Identify age of bricks

[SirBrick]

Hi,

I have recently bought some Lego bricks marked as "new" on BrickLink to build a MOC. I would like to ensure that I haven't received old "new" parts which could potentially contain cadmium. What I found out is that bricks produced later than 1985 should be safe. Would it be accurate to say that bricks with the LEGO text, part ID, and mold information (position and number) were produced from 1985/1990 until now? (This would be a pretty easy-to-spot indicator.) Does a higher mold number indicate that a brick was produced later? (I understand that a mold is used for several years and multiple molds are used simultaneously, so there might be some discrepancy of a few years.)

I appreciate any insights or additional information. Thanks in advance!

Best

[MAB]

You are very unlikely to receive new condition bricks pre 1985 unless you paid a premium for them. If they were new in a sealed set of that age, usually the set is worth more than the parts. That turns around for modern sets, but new vintage sets have a significant premium compared to vintage parts. And if it was parted out, the seller would probably note their age, as again there would be a premium for parts that age in new condition. 

[Mylenium]

Agree with @MAB. At this point it's safe to assume that any bricks that are out there and are actually usable are post 1990 or even later unless they come as a sealed legacy set. I would also argue that since they were only available in the classic mainstream colors they have long been mingled and replaced so many times that the appearance of a 1980s brick in a random lot would be like finding a gold nugget. People have used those bricks and regardless of whether they simply became unusable or people dumped them when they cleaned house there should be very few still in circulation.

Mylenium

[JopieK]

@LEGO Historian should be able to help you out!

[SirBrick]

Ok, that makes sense. I have mostly light and dark bley, white and black colored bricks. The bley colors were introduced in 2003/2004, and the black and white are probably the most produced colors, making it even more unlikely to get a pre-1985 one?

But would the part ID (introduced in 1985), half circles on the underside of a brick (introduced in 2012), and other changes give me a clue about which era a certain brick is from? I found a picture where some changes over the years are described for a 2x4 brick. Does anyone know if they apply to other bricks as well in terms of the years they were introduced? (I am aware that the position of part IDs, etc., varies from part to part.)

 

Edited July 4, 2024 by SirBrick

[Stereo]

I wouldn't expect mold numbers to be completely unique; they start over any time they redesign the part.  I expect they're for internal QC so they'd only be taking care that they don't run multiple with the same number simultaneously.

 

I just looked at my headlight bricks cause I happened to have them sitting around for a MOC, and the early '90s to around 2000 ones have only a mold number (1, 5, 6, 13, 15).  The more recent ones with a slot have the (C)LEGO, mold+position stamps (1-2, 4-29, 19-35, 29-35, 43-39, 25-2, 25-13, 10-24, 14-24)

I did find one oddity though, the 10-24 and 14-24 ones are actually stamped in two locations - 24-14 in the spot the other ones have it, plus 14-24 on the bottom surface of the brick.  I think they're probably mold 24 since 24-10 and 24-14 having the same weirdness makes more sense.

 

"Old" style with only 15 is on a dark grey brick which actually puts it in a pretty narrow time window of 1999-2003, I know mine are from 7111 and 4489.

Just to make sure I have a reference point, "new" style 61-40 and 62-46 are from a set 30435 that I'm confident has never been shuffled into my other lego.  Same set has 07-68 on a 2x3 plate; if I continue reading numbers I'll probably go from those cause they're easier.

Edited July 4, 2024 by Stereo

[Mylenium]

  On 7/4/2024 at 11:24 AM, SirBrick said:

Does anyone know if they apply to other bricks as well in terms of the years they were introduced?

Expand  

Bricks get changed all the time, sometimes in an unnoticeable way by tweaking the manufacturing tolerances. Unless you are in touch with LEGO themselves there would be no way to find that out. Of course there are a few indicators like "mini tubes" on the undersides of 1 x bricks and plates having holes or not, with the older ones usually being filled. Likewise, on some elements you can tell by the injection points and their placement. It's all its own science. That said, there is of course always an antithesis to all of that which would thwart your best laid plans. Currently for instance they still use 1 x 1 tiles with injection points on one of the edges, but also the newer version where that point is on the underside. Same for a few other elements. You can even get both versions in the same color in the same set as apparently it merely depends on how everything is packaged together from different stock from different factories. Anyway, not meaning to ramble on. For your original question I stand by what I have already said. I'd consider it extremely unlikely that you'd end up with such old bricks in a random lot. Valuable elements would long have been sorted out and be sold separately, complete sets would be marked accordingly and the mundane stuff would long have gone the way of the wind if not part of someones meticulously curated private collection.

Mylenium