I have attached an image contributed by Rod Starling, borrowed from WPC. Although the USPCC CODE has become more complex around this time, this is actually the original quality control number.
This CODE format, often seen in Congress brands, represents "month-year-paper number". Of course, there are exceptions and irregularities.

As a reminder, the four-digit paper number includes the category number.

The meaning of the paper number changes somewhat with the age of the paper number, but the essence remains the same today.

Although there is no confirmation yet, it is possible that the original draft of this USPCC CODE came from a technical manager of a manufacturer affiliated with NYCC or NCC.
Thoughts?

Let me explain in more detail.
A lot is a unit of "a group of products manufactured continuously under the same conditions.

Therefore, even if the paper number changes, the lot is the same if it is continuously manufactured.

Let us take an example as an image,

Suppose 50,000 sheets of BICYCLE RIDER BACK were produced in 1990 and the USPCC CODE was N1416, N1417, N1418, N1419, N1420, N1421, N1424, N1426, N1427, N1431.
Even if additional rolls of paper are replenished, if the paper rolls are produced continuously under the same conditions, then 50,000 pieces constitute one lot.

The reason why paper numbers are not sequentially numbered is a matter of convenience at the time at the mills, and has no special meaning because paper rolls are reserved for other products and cannot be used.

The size, length, and paper number of paper rolls change from year to year, but there is a clear trend.

Let me add this to the conversation. On July 2, 1894, the United States Printing Company became The United States Playing Card Company. Why did they wait 4 years to start date coding? Nothing I could find in their history points to an event to start coding their cards. Production didn't change, their new factory in Norwood would not be in production until 1901. Why the change?  It seems like the coding would have started after the name change. Thoughts?

hi,NCC1888



My opinion is that it's because the number of production has increased.

USPCC DATE CODE is printed with alphabets and numbers. Everyone ignores the numbers, but experts must have noticed that the numbers increase in proportion to the number of products produced.

The letters represent the year of production, and the numbers represent the paper number.

A paper number is a number assigned to the paper roll that is the raw material for Playing Cards, and is a quality control number assigned to avoid confusion at the production site.

In the 1800s, the quality of paper used as raw materials varied, and it was a matter of luck whether you received high-quality paper or low-quality paper. This problem was a problem faced by all manufacturers, not just USPCC. Therefore, high-quality paper was used for high-quality decks, and low-quality paper was sold as cheap decks such as Steamboat. Advertisements at the time listed various stock names and finish names, but these were just slogans to promote quality.


Around the end of the 1800s, when production numbers were low, it was deemed sufficient to use only a copyright notice and date, but as the variety of decks became vast, problems such as material errors increased at production sites, making it necessary to strengthen production control.

In addition, in the 1890s, there was fierce competition among manufacturers for copyrights and consolidation such as corporate acquisitions, and the rampant use of copied products was also a problem due to the recession caused by the economic depression.

I believe that the USPCC DATE CODE was introduced on a trial basis to solve this problem.

At the time, there were very few ways to prove that a product was a company's own product.
Therefore, I assume that the introduction of this system was done behind the scenes.

For example.
If there was a code D89, it would mean 'a deck made in 1901 from paper rolls of paper No. 89'.
(By the way, this is different from a lot.)

Later, after 1900, manufacturers under the USPCC voluntarily introduced the USPCC DATE CODE.
However, this caused the DATE CODE to enter a period of chaos from 1910 to around 1930.

If the Playing Cards market size in the US had not expanded, there might not have been a USPCC DATE CODE.

These are my opinions.

Tom and Judy Dawson's idea that ``it is not possible to determine the exact year of manufacture with JOKER alone'' is correct. This is because the 52-card deck and accompanying cards may have been created on different days.

That's why I'm explaining it with a deck made by Fireside Game Company so that no one can deny it.

Please check this thread again until you understand. I can't explain it any more clearly than this. sorry.

I'm not angry.

Don has a point in denying it, and he is not refusing to be denied.
The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards, compiled by Tom and Judy Dawson, has become a guide for all USPCC deck users.

 That hasn't changed even today.

However, the Internet was not yet that widespread at that time, and the scale has changed dramatically between individual statistical research and today's ability to connect with users around the world.

The global spread of the Internet makes it easy to uncover the truth behind superstitions and industry rumors.

The magic industry is still very secretive, and very few people are willing to voluntarily disseminate correct information.


I have seen many magicians, cardists, and deck users, and most of them said that they were not interested in anything other than their own interests.
Even if users were interested in the correct information and history of the industry, only a minority of users took action to find out on their own.

Everyone gets excited when they open a USPCC deck. Many people check the quality first. When we opened a deck and saw that it was of high quality, we all wondered, 'When was this made? ? you might think.
However, the USPCC DATE CODE list is full of errors.
Everyone's interest and curiosity towards the deck will eventually shift elsewhere, and eventually they will get bored with it. This is the current situation.

Past indicators are great, but even if you cling to them, you will never see the truth.

If we don't create the right indicators for the young generation, now in their teens and 20s, isn't decline just around the corner?

You all realize how bewildered and passionless users around the world are who believe the information you send out?

Don, what you are trying to tell me is that you don't trust anything other than studies published by 'recognized pioneers' such as Dawson and Lee, right?

You have 'refuted' my research but have never 'disproved' it.

Please present a clear physical rebuttal by all 52plusjoker. It would be more constructive and advance the research.

Quote from: NCC1888 on April 12, 2022, 10:45:04 PM

You might find this story I did about Fireside helpful.   https://pcconnections.weebly.com/mr-wilson-and-fireside-games.html

This link is dead, due to your update of the article.


https://pcconnections.weebly.com/mr-wilson-and-fireside-games---updated-aug-2022.html


Touya, I'm not entirely convinced about the use of the letter codes on the jokers.  I was told by none other than Tom Dawson himself that there were numerical and alphanumerical codes in place on the joker for many decks, but that no strict correspondence could be established between those codes and the date of manufacture - sometimes even the code on the Ace of Spades wasn't created in accordance with the established pattern.


Lee Asher has stated on his website, in his article on dating USPC decks, that the letter codes on Aces of Spades didn't come into existence until 1904 - and other articles I've read corroborate this.


https://www.leeasher.com/blog/how-to-date-a-deck-of-playing-cards.php


As far as the continued use of the letter codes - the new numerical system makes dating a deck more of a science than an art, allowing you to know the exact week of production, but with the codes only being used on decks produced by USPC rather than produced by a third party and printed by USPC, it's of limited usefulness - though many if not most late-model decks do also bear copyright information, often found on the bottom of the tuck box.

Are you or Lee really promoting that theory after confirming the actual deck?

Quote from: touya on August 09, 2023, 06:44:12 AM

Quote from: Don Boyer on August 09, 2023, 03:08:13 AM

Quote from: Chuqii on August 06, 2023, 04:26:30 PM

And here are the Spade courts, Ace and Joker.  See above post for all sides of tuck for 1936 Stud Playing Cards.

Hey, Chuqii, are you sure that those are from 1936?


Every source I've found listing a history of Stud Playing Cards says that Walgreens didn't start making them until 1980.


http://playingcards.wikidot.com/other-uspcc:stud
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/playing-cards/stud-playing-cards/#:~:text=In%201980%2C%20Walgreens%20began%20producing,cards%20with%20a%20complete%20makeover.
https://www.collectorplayingcards.com/2019/10/16/stud-playing-cards/
https://blackmarketdecks.com/products/stud?variant=31561835773986

I have an idea - are there any ZIP codes printed on the tuck box?  If so, it's definitively not from that long ago, as ZIP codes weren't developed until the early 1960s and weren't in widespread use until the early 1970s.

hi,don


The content posted on the wiki is just a volunteer compilation of preliminary information at the time, including rumors that were circulating in the industry. Why do you continue to worship the wiki's old information so much and deny the latest research? I don't understand.

When I was looking through American newspaper advertisements, I found traces of Lee Asher. I admired his dedication to research. I would love to hear his opinion.


My guess is that the STUD deck that Chuqii posted was acquired from a famous collector, not from the general marketplace such as ebay. A 1936 STUD should be as rare as a Radium Deck.

It's not a matter of worship - it's simply that this information is in contradiction to all other information I'd obtained to this point.  That doesn't mean my sources are right - just different.

I see.
If you think this doesn't fit with your past knowledge, please read this thread again to understand.

The information in this thread is the most current and accurate source of information.

The reason I researched the history of STUD was because I could not find the correct source of information anywhere. It was because there were many people in trouble because of it.

I have tried to summarize and publish the information quite carefully, but if you are not convinced, please collect STUDs from each period by yourself, verify them again, and make a decision.

And here are the Spade courts, Ace and Joker.  See above post for all sides of tuck for 1936 Stud Playing Cards.

hi, Chuqii.

Thanks for the great find!

Based on the embossed shape, I believe that Deck was definitely made in 1936.

I am also very happy that that STUD Deck came to you and not someone else.

Due to the lack of the registered trademark symbol on the tuck, I?d say it was 1990 or a bit before. But let us know if you open it to find out for sure.

Based on my statistical research results,
From 1990 to 1991, when the specifications changed significantly, it seems that the registration of the registered trademark symbol was delayed.

As you all know, BICYCLE, Bee, and TALLY-HO brands are still undergoing subtle design changes on a regular basis, depending on the era. Until the 1980s, USPCC decks tended to allow printing faintness and ink bleeding within certain standards.

USPCC's Playing Cards are printed using a mold, so in order to change the design, it is necessary to create a master plate, so it seems that there was a gap before the registered trademark mark was attached.

Therefore, decks from 1990 to 1992 have many exceptional specifications.

I took a picture of the short barcode from the deck that I could take out immediately.

The color of the Tuck Case varies depending on the year of manufacture.

Really nobody has an idea when this design switch on the box might have happened?

My opinion is that it was around 1990-1993.

Tuck Case appears to date to about 1990-91.

The deck inside may date to 1990-93.

These are the contents of "The Whole Story of STUD".

This time I am using a term I coined myself. Please let me know when there is a correct name or a better way.

If there is anything else I don't understand, I will reply.


Thank You.