To my fellow collecting friends, TAKE NOTE. I bought this recently believing it to be a potential piece of CW hardtack. I had just the previous week seen a few pieces of NBC hardtack sell with a group of soldiers equipment. Several of my more advanced collecting CW friends felt that this "might" or "could" be an OK marking for the CW, indicating that they owned pieces too. I gambled and bought this piece of "NBC" (National Biscuit Company) biscuit or hardtack. Informed opinions are welcomed, but a few minutes on the internet at home yielded the following information.
The Rise of National Brands. The National Biscuit Company was formed as a result of a battle for cracker territory. As larger and more commercial bakeries rose up in the 1880s, they consolidated to try to grow larger and have more products and therefore profit. By 1890, The New York Biscuit Company in the east and the American Biscuit & Manufacturing Company in Chicago were in an economic battle. In order to stop the chaos, the two companies, with the help of seasoned business lawyers, decided to merge into one national company in 1898. The corporation merged 114 bakeries with 400 ovens and the capacity to consume 2,000,000 barrels of flour a year, and to produce 360,000,000 pounds of crackers annually.-------------In 1898, several baking companies merged to form the National Biscuit Company (NaBisCo). The company had several military contracts for biscuits. By 1902, Nabisco created Barnum’s Animal cookies and made them famous by selling them in a little box designed like a cage with a string attached (to hang on Christmas trees).
So its not CW, but I feel it is likely Spanish American War, at the latest WWI. Cool piece in very good condition, but not of the CW period.
