Scans are here;
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3z_eB ... sp=sharing
I noticed a few things!
From my memory, The Mirage Block was the first to begin printing outside of Belgium.
In the Visions printing we have several boosters stating that they are made in the USA
- Pre release,
English,
Korean and
Traditional Chinese
So far so good.
We know that the USA facility uses a different crimping style than the Facility in Belgium. The USA version and the Pre Release version both have the American crimping as expected.
The Chinese and Korean boosters have the normal Belgium crimping style and not the expected USA style crimping.
The Chinese and Korean boosters have a booster foil that is less reflective, not so noticeable to the naked eye but the camera and scanner picks up on it.
The Chinese and Korean boosters are all shorter than the Belgique made boosters, as are the US made boosters (pre release and English variant).
So it looks to me like we have Chinese and Korean boosters claiming to be made in the USA, but using a completely different foil wrapper to the Belgium and USA boosters, but remarkably similar to the Pre release booster foil. The Chinese and Korean boosters are sealed using the same style of sealing that the Belgium boosters receive but different from the sealing used in the USA.
The pre release booster is sealed differently from the other US crimps in that the top and bottom crimps are very narrow.
All boosters claiming to be made in the USA are consistently smaller than their Belgique counterparts.
So what is going on?!
Were the Chinese and Korean boosters actually made in the USA, and if so, why is the foil and crimping different?
Why are there three different crimping styles used in the USA? Different factories?