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Help dating a deck

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Help dating a deck
« on: April 28, 2015, 11:22:11 PM »
 

abugsabunny

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Hi, I found something most unusual from Ebay. It's a plain Bee deck that has an N as the date stamp. According to the usual guide, this could only stand for 1910, which is impossible. Here are some clues:

- The deck was shrinkwrapped with the little pull string intact. The pull string has the word "Bee" all over it.
- There is a card with an offer for the first generation Bicycle Euchre set. I think this is the biggest clue, since the design changed at least once and I think it eventually went out of print, but I can't remember when this first came out.
- There is another card with an offer for reduced trips to casino-oriented cities.
- The multicolor joker just says JOKER. I am used to seeing "THE JOKER" in Bee decks.
- The Ace of Spaces has the word BEE in caps as opposed to mixed case, and the code on the bottom is N 1101.
- The box is the standard older (single color) Bee box, as far as I can tell. The seal generally signals 1980's in my mind.

I've never seen anything quite like it. Do you think this is a genuine deck, or perhaps a bootleg? What year can I put this deck at? Thanks!
 

Re: Help dating a deck
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2015, 11:35:33 PM »
 

abugsabunny

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Just found this crucial clue on the back of the Las Vegas card, a list of books you can order. The Wergin book came out in 1990 so I'm comfortable dating this deck right around there, especially with the code letters having a 20-year cycle. But I'm still curious, why isn't N listed as a letter in the dating guide for anything other than 1910?
« Last Edit: April 28, 2015, 11:35:54 PM by abugsabunny »
 

Re: Help dating a deck
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2015, 01:14:48 AM »
 

andrew daugherty

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I would put it as late 1990 to early 1992.
1. The "0890" at the bottom of the book card indicates August 1990.
2. The Bicycle Euchre game on another extra card was first sold in 1990 or 1991.
3. The N would certainly point to 1990-1992 on the dating code, though those letters have been off a year or two. Generally the A has been 1960, 1980, 2000, etc. 
4. The two-color Bee boxes appeared for the 100th anniversary of the brand in 1992. 
5. Look closer at the extra card advertising the travel offer. There may be an expiration date.

Hope that helps. 
Chris Turner
#2281 aka Andrew. 
 

Re: Help dating a deck
« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2015, 02:24:44 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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Chris seems to have nailed it on the head.  I'll go further by saying if that ad card code you mentioned for the book ad is accurate, the travel ad card is dated October of '90.  I'd wager this deck was printed in late '90 or early '91 and didn't see distribution into customers' hands until at least the spring of '91.


For the Ace of Spades dating code, you need a more up-to-date chart:
http://www.leeasher.com/playground/articles/how_to_date_a_deck_of_cards.html

I've been helping Lee keep this one updated in recent years.  "N" was used in 1910, as you stated, and has hardly been used since - perhaps they wanted to avoid people mistaking it for an M or something like that.  Regardless, "N" was revived and used regularly in 2011.  Use of the code letter N in the AoS code for the time period of '90-'91 might simply be a previously-unknown one-off or rare occurrence for the period.  It's not like things like this haven't happened before.  A recent example was sporadic use of the code letter H on decks made in 2013, most of which bear a code letter S instead.  Tom Dawson has fondly reminded me that the AoS code by itself isn't always the best indicator, because they've been known to be wrong on occasion - USPC doesn't always follow its own apparent schedule about which letter gets used when.

I will point out, though, that it's become a lot simpler since the move to Kentucky.  USPC now adds a four-digit prefix to the letter which indicate the week and last two digits of the year the deck was printed.  For example, if a code of "2611-N4593F" was found on a deck, you'd know it was made in the 26th week of 2011, right around the end of June or beginning of July.  (In reality, though, there's a good chance you'll never see that exact week/year combination - just as they take a two-week break for Christmas and New Year's Day, I seem to recall USPC shuts down operations for two weeks around the Fourth of July annually as well, meaning they're probably closed on the 26th week of most years.)
« Last Edit: April 29, 2015, 02:32:12 AM by Don Boyer »
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Re: Help dating a deck
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2015, 12:25:45 AM »
 

abugsabunny

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This is very helpful - and fascinating. Big thanks to both of you!