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Tax labels, tax wrappers, embossed stamps, ink stamps, and Duty Aces were used in Great Britain for taxation of playing-cards. Some of the time, more than one of those taxation marks was in use, and it varied which of the marks actually carried the tax value. I will not go into details of that.

The following are some examples which should help for a rough dating.

	This ink stamp was in use from around 1712. The text is 'SH' (for 'Stamp in Hand'). The stamp was usually on the Ace of Spades, but sometimes on a different card. (from a museum collection)
	This ink stamp was in use 1718 to 1744. The value is 'VI PENCE', and there is a '4' at the bottom. This stamp, too, was usually on the Ace of Spades, but sometimes on a different card. (scanned by José Luiz Pagliari)
	This ink stamp was in use c.1756 to c.1765. The letters in the circle are 'GR' (for 'George Rex'). (from a modern reproduction deck)
	This is a Duty Ace in use c.1775. The text is 'G.III REX.' and the die number 'Nº 17'. What makes it unusual is that it has the maker's place (CORK) instead of the maker's name at the bottom. (from a museum collection)
	This is a Duty Ace in use from 1765 to 1776. The text is 'G.III REX.'. This may possibly be a fake, as it doesn't have a die number or a maker's name on it, and the design is slightly different from that of other Duty Aces from that time that I have seen.
	Duty Aces like this were in use 1801 to c.1828. The text is 'SIX PENCE ADDL. DUTY' (three times), 'G.III REX.', 'Nº 8', and the maker's name (HALL) at the bottom. The Ace shown is from 1801 to 1811. (scanned by Anders Gustafsson)
	Such Duty Aces were in use 1804 to c.1828. The text is 'DUTY', 'G.III REX.', 'ONE SHILLING - AND SIXPENCE', 'Nº 100', and the maker's name (HALL & SON) at the bottom. The Ace shown was in use 1818 to 1821.
	This Duty Ace was called the 'Old Frizzle', it was in use 1828 to 1862. The text is 'DUTY ONE SHILLING', 'LONDON', and the maker's name (DE LA RUE & Cº with 'BY HIS MAJESTY'S ROYAL LETTERS PATENT').
	This Duty Ace was also in use 1828 to 1862, it was for cards that were exported. The text is 'EXPORTATION', 'STAMP OFFICE LONDON', and the maker's name ('DE LA RUE & Cº', again with 'BY HIS MAJESTY'S ROYAL LETTERS PATENT'). The additional text at the bottom states '£20 PENALTY IF SOLD OR USED IN GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, OR THE ISLE OF MAN.'.
	This is another Export Duty Ace also in use 1828 to 1862, this time for export to the Isle of Man. The text is 'EXPORTATION', 'FOR USE IN THE ISLE OF MAN ONLY'. It has no maker's name on it. The additional text at the bottom states '£20 PENALTY IF SOLD OR USED IN GREAT BRITAIN OR IRELAND.'. Be aware that the Isle of Man is a low tax economy without stamp duty. (scanned by Ken Lodge)

After 1862, there was no longer a Duty Ace, although some makers still showed the duty on the Ace of Spades.

These are three examples produced by de la Rue. The left one was in use 1862 to c.1950, the middle one (with variants) c.1930 to 1957, and the right one c.1957 to 1960.

Tax labels and tax wrappers were another sort of taxation mark.

	This is an example from around 1820. You can recognize an embossed stamp in the white space in the middle, if you click on the picture. The wrapper comes from a modern reproduction deck. (scanned by Jan Wessels)
	This tax label was in use from 1828 to 1862. Note that a part is missing from the left side.
	This is a tax wrapper from around 1935. You can see the complete wrapper and other tax wrappers on my tax wrapper page.

In 1960 taxation on playing-cards was discarded. This is an announcement by Waddington related to the abolition of the duty.

I also know a 'duty stamp' that I am not quite sure of.

This was on three of the Aces of a pack imported to the Isle of Man in the 1930s. The Isle of Man is a low tax economy without stamp duty. Most probably this was used to make an importation of the cards to the rest of Great Britain impossible.

Finally, I have a 'duty stamp' that I cannot explain.

This was on the box of a pack of imported cards. I do not know whether they also had the normal tax wrapper for imported cards. This may just have been an additional stamp used by the importer on the outside.

Additional information
on playing-card taxes, tax stamps, and duty aces in Great Britain can be found on the "The Ace of Spades" page of the Playing-Cards FAQ.