This paper Indian mask sticker with a matte finish on a cardboard backing is one of a series of 161 self-adhesive patches from 1960, according to Cracker Jack archival records. (There may only be 160; see below.) There are four categories of these "Pressure Sensitive Patches" in the complete set, including 25 Ceremonial Indian Masks, 25 Cattle Brands, 56 Badges of Honor, and 55 Smarty Pants Patches.

The patches, made by Jerry Scanlan, Inc. of Chicago, are 1 1/4" x 1 3/4" ; all of the sticker patches in this series have a matte finish. (As discussed below, these stickers were also released with silver and gold metallic finishes, but are considered a separate series.) Each sticker has "Adhesive Patch" on the backing, along with instructions. All of this series warn, "Don't stick on wallpaper." Some also say "Will not harm clothing." The cardboard backing is a non-descript gray-brown, like the backing of a tablet, and all printing on the backing of each patch in this series is in black ink.

Each Indian mask patch has a specific description on the backing about the mask illustrated. There are more than one mask for some tribes in the series. For example, there two different Hopi mask patches, and also two different mask patches from the Zuni tribe.

Each cattle brand patch has an illustration of cactus, covered wagon, cow skull, or pistol to the side of the brand, as well as "A Cattle Brand of the Wild West" and a general description on the backing.

Regarding the two other types of stickers in this series, definitively determining which are the Badges of Honor and which are the Smarty Pants Patches is not as easy as identifying the cattle brands and masks.

One set has a title or name that is humorously related to an actual town listed below it, and the population and location of the town is given on the backing. Since several of this type actually look like badges or award plaques, these appear to be the Badges of Honor.

The final grouping in the series contains stickers with cute sayings and wise cracks on them, but no additional information is found on the backing. By process of elimination, these presumably are the Smarty Pants Patches.

A second issue of these patches, identified as "Foil Patches Pressure Sensitive" in archival records but with "Adhesive-backed Fun Patch" actuallly printed on the backs, was later released as a new series (with ten other series of prizes coming between the two series of patches). This second set, also from Jerry Scanlan, was printed on shiny metallic paper; the metallic patches can be found in both silver metallic and gold metallic.

According to records, there are only 160 in this second series. If this is accurate, then the mystery is which patch from the first series didn't make it to the second series, and, more interestingly, why. A photo of an uncut sheet of sliver metallic patches from the Cracker Jack archives shows 80 different patches. Assuming a companion sheet also contained 80 other patches, for a total of 160, and assuming the second set is a metallic-papered re-release of the first set, it is more likely that the documentation of 161 patches in the first set was an error resulting from a typographical error than there actually having been an additional patch in the first series not included in the metallic set. It is likely that the first set only included 55 Badges of Honor, rather than 56, accounting for the reported total of 161. As has been seen with some other prizes, archival records cannot always be taken as absolute fact. Those keeping records were not infallible, and some were perhaps more meticulous than others.

The backings of the second series are off-white, the color of the ink on the backing is either red or green. All the stickers in the second series have the same instructions (but somewhat different from the first series). Additionally the cattle brands have "Wild West Cattle Brand" on the backings, and the masks have "Indian Tribal Mask." The Badges of Honor and the Smarty Pants Patches just have "This Patch is to Wear" and the instuctions. None of the patches in this series, as with the first series, are identified as Cracker Jack.

These two series of patches were chosen as the 2000 Cracker Jack Collectors Association convention study group topic. It was determined during the study, led by CJCA Board Member Larry White, that silver metallic Indian Tribal Mask patches have red print on the back, and gold metallic ones have green print. In addition, silver metallic Wild West Cattle Brand patches have green print on the back, and the gold ones have red print.

With such a large group of prizes and with so many variations to record, time did not permit a thorough examination of the Badges of Honor and Smarty Pants Patches at the convention. The study will be continued via the internet and results reported here when available.

Thanks to Barbara Hastings for initial information about the backings of the foil patches,
to Larry White for conducting the CJCA Convention 2000 study group,
and to all those who participated for the discoveries made.