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Comments
700/1
700/3
And if the were older 1950s boxes it gets way more complex, since some box tops had the local language on them for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Switzerland, while others only came in an international "LEGO System" box top (Portugal, France, Italy, Belgium). Switzerland always had canister sets for the 700/0 thru 700/6 series of basic set boxes.
Here are the variations of the 1953- 1960 700/3a basic sets. Many of these (from 1955-58) you can usually determine which specific country they originated from, others you can't (they use the international "LEGO System" on the box. The 1953-65 LEGO basic sets are the most complex series of basic sets LEGO ever produced. And that doesn't even count the 1949-53 Automatic Binding Bricks 700/1-700/3 basic sets.
Box variations for the different continental European countries the 700/x LEGO sets were produced in.....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/istokg/albums/72157645472562780
Then the question becomes.... do the boxes have their own inserts? Oritinal inserts add a LOT of value to the sets....
And even with original insert (turned upside down for easier storage of LEGO parts)... and original parts... you probably have this "mayhem".... because the parts are randomly found in the box after they've already been played with..... (note: after 1954 the boxes mainly come in only red and white bricks, with a few trans-clear bricks thrown in). This 700/1 set dates to 1954, with more brick colors....
I helped the owner of this set from the Netherlands restore his set back to it's original packing condition (some of the inserts get turned upside down)... which always involves something akin to a checkerboard layout. Here is what I helped him restore (mainly re-arrange) it to (and greatly enhanced the value of the set)....
These sets all originally had the bottom box shrinkwrapped, as can be seen in this larger 700/0 set of 1960-65....
All of these images are from my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide, which is being expanded to a 9 volume publishing book deal, and I had mentioned that my (cheaper) online (computer desktop) gide was now a closed edition... well the publishers in China and USA (2 language versions) has not yet said STOP... so it is still available for a short time.... ;-)
Also it gets much more complicated than that... the sets of continental Europe are different than those same numbered sets of Britain/Ireland/Australia (British LEGO Ltd., a UK licensee).....
Continental Europe....
(Blue numbered boxes date to 1960-61, yellow numbered boxes date to 1961-65.)
Britain/Ireland/Australia of the same sets (not all sets were sold in both regions)....
The sets of Britain/Ireland/Australia have a white price circle on the sides of the box, which is not found in continental European boxes.
And then there is the box top/side LEGO logo identifier....
Continental Europe (1960-65) and UK/Ireland/Australia (1960-64) box logo (with "System")....
1964-65 UK/Ireland/Australia box top logo (no "System")....
And then there are the 700/x inside box tops.... those of continental Europe....
And the 700/x sets of UK/Ireland/Australia have this inside box top....
LEGO sets (and parts) are very complicated in the 1950 and 1960s (until 1972)... so there are so many different variations... that it becomes almost numbing on the number of variations to the same set number!!