Recently I've noticed - mostly through perusing the catalog for the ongoing 52+J auction - that some decks have a Canadian tax stamp affixed to them. There's plenty of good information on the web already (mostly from other 52+J members!) on American tax stamps, but you don't see much on Canadian ones.
Does anyone happen to have the skinny on Canadian playing card taxes?
I will put something up on this subject this weekend in the Source
UpdateHere's a bit of information which is mainly from an authoritative source - a collector of excise stamps in Toronto named Chris Ryan.
Playing cards were taxed in Canada starting May 1918, defined in the legislation as a War Tax. The two War Tax stamps flank a slightly later Excise Tax stamp. All three have USPC pre-cancels. The rate varied much of the time until 1927, depending on the value of a gross [that's 144 decks for you young folks] of the cards. I have seen decks with a 50c Excise Tax stamp and also one with two 25c stamps. Effective in 1927 until 1935 the tax was 10c. The 8c stamp would have been used with a 2c Excise Tax stamp. The 10c with the International PCC [from 1931 on Canadian Playing Card Co. was owned by USPC and renamed International PCC] pre-cancel was the norm.. From 1935 to 1941 the tax was still 10c but the stamp changed to the 3 maple leaf variety in the bottom row. From 1941-42 it was 15c. Decks with more than 54 cards paid more, which is why you see a 20c stamp. The 1 Pack stamp was used after that until the 1960's when the tax was repealed.
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