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

[ryansworld4]

I would think that it would be the "Bee KUNG HEI FAT CHOY" deck.

"Kung Hei Fat Choy" (I have decks with it spelled "Gong Hee Fot Choi" and other variations) is a phonetic spelling of a traditional Chinese greeting/exclamation on Chinese New Year. And red and gold are more or less the traditional colors of the holiday (cards, often containing money, are traditionally sent - in red envelopes - to children to celebrate the New Year).

Didn't know that, that's interesting, well "Bee KUNG HEI FAT CHOY" deck it is, kinda makes more sense, just feels like your holding treasure lol

[badpete69]

Picked up this nice Spades Bicycle set with sealed decks and instructions. CBJ was telling me that the originals of these are hard to find, so glad i was able to pick it up fairly cheap. Found the solitaire and Rummy sets today so only missing one I believe. These are dated 1995




Also picked up a nice sealed brick from the 40s-50s of Bee Squeezers. the boxes are amazingly white for their age . It is a split brick of red and blue decks

[ryansworld4]

Nice pick up, the spades look real cool and nice looking brick

[RSLancastr]

Nice find on the brick of Bee Squeezers, Pete!

[Eoghann]

Really nice Ryan! Great find!

@Pierre: I know what you mean. You'd expect vintage stuff to show signs of wear. Once I contacted Robert about a vintage deck that looked too clean for its age. No yellowing, fading...nothing. He assured me it was good but it still amazed me how pristine it was.

[RSLancastr]

@Pierre: I know what you mean. You'd expect vintage stuff to show signs of wear. Once I contacted Robert about a vintage deck that looked too clean for its age. No yellowing, fading...nothing. He assured me it was good but it still amazed me how pristine it was.

I probably told you at the time: I once bought a deck from the 1880s which, once I opened the box, looked like it had just left the factory! I thought that maybe I had purchased a reproduction, but more-seasoned collectors assured me that it was not a repro. Sometimes - especially with a particularly ornate deck - a deck never gets used, but is just put in a drawer or something, still in its unopened box, and is forgotten, spending years - sometimes decades - avoiding the ravages of time which a used deck suffers, through being shuffled, played with, and exposed to light and air.

[Eoghann]

All the way from 1880, it really stood the test of time!

[flyers3003]

Picked up this nice Spades Bicycle set with sealed decks and instructions. CBJ was telling me that the originals of these are hard to find, so glad i was able to pick it up fairly cheap. Found the solitaire and Rummy sets today so only missing one I believe. These are dated 1995

Pierre, why do I get the feeling that you got these off of eBay? Probably because that was my $12.25 bid you beat out. Oh well, I'll have to keep trying I guess.

[LouCipherr]

I am just over that brick of Bee's! Nice find!

[Clairemeg82]

Hi Everyone

I hope this is an appropriate forum for this question. I recently purchased an old Cribbage board for my husband as an anniversary gift and it contained a number of card game items – cards, Professor Hoffmann manuals, table numbers, playing cards etc. The playing cards are absolutely beautiful and I would love to be able to tell my Husband a little bit about their background.
Here is a description of the playing cards:

I think it’s a North German pattern. 52 card pack – Ace to Ten plus Jack, Queen and King in each suit. There are no indices and the corners, whilst slightly worn with age, appear to be gold tipped. There is a white (faded to approx. beige) dividing line on the Jack, Queen and King cards.

There is a tax stamp on the Ace of Hearts, which seems to correspond to the German Empire era – Eagle crest with the bands/ribbons extending over the wings of the eagle, and the shield shows the Prussian eagle with a black and white pattern with four squares. The stamp reads: Duetsches Reich – Funfzif PF. Vo. 90. I believe that No. 90 corresponds to the Altenberg area?

There is also a Star of David (with letter ‘B’ in the centre) on the eight of hearts.

The back of the cards are a shade of blue, with the Star of David with letter ‘B’ in the centre of the pattern.

The cards are presented in a burgundy coloured box with the following inscription on side 1: Altenburger. Spielkarten-Fabrik Schneider & Co. Altenburg. Sachs – Altenb. Side 2 reads: Whist 52 Blatt.

If anyone can help me date them, tell me a little more about their history and so forth, that would be great.

Thanks
Claire

[Clairemeg82]

Hi Everyone - Here are some pics!

[badpete69]

Claire

I use the following page sometimes when i want to look up international tax stamps on playing cards. Yours could be from the WWII era but I am not sure. Check out the germany section

http://www.endebrock.de/pc-taxes.html

[RSLancastr]

Hi, Clairemeg!

If I had access to my reference books, I might be able to be of some help in this. Unfortunately, they are all packed away where I cannot get to them at present. Regardless of their history, they are a nice find!

-Robert

[Jock1971]

Look`s like a 1895 Berlin Pattern. you can see this deck in the worldwide playing card museum.
a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks02/d00502/d00502.htm

[Cbkimble]

Well, here's my 4 week haul. Not shown are the uncuts I received: Arcanum White, Original Sapphire and Emerald Ornate, Russian Folk Art, Mayhem, and a full set of Aquila(3 sheets) from my good friend Tony.

Also, due to some sort of error, I somehow received the FB Mayhem brick a second time today so I have almost 3 bricks of Mayhem decks. If you're interested in any, PM me and I'll make you one hell of a deal.

If you're interested in any of these decks, PM me to see if any are available.

[Eoghann]

Impressive haul! Does the Aquila deck pop out easily or you have to shake it like ketchup?

[Cbkimble]

Have to shake it out. It's a snug fit but I don't plan on removing it very often.

[dazzleguts]

Look`s like a 1895 Berlin Pattern. you can see this deck in the worldwide playing card museum.
a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks02/d00502/d00502.htm

Nice catch Jase

This is the same deck but an earlier edition. Claire's courts are cruder than the ones shown in the WWPCM entry, and according to Peter Endebrock the tax stamp is from 1888 or earlier.

[Clairemeg82]

Look`s like a 1895 Berlin Pattern. you can see this deck in the worldwide playing card museum.
a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks02/d00502/d00502.htm

Nice catch Jase

This is the same deck but an earlier edition. Claire's courts are cruder than the ones shown in the WWPCM entry, and according to Peter Endebrock the tax stamp is from 1888 or earlier.

Thanks for your help everyone. The deck does seem consistent with the Berliner pattern, and yes, the stamp seems to suggest around 1888. The courts are slightly crisper/cruder than the pack on the WWPCM. After doing some more research (thanks for pointing in the right direction all), I have noticed a couple of other things, perhaps inconsistencies/irregularities? First, my research suggests that usually the card maker signs the Jack of clubs - mine doesn't have a signature. Also, the Star of David with the letter 'B' (Gebruder Bechstein) is on the eight of hearts in my deck, whereas it seems to appear most commonly on the seven of hearts? Any thoughts on this? (see pictures)

It could be a complete coincidence, but I have dated the newspaper cuttings that came with the Cribbage set and they are from the Times 4th Jan 1985 - so around the same time as the possible date of the cards.

One thing is for sure though - absolutely love the deck and can see further decks in my future

[Bikefanatic]

It came in today!!!! Ruby Gold Bee Deck (theres no real name for them so that's what im calling them) BLING BLING!!!! wow these are sweet have to see these in person, they have red and gold foil all over, but the only thing im a little disappointed the 2 bottom corners are dented, not to bad though, what a beautiful deck. hope you like my photo shop(paint)skills. This deck is from the Palace Casino in Maryland for there Chinese New Years Party. That's all I know about this deck, DEFINITION of Subsidiary, A company whose voting stock is more than 50% controlled by another company

Where did you get these from?

[badpete69]

Got my Seasons deck today... very beautiful set as you all know. And finally better very very late than never, I also got my Hawaiian decks

[PlayingCardz]

This verana deck!

Thanks, nice shots

[cosmicsecret]

Got my Empire decks today
Thanks Lee for declaring them low so that no delay through the customs have come up!
Lovely decks - well worth the wait!

Shipping took 1 week from the USA to germany

[Eoghann]

Got the GW variety pack! Thank you guys!
Took a long time coz I was waiting on Arcanum. Everything is fantastic! The coin and metal card are very nice and solid.

[cosmicsecret]

Got the GW variety pack! Thank you guys!
Took a long time coz I was waiting on Arcanum. Everything is fantastic! The coin and metal card are very nice and solid.

Sweet! how much was this variety pack and is it still available? Thanks

[Eoghann]

Oh crap, really sorry!
It's the variety pack prize from the UC awards. Didn't mean to mislead.

[PrincessTrouble]

My limited edition (holographic seals) Draconians came in. Love these decks.

[Fes]

That seal on the Draconians really pops off the tuck. Very cool!

[chach]

Got the GW variety pack! Thank you guys!
Took a long time coz I was waiting on Arcanum. Everything is fantastic! The coin and metal card are very nice and solid.

Nice set, 'specially like the occults coin. Congrats on the prize!

[caramelo]

Nice set, 'specially like the occults coin. Congrats on the prize![/quote]

+1

Where can I buy one of these coins now?