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BT Tourism Tender Cards

In 1993, three years before British Telecom (BT) introduced the new chip based telephone card, BT contacted various telephone card manufacturers to tender for the contract to supply and produce The New BT Phonecard (pictured right). Nine companies responded and produced samples for the tender adjudication process. This webpage features the sample cards that were NOT part submitted within the tender adjudication process.

For further information about the BT tourism tender cards please see:

‣BT Tourism Tender Card Story
‣BT Tourism Tender Card Examples

Example M - Unconfirmed A - Full face, reverse of card blank

Pictured above - The Beefeater image as it should appear on the telephone cards, below in Examples M and N the image has been reversed.

The card pictured below does not appear in the records for the trial/tender adjudication process. None of the reversed image beefeater cards, whether punched for a chip or plain were submitted.

Possible explanation? "The reverse image one was almost certainly a gaff with the printing, and would almost certainly have been noticed before submission, and would have been spirited out of the factory as possibly being of value."

Unconfirmed A - Beefeater - reversed image - not reverse printed

Pictured below - Beefeater - reversed image

Example N - Unconfirmed B - Full face, reverse of card blank

The card pictured below does not appear in the records for the trial/tender adjudication process. None of the reversed image beefeater cards, whether punched for a chip or plain were submitted.

Unconfirmed B - Beefeater - reversed image - blank space for chip to be inserted - not reverse printed

Pictured below - Beefeater (reversed image) with blank space for chip to be inserted.

Example O - Unconfirmed C - Green header, grey strip and grey margin around card, embedded with GEM Gemplus chip module.

The card pictured below does not appear in the records for the trial/tender adjudication process. Only Soliac submitted cards with the chip pad pattern as pictured in the card in the card below. Solaic did not submit any cards with the grey background however. The only company that submitted cards with a grey background was Gemplus, but they only submitted punched cards, not embedded ones.

Possible explanation? "More than likely from Gemplus, cannot explain the chip pad. Maybe they were making cards for someone else, and decided to use that companies chip pad, then thought better of submitting someone else's property. Once again, probably spirited out of the supplier of printer."

Unconfirmed C - King Henry VIII - matt finish

Pictured below - King Henry VIII - matt finish

Example P - Unconfirmed D - Green header, grey strip and grey margin around card, embedded with GEM Gemplus chip module.

The card pictured below does not appear in the records for the trial/tender adjudication process. Only Soliac submitted cards with the chip pad pattern as pictured in the card in the card below. Soliac did not submit any cards with the grey background however. The only company that submitted cards with a grey background was Gemplus, but they only submitted punched cards, not embedded ones.

Unconfirmed D - Finn McCool - matt finish

Pictured below - Finn McCool - matt finish

Tourism Tender Cards

For further information about the BT tourism tender cards please see:

‣BT Tourism Tender Card Story
‣BT Tourism Tender Card Examples

Pictured below - A selection of tourism cards that were produced in the tender to supply The New BT Phonecard.

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Last updated: 8th January 2024