Collector Codes

One bit of material which may be of interest (or even use!) to some collectors has been on file (and freely available) for several years.  There seems no good reason to hide it away.  So, here goes .....

MANUFACTURER'S NUMBERS (MAN#s) and INTERNATIONAL COLLECTOR CODES (ICCs)

When, why and how did MAN#s start?  When did collectors start to use them?  Are they a helpful way to organize a collection?

Lesneys had a numbering problem.  For several years there were more than the obvious 75 models in production at any one time and it became more and more difficult to keep track of them all and their numerous components!

In 1982, Lesney Products, or more probably those who took over management of the company in that year, decided to allocate a unique number to every model then in production or at the design stage.  They started with the 1-75 line as it then existed and went on from there.  There were numerous inconsistencies, especially at the start, and some already discontinued models had to be included later - somehow!  Once the system had settled down, only new castings were given new numbers, which they kept for life.

As collectors, we had coded our models 1A, 1B, 1C, ..., but by the 1980s, there was so much dual numbering and models being released without any number at all that, quite apart from the factory, we needed an effective system for sorting our collections.  The system was explained in the first issues of the Lesney Link magazine in 1985-86 and used in my Concise Checklist ... and a number of collectors began to use them - it was suggested these numbers might be called ICCs (see title above) but that didn't catch on.  To-day, MAN #s are an integral part of the referencing system.

The list that is to be found on the next page gives every MAN# number for every Miniature in the line between 1983 and 1998.  At that point, long after I had given up collecting new models myself, I put the list to bed for keeps!  I will send a printable copy, with full notes, etc., on receiving an e-mail - there is no charge - but please give me your own name (no aliases!) and country/state.

WARNING - The page listing all the numbers may take a long time to download - don't do it if you are in a hurry!

                                                                       New page  6 Nov 2002

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