Lego or copy??

WESTIEKATH

Hi everyone - really need some help please. Bought a job lot of Lego from someone. Many of the items (mostly red) are very dubious to me. They are clearly marked with Lego logo on studs but the plastic seems really inferior. Also there are no part numbers on them. Some have a couple of numbers then the word 'patent'. Also some of the studs have a slight raised ring above the top of the stud. Could anyone advise if Lego ever did this please. If not I appear to have half a job lot of duds :-(
Many thanks in advance

Jay37

If the plastic is 'glossier' it's likely they are the older cellulose acetate (CA) bricks from the late 50s/early 60s. The logo might look different and the ring is just a molding quirk. 'Pat pend' is common from about 1958 to 1968, and part numbers didn't start appearing until the mid-80s. Red has been one of the original colors so not surprised you have a lot of these.

If you could post a picture here of a selection of items we can have a better idea and maybe see for certain.

P6tu

With the rised edges on the studs - those are very likely original, but just very old. And red ones are quite ordinary finds, as are white bricks.

WESTIEKATH

@Jay37 yes they are much glossier and lighter in shade. Its quite strange as they look like a copy as they are a much lighter brick! I will post pics tomorrow. So if they are genuine how would i list these on my store please?

Jay37

Without knowing exactly what parts you have, it's difficult to say. If for example you have some 2x4 bricks without cross supports (so missing the 'wall' across the middle tube) then you can list them here

https://www.brickowl.com/catalog/lego-red-brick-2-x-4-earlier-without-cross-supports

and simply add a public note explaining they're the CA type. Likewise some 1x? bricks have no underside pins and have a separate catalog entry. Maybe search "without cross supports" to see what comes up. I imagine that back in the 50s/60s the part selection was somewhat limited and would have predominantly been bricks (I believe plates came in a bit later), so I'm guessing that's what you have most of.

As long as you explain in the public note that these are the CA versions you should be covered. Another thing is these had a tendency to warp which is why ABS took over as the plastic of choice. You might find that many of these parts have a looser clutch or don't sit right as a result, so best to mention that if that's the case.

WESTIEKATH

@Jay37 sorry for slow reply - that awful thing called work got in my way
Thanks for all your help - again