John Player Special King Size 19 cigarettes: version 1
Saved 2026-09-25 00:52 by @benjaminsen (bot): Added John Player Special King Size 19 cigarettes (EAN-8 40304496), a wanted row named by family/john-player-special. Five German packs of 19 in a flip-top box from the zigsam.at cigarette-pack collection (1980s at 3.85 DM to 1990s at 5 DM, producer Reemtsma, trade mark owner John Player & Sons), each pack as its own observation with its tar and nicotine; wording on the 1980s and 1990s packs read from the collector front and side photographs. Context from Markenlexikon (1982 launch in Germany), Wikipedia and Imperial Brands. Status discontinued: no maker or retailer lists this number and later German JPS packs use other numbers. Gaps: no GS1 licensee for the EAN-8; photographs are unlicensed, so no image attached. Earlier in this run I skipped wanted 4820011570028, a reused catch-all barcode on many unrelated Ukrainian CDs.. This is the current version.
Source of v1
# John Player Special King Size 19 cigarettes <!--product-->
## Identity <!--identity-->
gtin: 00000040304496
name: John Player Special King Size 19 cigarettes
family: family/john-player-special
default_observation: de-1990s-a
summary: German pack of 19 John Player Special King Size filter cigarettes in a black flip-top box, EAN-8 40304496, made by Reemtsma and recorded from the 1980s to the 1990s.
brand: brand/john-player-special
category: category/10000185
net_content: 19 cigarettes
country_of_sale: DE
piece_count: 19
pack_format: flip-top box with cellophane
status: discontinued
<!--/identity-->
## Relations <!--relations-->
| role | target | market | from | until | ended | status | source | note |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------ | ---- | ----- | ----- | ------- | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| brand_owner_at_sale | company/john-player-sons | | | | | printed | ^zigsam-pack2 | The front of the 1990s pack prints "John Player & Sons Nottingham Tobacco Manufacturers" under the royal arms; the collector names John Player & Sons as trade mark owner on every pack |
| manufactured_by | company/reemtsma-cigarettenfabriken | DE | | | | sourced | ^zigsam | The collector names the producer of all five German packs as "Reemtsma" |
<!--/relations-->
## Markets <!--markets-->
| country | status | source | note | observed | condition | origin | price |
| ------- | ------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | --------- | ------ | -------- |
| DE | sourced | ^zigsam | Collector's record of five German packs of 19 filter cigarettes with barcode 40304496, dated from the 1980s to the 1990s, priced 3.85 DM, 4 DM, 4.50 DM and twice 5 DM; the price shown is the latest | | | | DEM 5.00 |
<!--/markets-->
## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name | type | locale | from | until |
| ----------------------------- | ------ | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| John Player Special King Size | name | | | |
| JPS King Size | search | | | |
<!--/aliases-->
## Specifications <!--specifications-->
| property | value | unit | source | note | observation | key | numeric_value | mode | state | method | qualifier |
| -------- | ----- | ---- | ------- | ----------------------------- | ------------- | --- | ------------- | ---- | ----- | ------- | --------- |
| Tar | 15 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1980s-a | | 15 | | known | printed | exact |
| Nicotine | 1.2 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1980s-a | | 1.2 | | known | printed | exact |
| Tar | 15 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1980s-b | | 15 | | known | printed | exact |
| Nicotine | 1.2 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1980s-b | | 1.2 | | known | printed | exact |
| Tar | 15 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-late-1980s | | 15 | | known | printed | exact |
| Nicotine | 1.1 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-late-1980s | | 1.1 | | known | printed | exact |
| Tar | 14 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1990s-a | | 14 | | known | printed | exact |
| Nicotine | 1.0 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1990s-a | | 1 | | known | printed | exact |
| Tar | 12 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1990s-b | | 12 | | known | printed | exact |
| Nicotine | 0.9 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1990s-b | | 0.9 | | known | printed | exact |
<!--/specifications-->
## Observations <!--observations-->
| id | label | kind | market | language | valid_from | valid_until | observed | status | ingredients_text | ingredients_declaration | ingredients_exempt_basis | source | note | net_content | pack_quantity | piece_count | pack_format | model_number |
| ------------- | -------------------------------- | ----- | ------ | -------- | ---------- | ----------- | -------- | --------- | ---------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- | ------------- | ----------- | ---------------------------- | ------------ |
| de-1980s-a | German pack, 1980s, 3.85 DM | label | DE | en | | | | supported | | | | ^zigsam-pack1 | Collector's record and front photograph: black box with "FILTER" on the lid, the gold JPS monogram and "John Player Special KING SIZE"; the catalogue dates it to the 1980s at 3.85 DM | 19 cigarettes | | 19 | flip-top box with cellophane | |
| de-1980s-b | German pack, 1980s, 4 DM | label | DE | | | | | supported | | | | ^zigsam | Collector's record of a second 1980s German pack at 4 DM | 19 cigarettes | | 19 | flip-top box with cellophane | |
| de-late-1980s | German pack, late 1980s, 4.50 DM | label | DE | | | | | supported | | | | ^zigsam | Collector's record of a German pack from the late 1980s at 4.50 DM | 19 cigarettes | | 19 | flip-top box with cellophane | |
| de-1990s-a | German pack, 1990s, 5 DM | label | DE | de | | | | supported | | | | ^zigsam-pack2 | Collector's record with front and side photographs: the royal arms over "By appointment to H.M. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, John Player & Sons Nottingham Tobacco Manufacturers", the gold JPS monogram, "JOHN PLAYER SPECIAL KING SIZE" and the warning "Die EG-Gesundheitsminister: Rauchen gefährdet die Gesundheit"; the side carries a DM 5.00 tax stamp and states that the nicotine (N) and condensate (K) yields measured by ISO are given on the tax stamp | 19 cigarettes | | 19 | flip-top box with cellophane | |
| de-1990s-b | German pack, 1990s, tar 12 | label | DE | | | | | supported | | | | ^zigsam | Collector's record of a second 1990s German pack at 5 DM with lower tar and nicotine yields | 19 cigarettes | | 19 | flip-top box with cellophane | |
<!--/observations-->
## Research gaps <!--research_gaps-->
| observation | domain | state | detail | source |
| ----------- | ------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| | relationships | unknown | No source names the GS1 licensee of EAN-8 40304496, so no gs1_prefix_owner edge; GS1 Germany allocates EAN-8 numbers one at a time, so the number carries no company prefix | |
| | markets | stale | The latest dated evidence for this barcode is the collector's 1990s German packs; the collection records later German JPS packs under other numbers, and neither the maker nor a retailer lists this one today | ^zigsam |
| | packaging | unknown | The two 1980s packs priced 4 DM and 4.50 DM and the second 1990s pack are listed without a readable photograph, so their printed wording is not transcribed | ^zigsam |
| | images | unknown | The zigsam.at pack photographs carry no licence, so no picture is attached | ^zigsam |
<!--/research_gaps-->
## Research <!--research-->
structure_version: 2
reviewed_on: 2026-09-25
note: Built from the barcode outward. The only source printing the barcode is the zigsam.at cigarette-pack collection; its pack pages supply the front and side photographs read for the printed wording.
<!--/research-->
## References <!--references-->
| ref | url | title | accessed | publisher | kind | published | record_id | locator | licence | attribution | upstream |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------ | ---------- | --------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ | ----------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| zigsam | http://www.zigsam.at/B_JohnPlayerSpecial1.htm | John Player Special - regular packs until 2015 | 2026-09-25 | zigsam.at cigarette pack collection | other | | | John Player Special King Size, Germany 1980's to 1990's | | | |
| zigsam-pack1 | http://www.zigsam.at/l6/JohnPlayerSpecialKiS-19DE198.htm | John Player Special King Size 19DE198 (pack photograph) | 2026-09-25 | zigsam.at cigarette pack collection | other | | | Front of the 1980s pack at 3.85 DM | | | |
| zigsam-pack2 | http://www.zigsam.at/l13/JPSKingSize-19DE199.htm | John Player Special King Size 19DE199 (pack photographs) | 2026-09-25 | zigsam.at cigarette pack collection | other | | | Front and side of the 1990s pack at 5 DM | | | |
| brandslex | https://www.brandslex.de/markenlexikon/cover/j/markenlexikon-john-player-special | Markenlexikon: John Player Special (JPS) | 2026-09-25 | Markenlexikon (Toralf Czartowski) | publication | | | 1982 European launch | | | |
| wp-players | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Player_%26_Sons | John Player & Sons | 2026-09-25 | Wikipedia | publication | | | History, 1877 and the 1901 merger | CC BY-SA 4.0 | | |
| ib-brands | https://web.archive.org/web/20260913152353id_/https://www.imperialbrandsplc.com/our-brands | Imperial Brands: our brands, JPS entry and brand timeline (13 September 2026 capture) | 2026-09-25 | Imperial Brands | manufacturer | 2026-09-13 | | JPS entry and brand timeline | | | https://www.imperialbrandsplc.com/our-brands |
<!--/references-->
## About <!--about-->
John Player Special King Size is a filter cigarette of the JPS line, recorded by a cigarette-pack collection on five German packs of 19 in a black flip-top box carrying the EAN-8 barcode 40304496, from the 1980s at 3.85 DM to the 1990s at 5 DM.[^zigsam] Over those packs the stated tar fell from 15 to 12 and nicotine from 1.2 to 0.9.[^zigsam] The collector names Reemtsma as the producer and John Player & Sons as the trade mark owner.[^zigsam] The 1990s pack carries the gold JPS monogram, the royal arms with "John Player & Sons Nottingham Tobacco Manufacturers" and the EC health warning "Rauchen gefährdet die Gesundheit".[^zigsam-pack2]
The JPS line was launched in the United Kingdom in 1970 and is owned today by Imperial Brands.[^ib-brands] Imperial Tobacco brought JPS to Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain in 1982.[^brandslex] John Player & Sons, founded in Nottingham in 1877, became a branch of the Imperial Tobacco Company in 1901.[^wp-players]
<!--/about-->