Playing Card Identification (very old)

[timema]

These cards have been in my family for a very long time, a few cards are missing, and they are worn and hard to shuffle. I am thinking of selling them, but before I do this I'd like to find out if anyone can identify what brand they are, or the age. They are unmarked, and I do not know much about cards apart from the fact that I like to play poker with them. I have included a picture of the face cards, a joker, ace of spades, and the back design. The rest of the cards have nothing unique or distinguishing about them. I hope you can help! 😊

[Don Boyer]

They'd be very difficult to identify, I'd think.  Judging from the two-color printing, they were fairly cheaply produced, possibly by one of the countless companies, mostly throughout Asia these days, that produce generic low-end playing cards.

The interesting thing about them appears to be their age - do you have at least a guess as to a minimum of the number of years old they are?  It might help narrow down the search a bit.  Even low-end cards these days are often printed in three or four colors, whereas this one is just two, red and black - it is possibly due to how old the cards are and how expensive it might have been at one time to print using more colors.

Are the cards coated at all - do they feel like they have (or used to have) a slick finish to them, like some kind of plastic coating?  Or are they bare, uncoated stock?  Are the cards translucent - when held up to a bright light source, can you see the image on the reverse side of the card through the light?

[timema]

Hi Don, thanks for your reply!

The cards apparently belonged to my grandfather's family from when he was young. This would make them at least 80 years old, and them being poor immigrants at the time, I'm unsure whether the cards would have been purchased new or not. They are not transparent, and they don't appear to have a plastic coating on them, but they are strangely smooth compared to other cards I have that are completely bare - perhaps a wax coating?

[Calvingrace]

Those are called "poop backs"

[NCC1888]

From New Zealand.  Royal Playing cards by TUI. The firm was sold in 1949 to Weeks Ltd, later Weeks Field Ltd. The same courts were used, printed by a firm called United Empire Box Co. (UEB Industries) from the mid-1960s. From 1989-93 Kiwi Packaging took over.

See this site https://www.wopc.co.uk/blogs/kenlodge/new-zealand

[Don Boyer]

I have to admit, there?s something interesting about the two-color print work; they?re practically novel by today?s standards, and it lends them a sort of retro cool factor.

[timema]

Thanks for the replies. It makes sense that they'd be from New Zealand given I'm from New Zealand and my grandfather's family immigrated here.