Duncan Official Mickey Mouse Club Yo-Yo Return top. No. 1451, version 1. Originally sold for 59¢. "If it isn't Duncan it isn't yo-yo". Catch phrase was changed from "If it isn't a Duncan, it isn't a yo-yo".
This version is a little harder to find compared to version 2a and version 2b. On side A, the yo-yo has "Mickey Mouse Club" with a single large face of Mickey Mouse below the words. Side B has a colorful starburst design radiating from the center, with the words MICKEY MOUSE CLUB DUNCAN YO-YO RETURN TOP.
Compare with version 2a which has a different side A design and different side B text.
At the end of Duncan's fiscal year, May 31, 1963 -- which also marked the annual conclusion of their promotions for the season until Fall -- Duncan switched from using polybags (as seen in this exhibit) to using blister cards (also known as bubble cards) for their product. A blister carded version of this Duncan Imperial Jr. yo-yo was released in the Fall of 1963.
Besides the move to bubble cards, May 1963 also marks the time that Duncan began to switch from using alphanumeric and two- and three-digit stock codes to using all four-digit stock codes. Knowing this information can help you date early to mid-1960s Duncan yo-yo products.
