Thank you for clarifying! You want to compare the actual symbols, letters, and numbers used in the ciphers themselves (not the cryptographic method), and find out which ciphers share the same characters—using a direct, data-driven approach.
Here’s how I’ll proceed:
List the ciphers from the most famous cases (Zodiac, Beale, Debosnys, Voynich, etc.).
Identify the set of unique characters (letters, numbers, symbols) used in each cipher.
Compare these sets to show which ciphers share the most characters, and highlight any notable overlaps.
1. Character Sets in Famous Ciphers
Zodiac Killer Ciphers
Characters Used:
Uppercase English letters (A–Z)
Numbers (0–9)
Zodiac’s unique symbols (e.g., circles, crosshairs, triangles, squares)
Some punctuation (dots, slashes, etc.)
Beale Ciphers
Characters Used:
Numbers only (1–999, separated by spaces or commas)
Debosnys Cipher
Characters Used:
Custom symbols (over 100 unique, some resembling letters, some pictographic)
Some overlap with Latin alphabet, but mostly unique
Voynich Manuscript
Characters Used:
Unique script (20–30 unique glyphs, not matching any known alphabet)
Occasional Latin letters and numbers in marginalia
Dorabella Cipher
Characters Used:
24 unique curved symbols (no direct match to standard alphabet)
Copiale Cipher
Characters Used:
Latin letters (A–Z)
Greek letters
Special symbols (circles, dots, etc.)
Great Cipher
Characters Used:
Numbers (1–587, as code numbers)
Enigma, Purple, Lorenz Machines
Characters Used:
Uppercase English letters (A–Z)
No numbers or punctuation in standard use
Zimmermann Telegram
Characters Used:
Numbers (as code groups)
Occasional letters
Kryptos
Characters Used:
Uppercase English letters (A–Z)
Question mark (?)
No numbers
Cicada 3301
Characters Used:
All printable ASCII (letters, numbers, symbols), depending on the puzzle phase
2. Direct Character Overlaps
Most Common Shared Characters
Uppercase English Letters (A–Z):
Shared by: Zodiac, Copiale (partly), Enigma, Purple, Lorenz, Kryptos, Cicada 3301 (and marginalia in Voynich)
Numbers (0–9):
Shared by: Zodiac (some ciphers), Beale, Great Cipher, Zimmermann Telegram, Cicada 3301
Unique Symbols:
Zodiac, Debosnys, Dorabella, Copiale, Voynich (each has its own set, but some basic shapes—like circles or lines—appear in more than one)
Direct Overlaps Table
Cipher Letters Numbers Unique Symbols Notes
Zodiac ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ Letters, numbers, and custom symbols
Beale ✔️ Numbers only
Debosnys ✔️ Custom symbols, some letter-like
Voynich ✔️* ✔️* ✔️ Unique script, marginal Latin letters/numbers
Dorabella ✔️ Unique curved symbols
Copiale ✔️ ✔️ Latin, Greek, special symbols
Great Cipher ✔️ Numbers only
Enigma/Purple/Lorenz ✔️ Letters only
Zimmermann ✔️ Numbers as code groups
Kryptos ✔️ ✔️* Letters, question mark
Cicada 3301 ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ All ASCII, varies by puzzle
*Voynich marginalia only
3. Which Ciphers Share Which Characters?
Letters (A–Z)
Shared by: Zodiac, Copiale, Enigma, Purple, Lorenz, Kryptos, Cicada 3301, Voynich (marginalia)
Numbers (0–9)
Shared by: Zodiac, Beale, Great Cipher, Zimmermann Telegram, Cicada 3301, Voynich (marginalia)
Custom/Unique Symbols
Shared by: Zodiac, Debosnys, Dorabella, Copiale, Voynich, Cicada 3301 (in some puzzles)
Note: No two ciphers use exactly the same set of custom symbols, but some (e.g., circles, lines, dots) appear in more than one.
Summary Table: Character Overlap
Character Type Ciphers Sharing This Type
Letters (A–Z) Zodiac, Copiale, Enigma, Purple, Lorenz, Kryptos, Cicada 3301, Voynich (marginalia)
Numbers (0–9) Zodiac, Beale, Great Cipher, Zimmermann Telegram, Cicada 3301, Voynich (marginalia)
Unique Symbols Zodiac, Debosnys, Dorabella, Copiale, Voynich, Cicada 3301
If you want a specific letter/number/symbol-by-symbol comparison between two or more ciphers, or want to focus on a subset (like just the Zodiac and Debosnys), let me know!