The "Hey, look what I added to my collection!" thread

[PlayingCardz]

CLICK TO VIEW LISTING

Finally found the blue one

The box is in terrible condition though, but all the cards are there

IIRC, there's a Black one, a Gold one and a Blue one.

Any others?

More like Green and Orange one, which I already have here, or is it really another Black and Gold one ? any pic ?

[samurai007]

Hello MJF
I am Aloys. I am sorry for this problem. I opened about 10 decks and found that their Back cards were standard instead of wrong. It was a shame that you received an ‘off-center’ Back Deck, which was a quite low probability. About The United States Playing Cards Company , I am troubled by the problem they bring to me. The design document we send to USPCC is correct and there is a proper ‘2’. However , we are willing to undertake these responsibilities for USPCC to solve problems for you. Meanwhile, we will help you cancel your order and return the deck. If you have any suggestion or you need our help, please do not hesitate to contact with Jessica. （Jessica93471@yahoo.com.my) . For 2 , Maybe you can create your new magic ,Looking forward to your ideas.
As far as I know, the printing cost is high and exceeds $3.5 rather than $2.95.
Aloys Design Originality Office devotes itself to making artistic decks and offering fine and beautiful design. We feel regretful for troubles caused by the company in the process of printing. We hope we can have more communication with USPCC to gurantee the condition on which we make a perfect deck.
Here, we want to thank you for supporting Aloys Design Originality Office. In June 2013, we will launch new decks and still print 2,500 decks. However, we would like to give up a part of profits and sell such decks at $6.95 the same price with other companies, for example, Theory11 Ellusionist.
Meanwhile, we hope we can have chances to cooperate with you to design new projects (any graphic design).

Thank you
Aloys！
.

It sounds as if USPCC is overworked and their quality control may be slipping. First the Altruism mistake of 2 Queen of Hearts in every deck, now reversing the 2 on your deck. Did they send you a proof sheet to approve before the print run took place, Aloys? If so, were the 2's on it correct?

[darkinertia]

I kind of wish there were more companies to choose from than uspcc. Dont get me wrong i love them but we need competition to breed success...that and i would like to see a company print cards the old fashion way like jnug were made id pay premiums on a deck that was actually worth it quality wise

[RSLancastr]

i would like to see a company print cards the old fashion way like jnug were made

Oh, how we all miss the days of jnug!

[andrew daugherty]

Several bits for you:

1. Hoyle Studs: you should be able to recognize the standard Hoyle court cards (even on jumbo index) on those blue Studs. That should be another way to identify the maker, besides the different filigree back.

2. Morrison cards: these are Brown & Bigelow "Remembrance" brand cards, made as advertising premiums for companies. This is one of several dozen B & B backs with blank space for an overprint of a logo or a business name. It dates to the 1940s. You found the cards still wrapped in cellophane with the two, 40s era, rectangular tax stamps. They have the B & B overprint. Cards may have one or two "Redislip" jokers with the fallen ice skater, or one joker and a calendar card. The ace will be a standard B & B ace, with the center spade glowing in red and yellow borders around it. B & B did not offer special aces for the generic decks. Those would come on more complicated decks with custom backs and tuck boxes.

B & B Remembrance brand cards are easily found today. Many times a company gave them as a gift or memento, and the recipient put them in a drawer and forgot about them.

The rarer B & B Remembrance cards are poker-sized -- or those with an obvious custom back and/or box. All are nice additions to any collection.

3. Camel cards: likely 1970s USPC. Tobacco companies' freebies (playing cards included) are now severely restricted by government regulation, so any tobacco ad deck in good condition is collectible. Also keep in mind millions more folks smoked back then, so the cards were produced in huge quantities.

4. Winston cards: one of several varieties from late 60s and 70s. Variations include different slogans in the bottom red section. These decks were either USPC or Western/Whitman and came attached to a carton or packs of smokes with tape. You are lucky to find one still in the cellophane and not mangled. They are very rare to find in any sort of box. Again, see number three for general info. about tobacco premiums of this age.

5. Jack Daniels: these should be oversized decks that could date as early as 1972. Various companies have printed the oversized decks since then -- and the design lives today in Hoyle and USPC, standard poker-sized decks. The same card design also exists on oversized "Robert E. Lee Steamboat" decks, in a similar tin, from 1972 and 1980 and likely other times since. The idea is to replicate a deck (although with corner pips of today) that resembled an 1800s deck. Nice collectible, especially in good shape.

There are other oversized decks in similar tins for Budweiser, Guinness and Bolla wines from the early 1980s made by Waddingtons of England.

Now you know. Happy to help if I see a question on here. PM me if you have any questions about decks you see in the flea markets, etc.

Long time (40 years+, since a kid) collector and 52 + J and CPCC member here. Mr. Lancaster also is a long-time collector and full of knowledge. Ditto for Mr. Boyer on the other site. Tap our extensive knowledge. We love to share.

Andrew Daugherty

[MJF]

Hello MJF
I am Aloys. I am sorry for this problem. I opened about 10 decks and found that their Back cards were standard instead of wrong. It was a shame that you received an ‘off-center’ Back Deck, which was a quite low probability. About The United States Playing Cards Company , I am troubled by the problem they bring to me. The design document we send to USPCC is correct and there is a proper ‘2’. However , we are willing to undertake these responsibilities for USPCC to solve problems for you. Meanwhile, we will help you cancel your order and return the deck. If you have any suggestion or you need our help, please do not hesitate to contact with Jessica. （Jessica93471@yahoo.com.my) . For 2 , Maybe you can create your new magic ,Looking forward to your ideas.
As far as I know, the printing cost is high and exceeds $3.5 rather than $2.95.
Aloys Design Originality Office devotes itself to making artistic decks and offering fine and beautiful design. We feel regretful for troubles caused by the company in the process of printing. We hope we can have more communication with USPCC to gurantee the condition on which we make a perfect deck.
Here, we want to thank you for supporting Aloys Design Originality Office. In June 2013, we will launch new decks and still print 2,500 decks. However, we would like to give up a part of profits and sell such decks at $6.95 the same price with other companies, for example, Theory11 Ellusionist.
Meanwhile, we hope we can have chances to cooperate with you to design new projects (any graphic design).

Thank you
Aloys！
.

It sounds as if USPCC is overworked and their quality control may be slipping. First the Altruism mistake of 2 Queen of Hearts in every deck, now reversing the 2 on your deck. Did they send you a proof sheet to approve before the print run took place, Aloys? If so, were the 2's on it correct?

Don't forget the "thin" borders on the Theory 11 Monarchs reissues... and the off center printing on some of the Artisans decks... perhaps USPCC is taking on more than it can handle and their quality is starting to slip... or perhaps I just got a bad deck... who knows... but the technology exists to ensure stuff like this doesn't even leave the factory floor...

[Fluffykitten]

I kind of wish there were more companies to choose from than uspcc. Dont get me wrong i love them but we need competition to breed success...that and i would like to see a company print cards the old fashion way like jnug were made id pay premiums on a deck that was actually worth it quality wise

True! Frankly, it's a lie that all glided decks chip. Not true. I have two that I use all the time for 5 years and not a chip in sight. Granted I paid $40 a deck. But I know that Hermes takes massive margins. I'm sure that another company could do it for $20 a deck and still make a killing. Same for black dark color decks. Chipping and paper that's weak on such heavy ink is not a must.

The problem is that other than the collecting market few are willing to pay $10 a deck. Which is what it would cost a new company to compete with uspcc in quality on a massive scale.

[darkinertia]

yeah thats what i was thinking, but then again, people will buy luxury items for no reason even though theyre way beyond their realistic uses, like old people getting ipads and gaming laptops for facebook lol. if you were to say make a deck seem like its the best thing ever, then try to sell them to WSOP or WPT, youll get all those guys wanting to have the super top quality decks too. when i was in a poker league, we all thought KEMs were the best cards you could get lol.

thats just what i would do, but you would either need to make them in really small batches or sell them for a lot of money. you think theres some old school USPCC printers floating around?

[darkinertia]

http://s2.beta.photobucket.com/user/dar ... C.jpg.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

gotta love the monday usps package blitz im loving the fultons casino, the monarchs i got from fab.com along with the regular ones too.

the old studs are dissapointing...im not sure if its just because its an old used deck, but it feels really cheap

[Strag]

yeah thats what i was thinking, but then again, people will buy luxury items for no reason even though theyre way beyond their realistic uses, like old people getting ipads and gaming laptops for facebook lol. if you were to say make a deck seem like its the best thing ever, then try to sell them to WSOP or WPT, youll get all those guys wanting to have the super top quality decks too. when i was in a poker league, we all thought KEMs were the best cards you could get lol.

thats just what i would do, but you would either need to make them in really small batches or sell them for a lot of money. you think theres some old school USPCC printers floating around?

Actually for poker, 100% plastic cards (which the KEMs are) are indeed the best. Poker players love to bend cards up at the corners and 100% plastic do not crimp.

I have a set of KEMs that have lasted me almost 20 years. I currently use Copags for poker and have dealt 1000s of hands with them and almost no issues (there is some slight wear to them that doesn't happen with the KEMs). I've been thinking about getting a couple decks of the Bicycle Prestige decks to see how they handle for poker.

[BMPokerworld]

yeah thats what i was thinking, but then again, people will buy luxury items for no reason even though theyre way beyond their realistic uses, like old people getting ipads and gaming laptops for facebook lol. if you were to say make a deck seem like its the best thing ever, then try to sell them to WSOP or WPT, youll get all those guys wanting to have the super top quality decks too. when i was in a poker league, we all thought KEMs were the best cards you could get lol.

thats just what i would do, but you would either need to make them in really small batches or sell them for a lot of money. you think theres some old school USPCC printers floating around?

Actually for poker, 100% plastic cards (which the KEMs are) are indeed the best. Poker players love to bend cards up at the corners and 100% plastic do not crimp.

I have a set of KEMs that have lasted me almost 20 years. I currently use Copags for poker and have dealt 1000s of hands with them and almost no issues (there is some slight wear to them that doesn't happen with the KEMs). I've been thinking about getting a couple decks of the Bicycle Prestige decks to see how they handle for poker.

The prestige are much thinner than the Kems and will not hold up as well. The kems are a much better choice. I think you will be disappointed with the prestige. I tried selling them to a local card rooms and they did not like them at all for day to day abuse they take in card rooms.

Thanks!

[Strag]

The prestige are much thinner than the Kems and will not hold up as well. The kems are a much better choice. I think you will be disappointed with the prestige. I tried selling them to a local card rooms and they did not like them at all for day to day abuse they take in card rooms.

Thanks!

Good to know, I won't waste my time then.

I do have a set of Copag EPOCs coming (I hope) which I think will be very cool;

[BMPokerworld]

The prestige are much thinner than the Kems and will not hold up as well. The kems are a much better choice. I think you will be disappointed with the prestige. I tried selling them to a local card rooms and they did not like them at all for day to day abuse they take in card rooms.

Thanks!

Good to know, I won't waste my time then.

I do have a set of Copag EPOCs coming (I hope) which I think will be very cool;

I saw those and they were the reason we almost took on the Copag line. They are one of my favorite decks they make. In the end, there really is no money in either the Kem or Copag lines, so I decided to just keep the Kem to help out my local card rooms.

Thanks!

[RSLancastr]

Plus, Kems have that nice guarantee where they will replace a lost or damaged card.

I've never used it, but it always seemed a good thing.

[Strag]

Plus, Kems have that nice guarantee where they will replace a lost or damaged card.

I've never used it, but it always seemed a good thing.

I never did but I did know friends who have. Now that they are owned by USPCC does that offer still stand I wonder. As I recall you sent them in the guarantee card (which had a listing of all the cards in the deck) along with the "damaged" card and they would send it back with a replacement and then also the card would be punched to indicate which card had been replaced.

[RSLancastr]

So, if the card they sent to replace the damaged card later got damaged, they would not replace it?

I would think/imagine that USPCC would honor the guarantee for all Kem decks printed with that guarantee - to not honor them would be incredibly bad business - but whether new decks are being printed with that guarantee is a different question.

The guarantee is/was part of what made Kem cards special, so I would hope that USPCC is printing new Kem decks with the guarantee.

Does anyone know?

[Strag]

Received today;

First, a transformation deck/set that I finally found for a decent price (about $20 shipped). Not in 100% mint condition but everything is there.



Second, my Ritual decks and card boxes. As I fear, the card boxes are really not going to stand up to travel or event a whole lot of us. Shame, as they look quite nice. The cards on the other hand... well these tuck boxes are some of the worst I've seen. Very flat and muddy in places, especially around the 3D text. The cards, well the pips are far too small and the backs have a very different red colour from what I was expecting. Not gonna be a highlight of my collection sadly. The court cards are night though and I do like the corner embellishments and background (although a bit busy). Also, one of the decks was damaged in shipping, but luckily I chose to open it.



Last but not least, my other two Black Artifice decks.

[Strag]

So, if the card they sent to replace the damaged card later got damaged, they would not replace it?

Not sure, but possibly

I would think/imagine that USPCC would honor the guarantee for all Kem decks printed with that guarantee - to not honor them would be incredibly bad business - but whether new decks are being printed with that guarantee is a different question.

The guarantee is/was part of what made Kem cards special, so I would hope that USPCC is printing new Kem decks with the guarantee.

Does anyone know?

Apparently they don't print the old designs any more and no, they will not honor something they don't have stock on. According to a thread on 2+2 the new Kems (made by USPCC) are not as nice and people are moving to Copags (for regular poker use that is).

[Sharpie]

Received today;

First, a transformation deck/set that I finally found for a decent price (about $20 shipped). Not in 100% mint condition but everything is there.

I love this one! It was my first transformation deck and any one that followed had to get close to its creativity. Like the Curator.

[RSLancastr]

My latest acquisitions:

Another Christmas-themed deck:

==========[ Scooby-Doo!_Holiday ]==========
[/QUOTE]

And this Ukrainian deck:

==========[ Eneida ]==========

[Evan]

I got my 3 Animal Kingdom decks today! Such a cool deck.

[darkinertia]

I WANT TO BE THE VERY BEST, LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS!

haha i had to get this deck, it surprisingly handles really well, im not even sure if its USPCC or not but it feels really good. the pips and faces look like something a 3 year old would make in kidpix, but its decent

[RSLancastr]

I have that Pokemon deck somewhere, a present from my kids back when they were all into Pokemon, big-time (they are now 30, 29 and 27 years old, but when Pokemon was the latest thing (in America), they all watched the show religiously, and collected the cards in the Pokemon Collectable Card Games.

I think I even have a couple of other, Japanese-made Pokemon playing card decks as well.

"Gotta have 'em all!"

[RSLancastr]

[quote="Strag"]Received today;

First, a transformation deck/set that I finally found for a decent price (about $20 shipped). Not in 100% mint condition but everything is there.



Yes, Key to the Kingdom is by far my favorite semi-transformation deck, and one of my favorite transformation decks of any type.

For those who do not know, the cards in the deck each depict a scene from a nursery rhyme.

The deck comes with a small hard-bound book with all of the rhymes and pictures of the cards.

The book and cards also contain clues to where the publisher had hidden a golden key. When it was first published (late 1990s, IIRC), there was a $100,000 prize for the first person to find the key (the prize has long-since been claimed).

A great deck!

[DukeBoy]

A very nice deck sir.

[johanes]

i just got Sultan republic deck



and.. i also get some Morgan Coins, not really in the right place for coins but i'll just share the photo..

[Strag]

Another nice set of shipments came in today.

First, some decks that I managed to source in the UK so they didn't cost me an arm and a leg, plus the Dave Matthews Band decks. Unfortunately the DMB decks were packaged pretty poorly but luckily only one was bad so of course that's the one I'll open. Surprisingly the 2010 deck is shrink wrapped on the outside but the 2012 is done on the inside.



Second, I got my shipment from Johnny Cupcakes and there was a nice surprise included as well. A beautifully done catalog, some mints, a button, a sticker, even a business card and somewhat bizarrely a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle trading card! Turns out they have a store in London, which I didn't realize, and I'll be there next weekend so I may check them out.



The finally, a package from a UK site containing a few new Transformation and Semi-transformation decks.


The rather large one at he top left is a reprint of an 1850s deck from Tuscany. A beautiful oversize box with a wax stamp in the corner. Just to the right of that is the Art for the Earth transformation deck featuring artwork from 54 different artists. A few sample images here: . Next to that a couple copies of the "Under the Sea" Transformation deck, proceeds of which went to support the Marine Stewardship Council and again uses artwork from 54 different artists. The deck can be seen below:

http://www.art4presents.com/images/uplo ... lcards.jpg

And then finally in the top right (along with the cards loosely pictured) is "Pips in Pictures" a transformation deck of watercolours from Guernsey artists Jenny Gaudion, signed by her and numbered 50/100. Pretty happy with this find.



I'm thinking of starting a topic just to discuss transformation and semi-transformation playing cards. Any interest?

[darkinertia]

I have that Pokemon deck somewhere, a present from my kids back when they were all into Pokemon, big-time (they are now 30, 29 and 27 years old, but when Pokemon was the latest thing (in America), they all watched the show religiously, and collected the cards in the Pokemon Collectable Card Games.

I think I even have a couple of other, Japanese-made Pokemon playing card decks as well.

"Gotta have 'em all!"

if you have a pic of those japanese pokemon playing cards, id love to see them i was only able to find this deck, ive tried flourishing with my actual trading cards but that didnt work too well haha

[Sharpie]

Strag, where did you find the "Art for the Earth" Deck?
I've been looking for it. ... for less than 30 USD.

[RSLancastr]

[quote="darkinertiaif you have a pic of those japanese pokemon playing cards, id love to see them i was only able to find this deck, ive tried flourishing with my actual trading cards but that didnt work too well haha[/quote]

Sorry, but all of my collection - other than what I have collected in the past three years or so - is in boxes out of my reach, but a search of eBay shows many Pokemondecks, including these which are very much like the ones I was referring to:

Some just had 52 scenes from the TV show, like these:
CLICK TO VIEW LISTING

I had this round deck, which comes in a Pokeball-shaped ball/case:
CLICK TO VIEW LISTING

Each of my kids had a favorite Pokemon character.

I rarely watched the show, but they told me that my favorite should be Snorlax, whose special powers were 1) He was huge, 2) , He snored very loudly, and 3) He slept very soundly.

I'm still not sure why they picked him to be my favorite, though

Snorlax is shown in the bottom card here:
CLICK TO VIEW LISTING