The Zodiac was thought to have sent this card on October 5, 1970, claiming 13 vicitms. He also makes the (upside down) statement that "Fk – Im Crackproof".
Now upside down:
Like the "Peek through the Pines" card it is composed of images and words cut out from newspapers and then glued onto the card.
Jack the Ripper , the Black Dahlia, the NYC Mad Bomber "FP", as well as many kidnappers ransom notes, did similar cards.
ROLAND: There have been ongoing discussions in the Z researchers community if the card was an authentic Zodiac communication. Here a link to articles stating that the inked words on the address side of the [PINES] card had been confirmed as Zodiac’s by handwriting expert Sherwood Morrill at that time.
http://www.zodiackiller.com/LassArticles.html
AK: I think it is important to note that IF the Pines paste up card was really from Zodiac, IMO that increases the chances that this paste up card could also be legit.
BRUCE3: ‘Crack proof’ is on the 10/5/70 card and ‘crack proof’ is used in the 3/13/71 letter with like ‘I have always said [10/5/70]I am crack proof ‘as a clear reference to the 10/5/70 card. Also, the 10/5/70 card has the same unusual stamp or ‘In the beginning God…’that the 10/27/70 card has!
AK: Most people seem to assume that "Fk" means "F**k". I disagree. Zodiac said "Bullshit!" in a letter, why would he be shy about saying "F**k"? Also, "Fk" does not really suggest "F**k" – "F–k" does.
I think Zodiac, whoever he was, may have been inspired by the Mad Bomber using "FP" as a signature (Fair Play) and/or by the fictional anarchist terrorist group in the Conrad novel "The Secret Agent" also using "FP" (Future of the Proletariat). Also, I think the weird symbol on the Halloween card looks like an "FZ".
To solve a code is to ‘crack’ it. IMO he says crackproof to mean the 340 has not been solved.
ENTROPY: Agree with AK’s explanation but I also think it is saying "nobody can figure me out" or find out who I am. In other words, HE is "crackproof" and his ciphers are as well. The most astounding thing about this card, IMO, is that the writer uses the term "crackproof" months before Zodiac uses the term in the March, 1971 Los Angeles Times letter. It also seems to foreshadow Zodiac’s "collage style" used in the Halloween Card just a few weeks later. I suppose there is always the possibility that this one could be fake and that Zodiac saw it in the SF Chronicle and decided to have a little fun by reusing the term "crackproof".
http://cdn.sfgate.com/chronicle/acrobat … 0_12_1.pdf
For what it’s worth, this article by Paul Avery seems to indicate that LE seems to feel pretty strongly about its authenticity.
"The detectives studied the card for two days and for reasons they decline to make public say they feel it "highly probable" it came from Zodiac."
TAHOE27: Looks like as of May 1, 1971, LE and Paul Avery believed it a fake:
http://www.zodiackiller.com/AveryReport1.html
AK: I would say that Avery thinks it was a probable fake, not sure about LE. Based on the cite above, they thought it was probably real. Also IMO based on Zodiac use of the word "crackproof" in the confirmed real LA Times letter of 3/13/71, this is likely to be real.
TRAVELLER1ST: Probably been spotted before but just in-case. I have flipped the image and highlighted the area in question. You are looking for what appears to a very faded stamp with title/line then another title and a few more lines with something written on one of the lines.
MODERATOR
The link that Trav mentions "above" isn’t working…do you have another?
“…they may be dealing with one or more ersatz Zodiacs–other psychotics eager to get into the act, or perhaps even other murderers eager to lay their crimes at the real Zodiac’s doorstep.“ L.A. Times, 1969
I didn’t realize that Paul Avery was also a Zodiac letter expert ?
The words that I see next to the red high lighted area seems to look like "E A Poe" ?
There were some words that perhaps even Zodiac didn’t like to spell out, the F word was far more offensive back then, than it seems to be today ,at least for some people , it offends me very much. But then I grew up in a different time, we were able to find ways to express ourselves with out using profanity. Today’s generation seem to have a very limited vocabulary.
I have personal reasons for believing that this card was from the Zodiac and not a copy cat.
"Most people seem to assume that "Fk" means "F**k". I disagree. Zodiac said "Bullshit!" in a letter, why would he be shy about saying "F**k"? Also, "Fk" does not really suggest "F**k" – "F–k" does."
I agree with that. I don’t think Fk is an abbreviation of ‘F**k’. I mean my first question would be… why? Why not just say ‘F**k’, Or use profanity that we know he has used before and say "Shit, i’ crackproof".
People have disagreed with me before over things like this, and thats fine. But I believe that Zodiac often wrote things that, at face value, seemed to say one thing that was of no real importance, but actually contained a hidden clue or message.
I have even suggested before that ‘Fk’ could represent two words. For example, ‘Fouke Knows’. Now I know that will be dismissed out of hand, and I freely admit that there is no evidence to suggest that Fk is a initialism, but then, theres no evidence that its an abbreviation either.
Are we to really be of the opinion "Zodiac was against using the more serious, sexual expletives, and would abbreviate any such word inorder not to cause offence because ‘he has standards, you know?"
"So it’s sorta social. Demented and sad, but social, right?" Judd Nelson.
Makes me wonder if there was an investigator or reporter with those initials.
I agree with Sandy in the sense that the F word was a lot more offensive then. While Zodiac used "bullshit" a couple of times, he also refrained from using harsher words when describing the phone ringing back after BRS….using "x@ thing began to ring". (or at least something close to that)
This card, apparently, has been filed in the non-Zodiac communiques.
“…they may be dealing with one or more ersatz Zodiacs–other psychotics eager to get into the act, or perhaps even other murderers eager to lay their crimes at the real Zodiac’s doorstep.“ L.A. Times, 1969
Maybe he wanted to keep profanity out of his writing so that a photo of the mailing could be published in the paper? Thats as goo a reason as any to limit curse words
There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS
The word ‘F**k’ may have been deemed more of an offence back in the late 60’s than it is today, but Zodiac doesn’t strike me as being concerned about conforming to the rules of, or giving a flying ‘Fk’ about, society lol. I mean that would mean, here we have a man who thinks nothing of gunning down inncient teenagers while they are out on a date, or stabbing them repeatedly while relaxing by a shoreline, but he draws the line at using offensive language because that is going too far! Naa, cant see it myself. He does capatilize the F in Fk, that may just be coincidence, or it could be because it represents a name?
I agree Morph, he may have been concerned with expletives keeping his letters out of the papers but, wouldn’t that mean then that he would have refrained from using "Bullshit"? And wouldn’t the papers just edit any expletive out, cover it over with a black blank space?
"So it’s sorta social. Demented and sad, but social, right?" Judd Nelson.
POSTS EDITED for profanity. Trav.
Sorry Guys but no flat out swearing allowed, I’m no prude but it may offend some members. If any of the other MODS want to over-rule me on that I’ll concede but I think it’s fair enough to not need to spell words like F**K in it’s uncensored form.
“I don’t know Chief, he’s very smart or very dumb.“
POSTS EDITED for profanity. Trav.
Sorry Guys but no flat out swearing allowed, I’m no prude but it may offend some members. If any of the other MODS want to over-rule me on that I’ll concede but I think it’s fair enough to not need to spell words like F**K in it’s uncensored form.
I agree….just type it as F@*k or something similar.
There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS
Hi-
Wow! That faint rubber stamp impression and the associated writing is really interesting! Great catch! I wonder if a lab using the original might not be able to make out what the writing says…or even what the different labels are on the lines. If they are not the standard "Name" "Address" "City, " etc., then maybe the format and info from the stamp may lead in a certain direction, as in a certain type of business, etc.
What I am trying to understand is if the stamp is a mirror image, since they card has been reversed, or if it bled through from the other side? Why is it backwards?
I know much better than to do this because this can be like a Rorschach test but the first word looks like it may have an "F" and an "A" in it and the second word a "P" and an "S", like "pest" or "post." But I know this is a slippery slope to go down from prior experience!
Mike
Mike Rodelli
Author, The Hunt for Zodiac; 3.9 stars on Amazon and
In The Shadow of Mt. Diablo: The Shocking True Identity of the Zodiac Killer, a second edition in print format. 4.3 Amazon stars and great Editorial reviews. Twitter:@mikerodelli
Hi-
Wow! That faint rubber stamp impression and the associated writing is really interesting! Great catch! I wonder if a lab using the original might not be able to make out what the writing says…or even what the different labels are on the lines. If they are not the standard "Name" "Address" "City, " etc., then maybe the format and info from the stamp may lead in a certain direction, as in a certain type of business, etc.
What I am trying to understand is if the stamp is a mirror image, since they card has been reversed, or if it bled through from the other side? Why is it backwards?
I know much better than to do this because this can be like a Rorschach test but the first word looks like it may have an "F" and an "A" in it and the second word a "P" and an "S", like "pest" or "post." But I know this is a slippery slope to go down from prior experience!
Mike
Trav,can you do like an ‘x-ray’ version of the image in question? Maybe an x-ray would enhance it?
There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS
Hi-
Something else: The words pasted on the card overlay the rubber stamp and words on the lines. So the stamp was there BEFORE the words were pasted on the card. This can rule out the possibility that the stamp was applied after the card was received.
Mike
Mike Rodelli
Author, The Hunt for Zodiac; 3.9 stars on Amazon and
In The Shadow of Mt. Diablo: The Shocking True Identity of the Zodiac Killer, a second edition in print format. 4.3 Amazon stars and great Editorial reviews. Twitter:@mikerodelli
Hi-
Here is a copy of the original with the stamp visible on it. Maybe the stamp is not a mirror image. Maybe the stamp is set up backwards–the line for writing coming before the labels for the lines? That might make more sense. The writing on the line looks like "_04 HP." The "4" dips below the line. Or maybe it is "_OY HP." But don’t quote me!
Given that what is written on the line does not appear to be an address or name, it would be interesting to know what the labels are on those lines! They may lead in some direction.
Mike
Mike Rodelli
Author, The Hunt for Zodiac; 3.9 stars on Amazon and
In The Shadow of Mt. Diablo: The Shocking True Identity of the Zodiac Killer, a second edition in print format. 4.3 Amazon stars and great Editorial reviews. Twitter:@mikerodelli
Given that what is written on the line does not appear to be an address or name, it would be interesting to know what the labels are on those lines! They may lead in some direction.
Could be it already did. 
“…they may be dealing with one or more ersatz Zodiacs–other psychotics eager to get into the act, or perhaps even other murderers eager to lay their crimes at the real Zodiac’s doorstep.“ L.A. Times, 1969
Hi Tahoe-
I assume from your post that you have your own suspect and that the stamp on the card has been linked to him, or am I reading too much into your statement?
Mike
Mike Rodelli
Author, The Hunt for Zodiac; 3.9 stars on Amazon and
In The Shadow of Mt. Diablo: The Shocking True Identity of the Zodiac Killer, a second edition in print format. 4.3 Amazon stars and great Editorial reviews. Twitter:@mikerodelli
