USPCC DATING CODE

A reliable way to date decks made by the United States Playing Card Company (USPCC) is the dating code printed on the ace of spades at the time it was manufactured. The code is helpful in dating decks after 1904, the year it started. The code consists of a letter, and a 4-digit number. The letter is really the only thing helpful to collectors; the numbers are likely related to the printing run. National Playing Card Co. and New York Consolidated Co., at the time subsidiaries of USPCC, also used these same codes. As Andrew Dougherty and Russell Playing Card Co. became part of USPCC they also began to use the codes. Use this chart to determine the year the deck was printed. Since there are many dates for each letter, you should look at the tax stamp (if any), design of the ace of Spades, and style of the box (if any!) to determine the correct year for the deck. It is also worth noting that older decks can often be found in newer boxes, and vice versa, presumably because inventory of boxes and decks did not always run out at the same time.

The letter Q was also used in many decks made in 1991 or 1992. This chart is reproduced from the Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards, an EXTREMELY helpful book for any collector of U.S. playing cards.

USPC TAX STAMPS

This stamp was in use from 1894 to 1896. The text is 'PLAYING CARDS - ON HAND AUG. 1894 - TWO CENTS' and 'U.S. - I.R.'.

 

This stamp was in use from 1894 to 1917. The text is 'PLAYING CARDS - ACT OF AUG. 1894 - TWO CENTS' and 'U.S. - I.R.'. The stamp was cancelled by the U.S.P.C.CO. with the date 5-1-01.

 
 

These stamps are similar to one above, they were in use from 1917 to 1919. The overprint mentions 'Act of 1917', when taxes were increased, and on the second stamp also the new value '7 CENTS'.

 

These also were in use from 1917 to 1919, the Act of 1917 is referenced by the overprint '17'. They were cancelled by N.Y.C.C.CO.

 

This is another stamp in use from 1917 to 1919. The overprint is the new value '7'. It was cancelled by S.P.C.CO. (Standard).

 

These again were in use from 1917 to 1919, the centre row of the cancelling shows the new value '7 CTS.' (cancelled by R.P.C.Co. (Russell) and dated 10-4-'17) resp. '7 CENTS' (cancelled by S.P.C.Co. (Standard) dated 10-4-1917).

 

This is the last version in use from 1917 to 1919, the overprint shows the new value '7c'. Both stamps were cancelled by R.P.C.Co. (Russell) on '1-25-'18'.

 
 

These stamps were in use from 1918 to 1919. The text is 'U.S.INT.REV.', 'PLAYING CARDS', and 'CLASS A'. Both stamps have have '7 CENTS' in the centre row of the cancellation, and they were cancelled by the U.S.P.C.Co. with the date 3-4-1919.

 
 

These are two more of the 'CLASS A' stamps, they were in use from 1919 to 1924. The text is 'U.S.I.R.', 'PLAYING CARDS', and 'CLASS A'. The left stamp has an '8c' overprint, and was cancelled by the P.P.C.Co., the right stamp was cancelled by U.S.P.C.Co. dated 8-1-1922.

 
 

These stamps were in use from 1919 to 1924. Note the '8 Cts.' resp. '8c' overprint! The left stamp was cancelled by the AD (Dougherty), the right one by R.P.C.Co. (Russell), both with dated 4-1-19.

 

This stamp was in use from 1924 to 1929. The text is 'U.S.I.R.', 'PLAYING CARDS', and '10 CENTS'. The stamp was cancelled by W. P. L. CO.

 

 

This was a stamp in use from 1929 to 1940. The text is 'PLAYING CARDS', '10 CENTS', and 'U.S.INT.REV.'. The stamp was cancelled by K. P. Inc. in 1930.

 

This stamp was in use from 1940 to 1965. The text is 'PLAYING CARDS', '1 PACK', and 'U.S.I.R.'. It was cancelled by A.P.C.CO. (Arrco).

 

This is another stamp in use from 1940 to 1965. The text is 'PLAYING CARDS', '1 PACK', and 'U.S.INT.REV.'. It was cancelled by E.E.F. CORP. (Fairchild).

Taxes on playing-cards were abolished in the U.S.A. in 1965. Many manufacturers continued using stamps with their own design to seal the package.

 

For some time, there also was a stamp for free-of-tax cards. This is a stamp that was in use for the U.S. military c. 1946