Monarchs and this seal

[serubi]

Howdy folks,

I bought this deck of Monarchs back in 2012. I noticed the seal is different from all the others I've seen lately. I was hoping someone could explain what it means.

Here's a photo:

Now You See Me 2 edition (left with newer seal - 2016), Original Monarchs (right with old seal - 2012)

In the photo, I've shown the NYSM2 edition with the newer seal. This newer seal also appears on photos of the original Monarchs on T11's store page.

As far as I know, the original Monarchs do not have multiple versions. Does the seal mean anything in particular, or does it not matter?

 

[Lyle Borders]

As far as I know, the original Monarchs do not have multiple versions. Does the seal mean anything in particular, or does it not matter?

The original Monarchs have LOTS of small variations. We have had lots of printings of this deck over the years. Let me break down early Monarch history for you.

Pre-release Monarchs: Blue back (on the cards) with gold ink. 144 decks in existence, all other decks shredded and recycled. These come in a box that looks identical to the box you show on the right, with the same seal.

Original Monarchs, first few printings: Blue back (on the cards) with white. ALSO has the identical box that you show on the right, with the same seal. Not possible from the outside of this box to tell the difference between these and the Pre-release Monarchs - there is NO difference. The tucks are from the exact same printing or identical later printings. Notable features - SMOOTH edge to the seal, four leaves on the branch on the upper right hand corner (and lower left).

Original Monarchs, later printings (#2 or 3 onward, I think?): First design revision. The orientation of the design work on the top flap of the tuck case was reversed. The branch on the upper right hand corner went from 4 leaves to 5 to help with symmetry. The seal changed around this time to have a postage stamp style edge.

There have been other smaller revisions. At some point we changed to a foil seal, I don't remember exactly when this was, but I believe the current deck has a foil stamp akin to the NYSM Monarchs seal, but with gold design instead of silver. The change may have happened when we went to the postage stamp edge, or it may have happened later. Most other changes will have been extremely minor.

All I can say for sure from your photo is that your deck is one of the first two options mentioned, likely the second (Original Monarchs, first few printings).

Hope this helps!

// L

 

[serubi]

Woah, I didn't realize the Monarchs went through so many phases. I never even noticed the 4/5 leaf difference until your post. Pretty cool

Thank you for the quick answer!

 

[Jim D.(2)]

Hi Lyle - Am I understanding you correctly that there is now where to tell if you have one of the 144 decks that "escaped" into circulation without opening the deck? I have blue Monarchs that have the four leaves on the upper right and lower left. The seal looks very much like the one on the right in the photo posted by Serubi. The seal has the same rounded corners on the edges. Is it the gold ink on the back that makes the deck one of the original run?

Thanks for help and sharing your knowledge.
Jim

 

[Lyle Borders]

Hi Lyle - Am I understanding you correctly that there is now where to tell if you have one of the 144 decks that "escaped" into circulation without opening the deck? I have blue Monarchs that have the four leaves on the upper right and lower left. The seal looks very much like the one on the right in the photo posted by Serubi. The seal has the same rounded corners on the edges. Is it the gold ink on the back that makes the deck one of the original run?

Thanks for help and sharing your knowledge.
Jim

I can tell you without question that there is NO DIFFERENCE on the outside of the decks when comparing one of the pre-release (144) Monarchs and the first widely-released printing of the Monarchs. There is no seal that indicates you have a pre-release deck, nor is there a printed element, nor does the cello tear strip, or seal placement, or anything else.

The 144 were packaged into the EXACT same tuck cases and sealed with the EXACT same seals as the rest of the original Monarch run. We packaged those decks, sent them out, previewed them, decided we didn't like how they turned out, shredded and then reprinted the cards. The "newer" Monarchs then went right into the exact same run of tucks and seals.

The "four leaves" and "rounded corner seal" variants were present on both the 144 pre-release decks and at least one regular printing (of thousands of decks) of Monarchs. I don't know exactly which printing saw the removal of the 4-leaf and the changing of the seal, I can say that there are 144 pre-release Monarchs with those variants, and many, many more non-pre-release decks also have those variants.

For clarification - the original 144 decks had gold ink design printed on navy on the back of the actual cards, while all future runs had a white design on navy.

// L