Ccom Cigar Rep

@deadman said:

Not sure what you're looking for, but here are some facts:

-In June 2009, the parent company to Hav-A-Tampa Cigars closed their Tampa location, which had been making cigars since 1902. (This was when we started to have to deal with those stupid Federal SCHIP taxes, FYI.)

-Tampa Nuggets, Tampa Sweets, and Phillies were made in this now-shuttered factory... It was locally owned until the late '90s, and then eventually got bought by Altadis, who shifted production to Puerto Rico for tax reasons.

-The "Tampa Nugget" name was registered on 23 October 1906 by the Krause Bros., the original owners of what became the Hav-A-Tampa factory. Tampa Nuggets were the factory's main cigar output for the first 10+ years of their existence, with production and demand increasingly year-after-year to the point where the company needed a larger factory, moving to what we now know as Ybor City.

-The box in your picture looks to be either in excellent condition, or from their later years in production. Tampa Nuggets came in three shapes -- Blunts, Sublimes, and Panatelas -- and that box you have held the "Blunts." (Yes, the name "blunts" had to do with cigars way before it was ever shifted to speak of pot.)

-Due to the word "Nugget" in their name, a catch phrase for this specific cigar was "Good as Gold". They were often sold in 50-count boxes, and eventually as we got to the mid-20th century, also were offered in foil-wrapped 5-packs.

-When they were first sold, Tampa Nuggets were 5 cents ea., eventually being sold two for 15 cents, and then a whopping 23 cents apiece

-Random fact, but Elvis Presley smoked Tampa Nuggets in the 1960s

-Fairly confident the Nuggets haven't been produced in the past 10 years, as the factory in PR which now makes the remaining Hav-A-Tampa brands is doing all the wood-tipped cigars, like Have-A-Tampa Jewels and Sweets

-Every time I type "Have-A-Tampa," I hear the stupid soda commercials and those girls say, "Don't you want-a-Fanta?" instead

Hope that helps!
-Lindsay