Tax Class Paid Notices

   Federal tax laws required all cigar boxes made in the U.S. to have:

            [1]  tax stamps (1863-1959),

            [2]  factory I.D.’s (1866-1960’s),

            [3]  caution notices (1868-1959)

            [4]  tax class notices (1917-1970’s)

    Tax Class Notices can be some help in dating.

    After 1917 a Tax Class Notice is required to be on the front or bottom of every box for the next 40 years. There’s no easier way to tell at a glance whether a box is before 1917 or after 1917.

    Golden Age boxes don’t have tax paid notices.        

    Machine age (1917-1959) boxes do. 

    Modern (after 1960) boxes don’t.

    OLD ABE is a very typical 1920’s box. You can see the Tax Class A Notice on the right and the orange on blue tax stamp (1917-1942) on the left. Front or bottom, if there’s a Tax Class Notice on the box it can’t date before 1917. If the Tax Class Notice does not mention the price of the cigars, it dates 1917-1918. If the Notice gives a range of selling prices, it dates 1919 - 1980’s.

   

1917                                 

• On the front, nearly  always pasted

• Nickel cigars were Class A

• Dime cigars were Class C

• Retail price of cigars not given

• No mention of tax stamp

• Rarest form

1917 & 1918                                 

• On the front, usually pasted

• Nickel cigars were Class A

• Dime cigars were Class C

• Retail price of cigars not given

• Standard wording of early Tax Class Notice

1919 to 1942                                 

• On front or bottom, usually printed

• Five classes:  A,B,C,D,E

• Nickel cigars were Class A

• Dime cigars were Class C

1. •Cuban cigars were Class E
   

2. •Most common tax class

1920’s & 1930’s

• Fairly typical bottom of a Machine Age box

• Most boxes are Class A

• Oval Tax Class Notice was legal but scarce

• Standardized CN printed on the box

• Three-line ID replaced by a single line

• Factory, state and tax district still also in CN

    Optional color, packer and bander info assisted

    in quality control in a few large companies.

1942 to the mid 1950’s

• Usually printed on bottom

• Seven classes:  A,B,C,D,E,F,G

• Nickel cigars were Class C

• Dime cigars were Class E

• Cuban cigars were Class G

Late 1950’s

• Printed on bottom

• Seven classes: A,B,C,D,E,F,G

This was found on an 1957 box but the exact years of use for this wording are uncertain (probably 1956-1962)

Mid 1970’s

• Printed on bottom

• Seven classes: A,B,C,D,E,F,G

This was on an 1976 WHITE OWL Centennial box and indicates the cigars weren’t made in the U.S.