Known Box/Packing Variants
There are at least three variants of the 702.
Two different versions will have no patent text. One will have the USA price $1.95 and the other will have the Canadian price of $2.50. Shown below is the Canadian version:
The USA version was given patent text sometime 1962-63 (note for the example below, the price is present but was colored in at some point):
And there is the possibility another Canadian variant exists, as the top of the 702's box in this Canadian newspaper is printed instead of having the 10x10.
Box/Overview
The 702 Basic Set was the smallest of the tube/tall box sets Samsonite released in 1961. Selling for $1.95 in the US, it stands as the cheapest retail basic set that was available across the entirety of Samsonite's run, beating out the later 120 Basic Set's RRP ($2.95) and even 1972's 101 Imagination Set on a 60% discount (see here). That obviously excludes the Model Maker line and non retail sets like the 93-Piece Set (which was 1965's direct replacement of the 702).
Similar to other tube sets, there is an image of some children building with LEGO and then a few models that can be built with that specific kit:
My copy has its price obscured, which could've been done by the original retailer. It is a common occurrence for early Samsonite LEGO, a good example as to why in the USA, the printed retail price was omitted on sets released after 1963.
There is nothing on the bottom of the box. The top is capped with a 10x10 baseplate.
Contents
The set has a standard assortment, though with yellow parts absent from other sets (708, 711, and 725 for example) available at the time. The assortment for this set in particular also varies more than others across examples.
As usual, this inventory is a guide and not to be assumed to be complete or indicative of the original inventory:
