Did the Pike Place Card turn into the 35th anniversary card or is this a new card altogether?

Pike Place Card Guide

Various names used for the Pike Place Card include:
•   Barista Card
•   Pike Place Card
•   Pike Place Market Card
•   Pike Place Store Card
•   Naughty Siren Card

Pike Place Cards and all the cards using the names listed above reference the original cards only available from the Starbucks Store at the Pike Place Market store in Seattle, Washington that were sold prior to the August 1st, 2006 North America mass distribution sell off. Cards after this date starting with the 6028 production card number should be considered the “35th Anniversary Card”. As of October 2006, Pike Place still sells the original 6021 with the CAR-302 sleeve.

UPDATE

I became aware of the 35th Anniversary Card and the “Pike Place” promotion far in advance of its debut and was thrilled.  As a Starbucks shareholder, I knew this could translate into an overnight jump in shares and possibly into profits! I was so pleased I grinned like Mike Myers in “Goldmember” and something inside me said YEA BABY! This short lived thrill, however, changed the day I walked into my neighborhood store and was surrounded by the promotional advertisements.   I had a cold feeling something had gone wrong. What I immediately saw was a bombardment of advertisement bearing the “Pike Place Magic for Sale”.

Why was I so disappointed?  As a collector I was disappointed to see the production run of this exclusive card would now be massively distributed at multiple stores – not just the exclusive product of the original location of Starbucks, Seattle, Washington.   The release of this card would be nothing more than a marketing strategy with a goal of generating quick revenues.  This release would diminish the legend and romance of the humble beginnings of this amazing card once only available from the original Starbucks location.  This magical card was once the heart of the one and only original store but now, all other stores would be distributing it thus diminishing its original magic.  What makes a legend?  Its humble beginnings.  These humble beginnings should be preserved and kept exclusive.  They should not be mass produced for corporate profits. What we love about Pike Place is the vision and warm feeling knowing that this would some day become the birth of an American icon. Pike Place Cards and merchandise should remain exclusive to the original store.  Loyal Starbucks followers carry, cherish and collect this card with pride because of its origin.

But why is this card so important to us? Because Odysseus did finally find his Ithaca, his struggles were finally over.  The appreciation and “Thank You!” to the Baristas and suppliers that made this visionary journey form a dream into a reality. In essence the time stamped 2001 image on the card depicts the engine or barista that is the heart of company; Katrina in this image is an actual Starbucks employee  or "partner" as Starbucks likes to call it's employees.  This image in the card is not a hired model.  I can tell you that she is no longer with the company and has relocated to Istanbul, Turkey. (Konstantinoupoli, Pali me xronia me kairous pali dikia mas tha nai ...) This image also depicts a humble and innocent pride if Starbucks suppliers. We can clearly see the Fontana line of syrups facing proudly at the camera.  Starbucks currently private labels the Fontana syrup. We can also see the nostalgia of the true “Art of making Coffee” in the La Marzocco espresso machine with all its Italian pride and character.  This machine has long since been replaced by the “Black and White” Swiss ultra automatic “just press the button” machine. The solo cups are also placed in front of the camera even though they are made to look like a random fixture.   Also, the only sizes that can be seen are Vente and Grande.  All four runs depict the cups also shown with the new logo (upside down) which is in contrast with the signage that has the original logo (right side up).

What we see in this card is a time capsule of history - humble beginnings with a hunger and an unsurpassed focus and vision to succeed.  Some of us like to call it Magic that makes the ordinary into the extraordinary and a coffee company to one the greatest legends around the world.  

For a new collector that would like just to collect the card without the matching sleeve, and with the goal of just to filling in the empty spot of their collection, the 35th anniversary card would be more then sufficient since no major differences can be seen on the front images of the original and 35th anniversary cards.

But for the seasoned collectors’ these differences in production runs can be seen like night and day.  Also important to mention are the large number of cards produced in the run 35th Anniversary run.  It is safe to state that the combined earlier runs together produced far less cards than the 6028 mass production run alone.

Now let’s take a quick look at the 3 different Pike Place cards and the 35th anniversary card:

©2002  6007 J107431
©2002  6009 J109408
©2005  6021 CAR-298
©2006  6028 CAR-464 SKU 192339 35th anniversary card

At first glance all the cards fronts look the same, with the exception of the 6021 cards that come with a copper regal tone in color, and production runs 6021 and 6028 have a ® registered symbols instead of the ™ trademark symbols the earlier cards have.

The major differences can be seen on the back:
 ©2002  6007 J107431

There are waive lines covering the pin number (all other runs have the pin covered in gold). Here we can say that all four production runs come with different writings but since this card is the earliest I found we can find changes when comparing to one. Also note that the numbers on this run are hardly visible and very hard to see. The company logo is imposed on the front side of the card. The logo is depicted with a TM symbol for its trademark.
©2002  6009 J109408

The pin is covered with the gold scratch off but still distinguishable.  By moving the card at an angle below a good light source you can clearly see the secret pin numbers.  This is true for more than 50 cards I tested. A major difference between the company logo in this run and the others is the Starbucks logo that is imposed in black against the white background on the front of the image.  This makes the logo look like its 3D. The writing in the back is changed from “To learn the benefits of registration, visit Starbucks.com/card” to”Register your Card at ***.starbucks.*** for additional benefits.” Also added is the “Printed in the USA” after the copyright at the bottom.
©2005  6021 CAR-298

The pin and gold scratch off coating on this run has shifted slightly to the left. The logo is entirely visible on the back this time as opposed to the 3D appearance that is seen in the 6009 production. The significant change is primarily the rewriting of the text on the back of the card.  For example, this run has removed “after 12 months of non-use a $2.00 per month service fee will be deducted from the remaining balance until depleted except in CA or unless prohibited by law”.  We also see a pitch for the Duetto Visa.  

©2006  6028 CAR-464 SKU 192339

The Starbucks logo is imposed on the front of the 35th Anniversary card. The writing on this card has changed significantly since the 6021 run.  There is no mention of Duetto Visa and I’m relatively sure their legal team is responsible for the wording on this card.  This card includes the legal verbiage about terms and conditions that seem to change from card to card.  In this run we also see an internal company SKU number.

About the Card Carries (AKA sleeves)

I refer to Card Carriers as Sleeves. I know other sellers on eBay refer to them as folders, holders, sleeves, boxes, tubes, felt sleeves, envelops and so on. I’m not aware of a single seller that uses the official term used by Starbucks - “Card Carriers”. My official term is a sleeve, which means “Card Carrier”.

The three varieties are:

©2002 SKU 179677 J107431

©2002 SKU 182682 CAR-150 

©2005 SKU 192337 CAR-302

All have the same brassy look on the outer side of the sleeves except the 2002 SKU 179677 J107431 has a more uniformed Shiny all over look and the 2002 SKU 182682 CAR-150  has a more uniformed matte look as opposed to the 2005 which has a shiner look at the cigar band area. The inside description of the 2002 SKU 182682 CAR-150 has a monotone look as compared to the bold look of the text on the 2005 version.

The text has been changed from:

179677 J107431 & CAR-150 Howard Schultz-chairman and chief global strategist, describing his first visit to the Starbucks Pike Place Store in 1981,  Pour Your Heart Into It.
To:
CAR-302- Howard Schultz, chairman, describing his first visit to the Starbucks Pike Place Market store in 1981, from Pour Your Heart Into It.

Logo

About the cigar band and bare-breasted siren, I will not go into it in any detail because I’m unsure of all of the facts.  There has been a lot of written but nothing definitive to explain what was the inspiration behind the design.   What might help you visualize the design process; however are several images that may have inspired Terry Heckler to come up with this design.
Also, please note that in the 1962 book “A DICTIONATY OF SYMBOLS” by J. E. Cirlot; there is a photo of an old twin-tailed siren from a Roman Painting and an illustration of an old 15th century carving Twin-tailed siren. I have never seen the first image and its similarity to the Starbucks logo ever referenced before – I believe I am the first to make the connection.  I think both of these images sparked the creator’s imagination into creating this seductive logo.

The ©2002 SKU 179677 J107431 The ©2002  SKU 182682 CAR-150 The ©2005  SKU 192337 CAR-302

I hope this guide helped you distinguish the differences between the four Pike Place Card production runs.

After repeated requests to answer questions regarding the cards I sell, I’ve decided to develop a brief guide on the Pike Place Cards.  I hope this will shed some light on some of the major differences I have found regarding the four production runs of this legendary card. This guide was developed using various references to the cards that have been made available to the general public and is based on information I have researched and collected.  I am not affiliated with Starbucks Corporation in any way nor do I have any insider knowledge. If you know of any other production runs not mentioned here, please feel free to email me.

Respectfully,

Chris Goulis
Topriority

Copyright © 2006 Topriority
All Rights Reserved.

Starbucks, the Starbucks logo and Starbucks Card are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the Starbucks U.S Brands LLC.. No rights to these marks are claimed or implied "Topriority" is not in any way affiliated with Starbucks Corporation.

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