards have always been somewhat desirable, it is the cards of some of the most famous subjects that are taking center stage and rising in value.

Album 10, dubbed the Heroes album, is a popular one, that includes the likes of George Washington, Ben Franklin, and many more. But it’s Album 3, which has been in the spotlight lately. Album 3 doesn’t have the sheer volume of key cards but a six-card subset of artists, including Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Rafael, and others carries much more value currently than any subset in Album 10.

Further complicating things is that a different Da Vinci card also exists in Album 10. While that one is increasing in value, too, it is not nearly as valuable as the earlier Album 3 card shown below.

The cards are generally recognized as 1899 issues as Album 3 was first issued in that year. However, some Album 3s have a 1900 date instead of 1899 in the front, seemingly indicating that some of the cards were issued in that year instead.

The cards have always been difficult to find. Distributed overseas in Europe, they were not always easy to find here in the U.S. However, as their values have increased, more and more are listed on eBay and sold from domestic dealers. Still, while the Album 10 cards issued in nearly a decade later in 1908 are somewhat plentiful, the Album 3 cards are much rarer.

Despite that rarity, the artist subset could be found not all that long ago for under $100. Finding them that inexpensively today is nearly impossible. 

Sales, mostly on eBay, have fluctuated quite a bit. But so far in 2024, it has become a wildly popular non-sports card. A January sale of one topped $635 on eBay while a couple of others (including one with a hefty $3,900 price tag) have sold with a best offer being accepted. $500-$600 is a decent benchmark as a starting price for decent examples of the card but there have been so few sales that the market is still sorting itself out.

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