New Pick up 1963 Jello shipping carton

[jayshum]

Fred, I'm curious how you know it's from 1963. Is it the 4-63 on the box or something else?

[Marckus99]

Pretty cool!

[Kenmarks]

Absolutely awesome!

[whiteymet]

Originally Posted by jayshum

Fred, I'm curious how you know it's from 1963. Is it the 4-63 on the box or something else?

Jay

Yeah I am pretty sure that 4-63 is for April 1963. But the carton originated in a part of the country where the 62 Jello set was not test marketed.

[toppcat]

Wow, that's awesome Fred, what a find!

That C3112A stamp could show the packing date for the carton if it can be deciphered.

[whiteymet]

Originally Posted by toppcat

Wow, that's awesome Fred, what a find!

That C3112A stamp could show the packing date for the carton if it can be deciphered.

Dave:

We think alike. I have already contacted a former employee of Post who has helped in the past with similar info.

I'll update any info I receive.

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by whiteymet

Dave:

We think alike. I have already contacted a former employee of Post who has helped in the past with similar info.

I'll update any info I receive.

I wonder if Dan Mabey might know?

[whiteymet]

Originally Posted by whiteymet

Dave:

We think alike. I have already contacted a former employee of Post who has helped in the past with similar info.

I'll update any info I receive.

So, here are two replies I received from the former Post Cereal worker

Hi Fred,

Nice item you picked up! Probably very few of these shipping cases survived. Not sure how sturdy the cardboard was for the 3 oz Jello cases.

I don't have any definite answers for you, but your assumption of 4-63 is what I would guess also. They may have put that information on the outside of the case, to let the retailer know when the product should be put on the shelves, or maybe it was that they shouldn't put the product on the shelves until this date.

As for the C3112A code - I'm not sure. I was thinking it might be the code for the art on the Orange-Pineapple carton, but don't have a carton available to check it. For the cartons I had available, there was a 4-digit code on one of the end flaps. Another thought was that the C3112A was an Order Number for the store that ordered it.

Sorry, I don't have any better answers for you, but you still have a very unique item. Congrats! Please let me know if I can be of any help in the future.

My reply to his forst email:

Thanks for your reply!

When you say :

As for the C3112A code - I'm not sure. I was thinking it might be the code for the art on the Orange-Pineapple carton, but don't have a carton available to check it. For the cartons I had available, there was a 4-digit code on one of the end flaps.

Do you mean individual box and not the word carton?

Fred


his second reply:

Hi Fred,

Yes, the individual carton has an artwork number that MAY be the same as that on the outside of the case. Just for clarification: when I use the term "case" it is for the corrugated cardboard box, the term "carton" is what I use for the 3 oz or 6 oz individual box. For many years, the Carton and Container plant where I worked produced both the corrugated cases and the individual cartons that the finished product was packed in, so when you say "box", it can be confusing as to which container you're talking about.

I had two thoughts after I wrote to you yesterday: I have a scan of an Orange Pineapple press sheet that has 12-16 different carton on it. I can send the scan along (I'm in Kalamazoo today, but the scan is on a flash drive at home) later today or tomorrow. It will show if the artwork number is the same on all of the cartons printed on one press sheet. It may also show if the number matches the one on the outside of your case. My other thought was that maybe the C3112A code was an Order Number for the warehouse, or it could be the item number from an order blank. It might be the same thing as the current SKU (Store Keeping Unit) that they use on the bar codes currently.

Just a couple more ideas....

[JustinD]

Amazing that it was still around after all these years. Must have been storing some well loved items for someone.

[UKCardGuy]

What an amazing find. Are you able to say where you found it Fred?

[Kenmarks]

Originally Posted by whiteymet

Dave:

We think alike. I have already contacted a former employee of Post who has helped in the past with similar info.

I'll update any info I receive.

That's interesting that that code could lead you to the packaging date and thus the year of the cards. Very clever Fred. Impressed.

[whiteymet]

Originally Posted by Kenmarks

That's interesting that that code could lead you to the packaging date and thus the year of the cards. Very clever Fred. Impressed.

Ken and all:

Here is an updated reply from a former Post Cereal/Jello worker with knowledge of the packaging along with a photo of the same code from the end of one of the Jello boxes that came out of the case:

I've never noticed this production code on the shipping case as you NEVER see shipping cases especially after all these years.- just the individual cartons. Normally, this code would give the consumer a code to send along when they have an issue with the product. It would allow the production plant the ability to check production samples around the same time and verify and possibly hold the production still in the warehouse, in case there may be a similar problem. The code on the outside of the shipping case would help locate all of the questionable product still in inventory.

The code follows the pattern mentioned . The 3 for 1963, and 112 for April 22nd. The L or J could possibly represent the production or filling line at the production plant.