Halloween card

The mysterious symbol

Description

This symbol appeared in the card Zodiac sent to Paul Avery on Oct 27, 1970. It also appeared on the envelope the card came in.

It is sometimes called the "VF" symbol.

Interpretations and comparisons

Construction

• Wide flange beam. From Robert Graysmith's book "Zodiac":

As for the new Zodiac symbol, readers as far away as Detroit wrote to say it represented a Wide Flange Beam, a structural steel shape used in building construction. Some felt that Zodiac was some sort of civil engineer.

Chemistry

• Chemical compound 1-Pentene (scroll down a bit to see the section about pentenes)
  • Image:

Animals

Cattle Brands

• Red Ryder ranch cattle brand symbol ("flying V F bar")
  • Details
  • Image (the brand appears on the cow in the upper right corner):

• Example of that brand on a live cow:

• Kentucky Ranch brand
  • See bottom of page 32 in this PDF

Excerpt:

• Livestock brands in South Dakota

Bird / Bat

The "Claude" AI gave this interpretation of the image: "This symbol appears to be a simple line drawing resembling a stylized bird or bat shape, with two angled lines forming what could be interpreted as wings, and two dots suggesting eyes."

Maps / Geography

• Intersection in Vallejo
• Map overlay
• A silhouette of Mount Diablo
  • "An abstraction of the Zodiac's eyes and car headlights emerging from the Diablo mountain range." (source)
• "Diamond sign" from Japanese treasure map

Excerpt:

• Another map overlay example
  • (Image)
• Another map overlay example
• Weather map annotations, such as station models and wind barbs

Cipher-related

• A method of finding the symbol in Z340
• Mason marks
  • Example from "N!CK"
• Another idea about finding the symbol in Z340
• A stylized form of pigpen cipher
• Combined symbols from Z408 (/, V, and F).
  • They would decode to K, B, and S, respectively (source: comment by Seedy on Let's Crack Zodiac - Episode 12 )
    • "How odd would it be that those initials K.B.S. show up in the 408 cipher as the fourth letter of the first line. The second letter of the second line. With S being the eighth letter of the third line. Maybe K.B.S. Is a birthdate? 4-2-8. The second half of the 408 cipher at the 4-2-8 spelled M.I.T. The third section spelled out A.C.E. There is a doctor of chemistry that went to work at M.I.T. sometime after the 408 was written. His initials are K.B.S. Maybe his nickname was Ace? His first and last name fit the Z13. He was living in Palo Alto at the time some of the letters were mailed in."
• A reference to Z340's transposition scheme

Writing systems / early alphabets

• Bat Creek inscription
  • Apparently a Newsweek article about the Bat Creek Stone was published just one week before the Zodiac mailed the Halloween card (source)
  • Excerpted symbol from the full image:

• Ogham alphabet
• Mike Rodelli proposes the symbol is a combination of the Norse runes Ansuz and Laguz.
  • Ansuz: ᚨ
  • Laguz: ᛚ
  • Elder Futhark
• Early Norwegian house marks (bumerker)
• Cooke and Wheatstone codes
• French hobo system, "Here live friendly people"
  • Image
• yōd symbol in Paleo-Hebrew alphabet
• yod symbol in Phoenician alphabet
• "GAIK" in Brahmi alphabet

Other symbology

• Peace sign interpretation from a draftperson's perspective
  • Image

Names/Monograms

• Nickname/initials of suspect
  • Image
• Stylized abbreviation for "Nevada" on envelope of letter allegedly sent by DB Cooper

Similar logos

• V-Financial Services
  • Image of logo

Similar logos

• V-Financial Services
  • Image of logo

Possible graffiti

• Zone of Silence sign
  • Discussion
  • Article with image of sign
    • Image
    • Image (higher quality)
  • Facebook post with larger image
    • Image

Other aspects of the Halloween Card

• Applying +9 Caesar shift to "BY GUN" yields "KHPDW". Decoding "KHPDW" with Z408 key yields "STINE", as in Paul Stine. (Source: Jade Goldstone)