[johanes] my playing card collections

[johanes]

Introduction:
My name is Johanes, i don't use some vaccinating username since i first start joining the old UC. I'm 20 years old just for information, i started going to university last year, i think i'm too busy to open UC these past year. Now i'm back with my collection. I never write anything about my collection before so please help me with it. Thank you

Now i think it enough about me and start the topic about my collection. I have been collecting cards for around 5 year i thing . I'm focusing on buying only old deck or vintage deck for these past 2 years, although i still buy some interesting new deck that catch my attention. I rarely bought opened vintage deck, i prefer sealed and mint condition, even though i bought some opened just to checked out how the decks feel.

Let see now for me to show my little collection to you guys. If you guys any questions feel free to ask me, but please don't ask me how many playing cards i own, i already stop counting them for 3 years .
I bought this one from the old UC member, Steamboat with tax stamp in perfect condition is really really cool i think.


I have some Bicycle Tall Stacks both '92 and '95



and some League Back both red and blue


I just use old photo that i took in the past.
I have a lot of old picture of my collection, i think i'll post some more later if you guys interested.

I just get some new decks this week
I got Blue Bicycle Racer Back


and some Bicycle Test Deck, i have been tracking this deck for years and finally got them.


and if you guy ask me how did i keep my playing card in perfect condition, i will give you some tips.
I warp each of them with plastic warp which you usually see to warp food,
I put them in thick box that i'm sure it's pretty good,
and i just need to add packs of silica gel to keep the humidity


I only post what i had. And please if you want to use my photo ask for my permission first i'll be thankful if you did.
Thank you.

[volantangel]

This is the man that really got me to start taking proper photos of my decks. I know you have a lot more vintage decks than what you have shown here, I look forward to seeing more of them

I've always wanted to ask, what photography gear do you use for the photos ?

[johanes]

Your welcome then

If i'm in the mood i use Canon EOS 650D, because i only have that one. I use standard 18 - 55 lens. If i don't want to set things up i only use my iPhone, giving me nearly same quality in short amount of time.
For me any camera is good as long as the lighting is perfect. I only shot my decks, books, and coins in front of my window. So i don't use any special lighting property, that i know pretty expensive to get the best one.

I will post them soon , thank you.

[montecarlojoe]

Love that steam boat - so clean and the tax stamp looks amazing!

[johanes]

May be some of you want to ask about Jerry's. yes, i had them from lee asher.

Here it is, i opened only this blue decks since i have extra pair, lucky me.. They feel nice and expensive went i use them for magic or flourish. I have stop using it, i warp it and put it in my box.


here are my favourite design since i started collecting playing card
New Fan Back Bicycle, they are really classic and old.


And next is a really nice playing card not from uspcc
A Liquid Blue Playing Card, it came with the pouch, the card is really smooth even it's quite old i think.
i track more of these to get different coloured pouch as i remembered there are 3 colours.
i got 3 decks but sadly all of them came with this purple pouch , 2 perfectly sealed, 1 opened

[johanes]

yes, it's really lucky for me that the steamboat is perfect condition. i have more steamboat in blue and green one. i haven't took their picture yet.
I'll post more steamboat later i guess

[Jock1971]

Hi Johanes.
These are some fantastic pictures of some excellent decks, i`ve seen quite a few of your decks in the "look what i added" thread from way back, Its great to have you back at UC .I am looking forward to seeing more of your vintage decks here.
You say you have some open decks ...Maybe if you have time you could post some in the North American Thread of the "Worldwide Time Machine" forum.
Thanks for showing your cards and i look forward to seeing more
-jase-

EDIT ; i`m dying to know what cards were in that purple pouch.

[johanes]

Hi
I post quite a lot at that thread back then

I will give you all the picture about the card in the purple pouch then
i think the court cards are beautiful and the pips are unique
here they are enjoy











perfectly sealed deck

[dazzleguts]

Hello Johanes, welcome back.

Hi Johanes.
...
You say you have some open decks ...Maybe if you have time you could post some in the North American Thread of the "Worldwide Time Machine" forum.

Or any other nation's threads there if you have cards from other areas of the world? Nice clear pictures. Is the Liquid Blue deck a Grateful Dead deck?
Do you have many decks from outside of North America Johanes?

A word about the food wrap. This plastic is either PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or low density polyethylene. The chemistry of those plastics is very unstable, partly due to the inclusion of adhesive (low molecular weight) polymers like polyisobutene, and polyethylene-vinylacetate, and it's meant for temporary use only. Even just a little bit of skin oils on the plastic may cause it to adhere to paper and inks when in contact for a long period of time. Please reconsider storing your decks wrapped with this material.

[johanes]

yes, that a good point @dazzleguts

I tested that few years ago, what you said is correct that we can use it for long time. because of it i always change the warp periodically i did it once in 3 month. dan i store it where it didn't get any significant heat increase, so i think it's quite good, i use this method because i don't see any anther good option for storing vintage playing card, it will get old, the box won't be great, the ink will slightly change. if i store it in the box with out the warp it might be give more damage to the card when we want to put other decks beside it or anything that possible, i just try to do the best.

If you know better way about how to store old deck perfectly i really want to know it

Thank you for your word

[Jock1971]

I will give you all the picture about the card in the purple pouch then
i think the court cards are beautiful and the pips are unique
here they are enjoy

Thanks for showing me the cards, I agree those are very nice cards,i`m not sure of the packaging though if i had seen that up for sale i probably wouldn`t go for it ,but now i know what the cards inside looks like i`ll keep my eye open for them. Thanks again

[dazzleguts]

This guy is making mylar tuck cases for his older decks (scroll down):
http://www.playingcardforum.com/working ... -cards/25/

Would be a lot of work the first time around, but then you wouldn't have to redo it every 3 months. I'm looking at trying this myself. Maybe I'll make one a day for a while and see if it's worth it

Mylar is an exceptionally strong transparent film that resists moisture, pollutants, oils and acids. With a life expectancy of hundreds of years, Mylar will outlast most other plastics. Don't know what the cost is new but I have some mylar sheets I picked up at a thrift store for cheap. They used to be used for overhead transparencies.

[johanes]

That would be good to try.

Need a lot of time first. i think you need to try that, if it's working then i will make one my self when i have time.

[dazzleguts]

I tried it during breaks from my work, and it only took about an hour to figure out and make one. Will be much faster now I know how to do it - maybe 15 - 20 minutes with a template under the mylar. I will design a template this weekend and try to photograph the process for the DIY thread.

Turned out better than I expected actually. Has a fairly solid feel and stays closed on it's own. I made the first one to fit a long vintage deck from Mexico that has a delicate paper wrapper. Here's the result:

It fits well and will definitely protect the deck and wrapper. You can't easily see the double sided tape I used to paste it together so here's a picture that shows it:

Mylar box1d.JPG (137.24 KiB) Viewed 7264 times

Looks terrible in that close up because every little bit of dust and adhesive shows. Looks great on the deck. The adhesive is between layers of plastic and does not contact the deck at all.

[johanes]

i see, that quite nice i think

what about ziploc plastic? have you ever try it?
i'm thinking putting the deck to ziploc first and put it to mylar case and warp it with plastic warp. i think it's super save method.
or you can forget about the warp part if it's to much.

the ziploc is maintaining so bad air or water or other gas didn't touch the deck in the mylar case i think.

i never research about the dangerous part of ziploc, is it save?

[johanes]

I like stud design. This one is in quite rare condition which some kind of cellophane still cover the deck


this is quite cheap deck
and handle really great, i think you should get some if some one selling these decks

[johanes]

i'm not only have cards but i also have some coins and books

I do magic and still learning, i use this silver coins, i used to have 10 but i only hold 5 now. I gave 5 of them to my brother, he just started to learn coins magic.
It's Morgan dollar, it's 90% silver and 10% copper.

[dazzleguts]

i see, that quite nice i think

what about ziploc plastic? have you ever try it?
i'm thinking putting the deck to ziploc first and put it to mylar case and warp it with plastic warp. i think it's super save method.
or you can forget about the warp part if it's to much.

the ziploc is maintaining so bad air or water or other gas didn't touch the deck in the mylar case i think.

i never research about the dangerous part of ziploc, is it save?

Mylar is considered safer so a mylar case over the deck, with a ziplock around both, would be better. Personally I'm only going to use the mylar. Sealing a deck from air won't stop it from experiencing changes in temperature, and if it's a humid day when you close the bag on the deck then your trapping moisture in with it. Also if the plastic you use is outgassing (releasing gas from it's own chemicals) then you are trapping the deck with those gases.

I don't think I've seen a Stud deck with a wax wrapper like that before. How old is it?

Johanes, from what I remember you had about 800 decks 2 years ago. Just out of curiosity, how many decks do you think you have now?

[Mike Ratledge]

Cool stuff, Johanes!! I love to see where people have cross-over interest, be is numismatics/coins, postal, tobacco/RJR, railroad, etc. I have a number of coins in my collection, because I collected coins when I was a kid. I still pick up silver proof sets every year and a one-ounce silver coin from the West Point mint as well, but most of it is strictly playing cards these days, although I tend to stray a little bit into those other areas, especially RJ Reynolds and Marlboro products. I have never smoked, but everyone else in my family except nieces and nephews does. My father is from a little town 30 miles west of Winston-Salem North Carolina, so I grew up around the Reynolds family, mostly grandsons and daughters already, RJ was born in 1875 - and in fact spent time on their farm near a little unknown place when I was a kid named "Wake Forest" where they "hid" from the busy city life in Winston (used to be two separate cities, until he became the richest man in the state. RJ went to Trinity College, which we know better as Duke University these days. He had a hand in making all of the NC state university systems both public and private into something more than the 46th state in education. Around South Carolina - as far as education - we say "think God for Mississippi" otherwise we wouldn't be 49th (we're 43rd now). Interesting things I remember that I haven't even thought about in years. They had a place up near Grandfather Mountain outside of Boone NC as well, and summers were always "up in the mountains" where the water was cool and times were easy-er.

[johanes]

the last time i count is around 1000 decks. it's keep coming fast until i stop buying new decks and start vintage collection, so may be it's 1300 decks now..

To be honest i don't know, but from the tax stamp it's around 1940 - 1965. To get the exact year we need to see the code below the ace of spade, but to see it without opening the deck is impossible. it's better to keep it into a mystery i think.
but i have other stud, i think it's 1st gen stud. i'm not sure which one is older the the other one.

here they are
i think the different is one is officially seal by stud it self, and one pair with tax stamp
i just retake this picture




I think playing card company need to stop all this reprinting vintage design playing card, like bicycle racer back, bicycle new fan back, bicycle oak leaf, or steamboat, studs, i think that's already to much reprint.
it's making new collector stupid, they don't know the real thing yet they said they own the original "new fan back" "racer back" "steamboat".
that's erasing the history of the original company that make them.

[johanes]

@mike ratledge
I thing spending money on playing card is a good thing. It's keeping me away from smoking or using drugs.

I didn't know the history you told me, i'm only 20 years old. and i think it's a really long story to tell.
But i think i would like to know the full story behind that one you told me.

[Mike Ratledge]

@mike ratledge
I thing spending money on playing card is a good thing. It's keeping me away from smoking or using drugs.

I didn't know the history you told me, i'm only 20 years old. and i think it's a really long story to tell.
But i think i would like to know the full story behind that one you told me.

I agree, just don't let me catch you smoking cards, kids! jk...

Anyway, collecting the 52 pieces of pretty cardboard is an addiction in my way of thinking. You just can't do without.

Not sure I followed about the story - you mean Reynolds family, maybe? Interesting group, for sure. Maybe not, I'm not certain. ?? I pretty much told all I remember, it was when I was very young, up until about the age of 9. Beyond that I grew up in Charleston, it's where my father is from - post 1950 when he moved down from what is the Winston-Salem area to open the Allstate office in the new Sears building. It's long gone at this point, but Allstate is still going strong. Sears own K-Mart these days, and that can't be a good thing, you'd think.

[johanes]

@mike ratledge
I thing spending money on playing card is a good thing. It's keeping me away from smoking or using drugs.

I didn't know the history you told me, i'm only 20 years old. and i think it's a really long story to tell.
But i think i would like to know the full story behind that one you told me.

I agree, just don't let me catch you smoking cards, kids! jk...

Anyway, collecting the 52 pieces of pretty cardboard is an addiction in my way of thinking. You just can't do without.

Not sure I followed about the story - you mean Reynolds family, maybe? Interesting group, for sure. Maybe not, I'm not certain. ?? I pretty much told all I remember, it was when I was very young, up until about the age of 9. Beyond that I grew up in Charleston, it's where my father is from - post 1950 when he moved down from what is the Winston-Salem area to open the Allstate office in the new Sears building. It's long gone at this point, but Allstate is still going strong. Sears own K-Mart these days, and that can't be a good thing, you'd think.

Hobbies is an addiction, all the extra money i have is gone when someone sell good things at ebay.

[dazzleguts]

the last time i count is around 1000 decks. it's keep coming fast until i stop buying new decks and start vintage collection, so may be it's 1300 decks now..

Wow, you are way beyond me. I think I have 800 - 900 decks now. The number doesn't change much anymore since I have been selling some and buying less.

To be honest i don't know, but from the tax stamp it's around 1940 - 1965. To get the exact year we need to see the code below the ace of spade, but to see it without opening the deck is impossible. it's better to keep it into a mystery i think.

Yes, I have a wax paper sealed Alf Cooke deck that I can't bring myself to open yet, and I usually open all my decks. It's just so perfect sealed like that. I got it from Jase (Jock1971) who has many great British decks.

I think playing card company need to stop all this reprinting vintage design playing card, like bicycle racer back, bicycle new fan back, bicycle oak leaf, or steamboat, studs, i think that's already to much reprint.
it's making new collector stupid, they don't know the real thing yet they said they own the original "new fan back" "racer back" "steamboat".
that's erasing the history of the original company that make them.

Well, many new collectors eventually learn where those designs come from, partly because they see the reprints. I usually don't like those "reprints" because they stick modern Bicycle faces on them and they only look like the real ones on the backs.

I do like reproduction or facsimile decks though, where they make the faces and backs both exactly like the real ones. There are many antique decks I could never afford to buy as real ones. By having a reproduction I can see those cards right in my hand and enjoy the art of them. I still appreciate that having an original from over 100 years ago is better, but I have to eat and have a roof over my head too.

About Mike's story: RJ Reynolds, and Marlboro, were famous tobacco and cigarette companies in the United States. Sounds like Mike's family knew the Reynolds family.

[mmiikk]

@yohanes: the more vintage decks i see, the more i want to start collecting them. thanks for the photos.
@mike: id love to see the marlboro collection u have

[johanes]

@dazzleguts: I only sell like 50 or something, i would like to unload some of my collection but can't sell it internationally due the different in shipping when i purchased them and the tax, etc, my price might be high for US people. So just slowly offering some friends here. haha

i think that a really big problem for people out side the US, for me some seller just don't want to ship internationally, it's quite frustrating when the decks you want is at ebay and you have enough money to buy them but the seller didn't want to shipped it to you. But i know quite a lot of good seller that willing to help me by sending the decks they have even at first they said they only want to ship within US. And i think it's good to know new people, new source of vintage. haha

If the reprint deck is from uspcc only i think i still appreciate it, i just didn't like when people make profit just by copied some good work of someone. Just my personal reason.

@mmiikk: Just don't start it..... I didn't wish more rivals in this sections. jk... lol
if you want to start vintage collection i think you need to decide what are the decks you want, like me i choose to buy uspcc's or russel&morgan, arrco's yea some thing like that, jock1971 have a great collection of london vintage playing card, i think you need to do some research and prepare some money for it. Good luck if you want to start it..

[johanes]

I think i want to post this one before my trip to US, yes, i'm going to west coast, Los Angels, Las Vegas... I'll buy some books, cards, and coins there.. I think i might not be able to open UC for a week, i might be very busy searching for good stuff there.. haha

So i forget from who i get this decks
They are normal vintage aviator, but the seal make them really special.. Enjoy..

[johanes]

Bought some cards, coins, and books.

I think this one is quite nice..

[Sher]

Hi Johanes, you have a very nice collection. I don't really collect vintage decks, but you have some interesting ones, and they're portrayed so nicely in those pictures. The only ones I recognize are the tall stacks. Also, thanks for the tip on keeping decks in good condition.

[johanes]

@sher Thank you.. I'm glad you like it..

It's quite a long time since i hunt these decks. Finally i manage to get them now..
These are the 1st Edition Frontier Hotel & Casino Playing Card set