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I have 8 variations of this deck...





CBJ

@dazzle

so you don't have this one?



ahhh CBJ beat me to it

My most recent additions from the last moth or so...:
I got the Quicksilver Deck from BMPoker. I'm guessing Mike had some bulk or earlybird deal with Russel. For all the KS backers who say they are still waiting to get their decks, though, this seems pretty insulting. Seems to me that KS backers are not being appreciated as much as they could (should?) be.

CBJ wrote:I have 8 variations of this deck...
CBJ

Wow, yeah I forgot about those. That means I have 5 versions of the deck, if you count both colours of the 125th Anniversary edition.

@th4mo
How did those Animal Instinct cards turn out? They were not printed by USPCC...

dazzleguts wrote: @th4mo
How did those Animal Instinct cards turn out? They were not printed by USPCC...

I think they came out great. But i may not be the best person to ask. I just get these decks to collect. I receive them, open them up, maybe take some photos, and then they go back in the box.
I don't shuffle them, and i don't play with them. I have never done any flourishing, XCM, or card magic. So take my opinion for what it is worth!

That said, i did a side by side comparison with the Hedge deck that i had open as well. The cards appear to be the same thickness, and seem to be comparable in their springiness and "snap". The Instinct cards also have the dimpling that the bicycle cards have.

I also received a deck of the Flowers Playing Cards, from Alien Sink/Ink/whatever, and it appears that these and the Animal Instinct decks were printed/boxed at the same printer, and possess the same level of quality.

Some pics:

Thanks th4mo. The printing looks pretty good and the dimpling is a little lighter - which I prefer just for the looks of it.

unparalleled luxury

This is a vintage Patience double deck from German card company Altenburg Straslund Spielkarten (ASS). The pattern looks to be "Baroness", originally by Dondorf. One deck is still sealed and the book like case is in excellent shape except for wear to the word "Patience" on the front cover. I bought it locally.
The cards are 1.75" x 2.5"
The cream background of the faces has a laid pattern to it - slightly darker fine lines running vertically through the colour.

Another nice one, Dazzle!

Is that the Baroness pattern, or is it just based on it? I seem to recall Baroness as being...softer, somehow, but I haven't seen it in several years now.

And I know what you mean about the background on the faces - I often had trouble getting that to show up in scans.

I used to get a chuckle out of Altenburg/Stralsunder's decks being emblazoned with "ASS", but it makes sense not only as an initialism for the company's name, but as a reference to "Ass", the German word for "Ace".

Thanks RS. Definitely the "Baronesse".

Onto a newly minted deck whose maker has some of the extravagance of Dondorf.

Very happy with my 8-bit package and love the weight and sharpness of the arcade token!
I have actually put off opening the decks just to prolong the joy I got out of this package.

Here's a deck I purchased around 2000 or so, but only opened the tin today:

==========[ Fundex_BigDeck ]==========


=====[ The Deck ]=====
Published by Fundex, "Big Deck" is an oversized (~ 4.5" x 7") deck of playing cards for young children.

The deck comes in a "Collectible tin", and includes a pamphlet containing rules for fifteen children's card games (Crazy Eights, Old Maid, etc).

The custom courts are colorful, and depict activities of interest to young children (holding pets, eating sweets, etc). The tin and box state that the deck is for people four years old and up.

=====[ The Cards on Display ]=====

===[ Heart ]===
The Queen of Hearts, holding a kitten. The Jack and King of the suit (not shown) are holding a mouse and a fox, respectively

===[ Club ]===
The King of Clubs, eating a piece of pie. The Jack and Queen of the suit (not shown) are eating a cookie and a cupcake, respectively

===[ Diamond ]===
The Jack of Diamonds, holding a bluebird. The Queen and King of the suit (not shown) are holding a dove and an owl, respectively

===[ Spade ]===
The Ace of Spades, non-custom. The Jack, Queen and King of the suit (not shown) are holding a painter's pallette, a harp and a quill pen, respectively

===[ Joker ]===
A colorful joker, one of two in the deck.

===[ Back ]===
A repetitive pattern, with the four suit symbols in the corners.

===[ Title ]===
An advertising card for Phase 10, another product published by Fundex.

===[ Box ]===
The "collectible tin".

Ok, kinda silly to post this, but here is my itty bitty baby collection:

There are tons of decks I'd love to add, but this is shaping up to be a very expensive hobby, so I'll just have to grab what I can when I get the chance. Luckily, I've found a lot of good places to look from my time reading old forum posts.

charlie

That's funny that playing cards seem to be in my monthly budget now! It's nothing to me, I just collect what I like. Better cards than overindulging on alcohol, clothes, etc.

Bikefanatic wrote:That's funny that playing cards seem to be in my monthly budget now! It's nothing to me, I just collect what I like. Better cards than overindulging on alcohol, clothes, etc.

There are times when my wife would probably prefer that I overindulge on alcohol than spend what I spend on cards...

Zombie Origin KS Deck from Mam Made Games (Alex Willis)

Not USPCC, but quality seems pretty good, IMHO. Some Pics:
I will volunteer that this deck has one of my favorite jokers, as far as zombie decks go:

Sorry i didn't get better lighting on these. i struggled with it for a while. If anyone really cares, i will take some better pics another time...

Here are a couple more with more detail, including a comparison to the grid 2.0:
The finish seems to be a bit glossier than the finish on the Grid 2.0 deck.

And here are a few photos of my recently arrived Grid 2.0 deck.
Very nice work 4PM!
It's kind of a toss-up for me between the first Grid and this one in terms of my favorite, but I think this one takes the prize by a nose!

I didn't get any photos of the UV. Still looking for a good blacklight app for my phone...
was hoping to get one from Szlab, makers of the android solar charger app, but no such luck!

Thanks for posting those, th4mo!

I wasn't crazy for the original Grid deck, and it looks like I will be even less crazy for this one, although perhaps the UV feature will "grab" me.

Perhaps y0our photos don't do it justice, but the courts look very... washed-out or something.

These photos really don't do the deck any justice. The colors are nice and crisp and bright. The UV is truly cool. All that white background is actually a very detailed design under UV light.

Becky C wrote:These photos really don't do the deck any justice. The colors are nice and crisp and bright. The UV is truly cool. All that white background is actually a very detailed design under UV light.

I thought that something like that m might be the case, Becky.

Thanks for weighing in on it!

-RSL

RSLancastr wrote:

Becky C wrote:These photos really don't do the deck any justice. The colors are nice and crisp and bright. The UV is truly cool. All that white background is actually a very detailed design under UV light.

I thought that something like that m might be the case, Becky.

Thanks for weighing in on it!

-RSL

Yeah, sorry, i should probably use a better setup than just my phone's camera and halogen lighting!

th4mo wrote:Yeah, sorry, i should probably use a better setup than just my phone's camera and halogen lighting!

No apology neccesary, 'mo!

It's better to see poor-quality photos of the deck than no pics at all, I say.

Thanks for taking and sharing them!

Stopped by Grand Illusions in Sacramento as well as a local antique store yesterday and picked up a few decks. The shifters are really cool cards, like them a lot, especially since the text can be read either way the card is. Drawing a blank on what the name of that style of writing is. The 4 other decks are from the antique store, all are sealed and have a 1 cent tax stamp on them. The fiddler and maiden are a pair of congress manufactured cards w/ a very nice silver USPCC sticker on the wrapper as well and have gold and silver gilded edges respectively. The boxed pair are Russell DeLuxe cards from the Russell PCC. The one that's flipped over has a blue backing on it, they both have gold gilded edges. One more thing, the antique cards all cost me less than the pack of Shifters alone.

chach wrote:Stopped by Grand Illusions in Sacramento as well as a local antique store yesterday and picked up a few decks. The shifters are really cool cards, like them a lot, especially since the text can be read either way the card is. Drawing a blank on what the name of that style of writing is.

Ambigram is the word you're after!

Nice haul!

Frequenter wrote:Ambigram is the word you're after!

Nice haul!

Right you are!

I was thinking that "ambigram" was the word for it when flipping one word resulted in a totally different word, as in my "I Purchase the 'Wrong' deck" thread: http://unitedcardists.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1569, but they are two types of ambigrams!

I first was introduced to ambigrams in a series of articles in Omni Magazine in the late 1970s / early 19880s which contained ambigrams of opposites, such as LOVE/HATE, RIGHT/WRONG, DOG/CAT, etc. - so that is my perception of ambigrams - those of two very different words.

But Googling the word shows that there are several types:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambigram

RSLancastr wrote:

Frequenter wrote:Ambigram is the word you're after!

Nice haul!

Right you are!

I was thinking that "ambigram" was the word for it when flipping one word resulted in a totally different word, as in my "I Purchase the 'Wrong' deck" thread: http://unitedcardists.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1569, but they are two types of ambigrams!

I first was introduced to ambigrams in a series of articles in Omni Magazine in the late 1970s / early 19880s which contained ambigrams of opposites, such as LOVE/HATE, RIGHT/WRONG, DOG/CAT, etc. - so that is my perception of ambigrams - those of two very different words.

But Googling the word shows that there are several types:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambigram

These ambigrams seem like they are recently in vogue. They have appeared on at least a few newer decks of cards.

I wonder if it has something to do with the incredible success of Dan Brown, and his "Angels and Demons" novel from a few years back, or if he was just jumping on the bandwagon as well.

I've never seen the ambigrams that have opposite meanings when they are flipped; that seems more impressive and "cooler" than the standard type. Let's see a deck featuring those!

Stopped by Grand Illusions in Sacramento

Love that shop - Steve is a good friend of mine. I've been wanting to pick up a deck of Lee Ashers cards though, nice haul

th4mo wrote:I've never seen the ambigrams that have opposite meanings when they are flipped; that seems more impressive and "cooler" than the standard type. Let's see a deck featuring those!

I think you have seen one!

Or at least you alluded to the one on one version of the cover of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons!

RSLancastr wrote:

th4mo wrote:I've never seen the ambigrams that have opposite meanings when they are flipped; that seems more impressive and "cooler" than the standard type. Let's see a deck featuring those!

I think you have seen one!

Or at least you alluded to the one on one version of the cover of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons!

The version i read didn't have an ambigram on the cover, so I had to look that one up. But it appears to read the same backwards and forward like the other ones in the book.

i think we've gone pretty off-topic here! Sorry!

@Chach
Is that an old European deck under glass beneath the other decks?