Steve Watkins of Portland, Oregon, also specializes in these beehives, and he also collects the skirt and crown letters. He reports that he has two skirt-embossed backward "C's" (""), and one dome-embossed "". I'm inclined to believe that this is a genuine mistake by the mold maker, since by adding a "" to the list, it makes a total of fifteen letters used, eight in back and seven in front. (More on this thought later on).

Another point is that the same colors seem to have the same group of letters, as a rule. I have made up a chart which you will find within this article. It will help illustrate which letters were used (according to color), and the location of the letters. The chart is incomplete as of this date, as I have only contacted a few collectors to have them check their beehives against what I already had. I'd like to thank Steve and Paul for their help in cataloging what they have for the chart. Our three collections combined account for nearly three-hundred beehives, so that makes a fairly good basis for the chart.

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I would like to add a few words of explanation about the chart. As you can see, I have grouped two colors together in each category. This was done to save space, since a larger chart would not have been readable by the time it was reduced in size for the page in the magazine. However, as you catalog your own beehives you can list each color by itself, if you choose. That would be a much better way of doing it, since you would then have an accurate record of your embossings for each exact color. 

As you look at the chart, several things become obvious immediately. For instance, when there is a letter on the front of the beehive, it can appear above or below the "H. G. Co.". But just certain letters appear below, and certain ones appear above. On the back of the beehive, all the letters appear below the "PETTICOAT". (So far none have been reported above). Also, to this date only one has been found to have both front and crown letter (""), but none appear to have both front and back letter. 

Also, it seems that every amber shade has a letter, and so far they all appear in front. But no amber has turned up with just a crown letter. (A very light lemon yellow has been reported with a crown "H"). All the other colors sometimes appear with just a crown letter. And every color except the ambers have skirt and crown letters. When this occurs, the letter is usually on the back, and is the same as the letter on the crown. By studying the chart, you will notice these and other details. 

Paul mentions that in the embossings, they may have skipped the letter "0" because it might be misconstrued as a "C". This brought an idea to my mind, and expanding on it a little, I came up with the following thoughts. Could it be that the first fourteen letters were chosen purposely by the mold makers because they were also the ones most distinctly different from all the other letters in the alphabet? If you will notice in the first illustration, no letter beyond "N" is used. Perhaps this was because any letter after "N" could be misread in a weak embossing as one of the first fourteen letters. For example, a "P" could look like "B", or an "0" could be misread as a "C", a "Q" as a "C." an "R" as a "B", and so forth. In other words, maybe the mold makers tried to make every letter they used as different from one another as they possibly could, in order to avoid confusion. For, if all the letters in the alphabet had been used, confusion most certainly would have resulted, as so many of them are similar in appearance. 

But why was a backward "N" ("") used? It could be that by using "", it was more readily identifiable and not as easily confused with "M". (A "" does look less like an "M" than an "N" does). And why was the letter "F" omitted? Perhaps because it alone, of all the other first fourteen letters of the alphabet, looked too much like other letters ("P" and "T", for instance). By not using any of these three letters, they could never be confused with one another. 

And now for the real puzzler -- the upside-down "L" (""). It looks like a "T", and might be misread as such in a poor embossing, so perhaps it is a genuine mistake, and the mold maker just got it upside-down when he made the mold. However, by using the "", it makes up for their not using "F". and therefore there are exactly seven letters used in back as well as seven in front. As for the "", I tend to believe that it is just a mistake. If it weren't a mistake, then the number of letters used both in front and back would not be the same. 

Now, all of this information on why certain letters were used is pure speculation on my part, and consists entirely of uneducated guesses. It would be very interesting to talk with a mold maker to find out the real reasons why they chose the letters they did, and why they left out certain ones. Maybe some of you have information or knowledge along this line that you can share with us. We'd like to hear from you. 

In conclusion, please write to me at 3269 N. Mt. View Drive, San Diego, CA 92116, if you can add any information to the chart shown in this article, or on the making of mold letters. I know the chart is incomplete, and I am counting on you to help fill in the blanks. Also, I am anxious to hear if any of you have an "F". or a true "N". So far none have been reported. So please check your beehives, make a list of your letter embossings, their locations, and insulator colors, and let's hear from you. 

Incidentally, I have blank copies of the chart which I will gladly send on request. It may make it easier for you to catalog your embossings. I'll send you two copies, one for your own use and one to send back to me, and I'll return your postage if you send me a copy of what you have. I'll compile all the information I receive and publish the results in Crown Jewels in a few months. Thanx in advance for your help!