Ask the Experts at 52 Plus Joker

[Madden]

Hi guys.
I have the 20-year old(as i'm) marlboro deck, 52 cards, without box or jokers. And i want to estimate deck price and rarity. I can't find any clue in the internet, so, may be someone can tell me anything about it.
Deck condition is rather shabby, i've played with this cards from my childhood.

[Don Boyer]

Hi guys.
I have the 20-year old(as i'm) marlboro deck, 52 cards, without box or jokers. And i want to estimate deck price and rarity. I can't find any clue in the internet, so, may be someone can tell me anything about it.
Deck condition is rather shabby, i've played with this cards from my childhood.

I'd be hard pressed to give you a firm value on that one.  It's a European deck, something I'm not as familiar with.  Four indices, one in each corner, tends to be the first giveaway in most cases.  Also, with "Made in Belgium" on the Ace of Spades, there's a good chance the deck was printed by Cartamundi.  They print all over the world, but their HQ is in Turnhout.  The spade design on the Ace looks to me like a Cartamundi Ace of Spades.

I can tell you that there's value to it for both card collectors AND for cigarette memorabilia collectors, so that will bump the value up just a wee bit.  But factoring in the condition of the deck, I wouldn't count on it being worth a lot, unless it was exceptionally rare and sought-after.  That can happen with advertising decks now and then - made in limited numbers, distributed, then quickly forgotten by the company that commissioned them to be printed.

[Madden]

I have wrote to the Cartamundi support with question about marlboro deck rarity and price. And they answered me today:

"It looks like a promotional order we once made for Marlboro … it is forbidden for cigarette companies to make advertisement with their logo on playing cards.
So I don’t have any information on this projects.
And because this is promotional deck that mean I can’t estimate any retail price for it ☹ this product was given a way gadget for free.

So definitely this is an collectable item but value of it can tell only a collationer of such items. I can’t help in this matter sorry."

So, i will be really grateful if anyone can give me a clue, how can i find marlboro cards collectors, or how can i estimate this deck.

[Don Boyer]

I have wrote to the Cartamundi support with question about marlboro deck rarity and price. And they answered me today:

"It looks like a promotional order we once made for Marlboro … it is forbidden for cigarette companies to make advertisement with their logo on playing cards.
So I don’t have any information on this projects.
And because this is promotional deck that mean I can’t estimate any retail price for it ☹ this product was given a way gadget for free.

So definitely this is an collectable item but value of it can tell only a collationer of such items. I can’t help in this matter sorry."

So, i will be really grateful if anyone can give me a clue, how can i find marlboro cards collectors, or how can i estimate this deck.

Similar laws were passed in the US restricting heavily where and how a tobacco company can advertise their products.  That will make such decks all that more collectible.  Just make sure that older decks aren't prohibited by any laws in your country!  I'm just guessing, but it's not impossible that such a law could have been made retroactive - I've seen and heard of crazier things.

[struthjnovo]

Does anyone know if these cards are valuable at all? I have a few of them, and some are still sealed.

[Chuqii]

If they were wide cards, then they'd be worth $15-20 opened, more if sealed.  Narrow cards don't have much of a market.  Only one I could find that sold on eBay sold for $9.99, open.

Here's a link to completed Blue Ribbon listings on eBay.  https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sop=10&_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=blue%20ribbon%20playing%20cards%20-pabst&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

Depending on the back designs you have, I might be interested in some.  Feel free to PM me with more info.

[Don Boyer]

If they were wide cards, then they'd be worth $15-20 opened, more if sealed.  Narrow cards don't have much of a market.  Only one I could find that sold on eBay sold for $9.99, open.

Here's a link to completed Blue Ribbon listings on eBay.  https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sop=10&_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=blue%20ribbon%20playing%20cards%20-pabst&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

Depending on the back designs you have, I might be interested in some.  Feel free to PM me with more info.

I know what you mean about narrow or bridge-sized cards being less popular and thus less valuable, but for a design/brand like this, I think there'd be some interest.  Blue Ribbon is a popular brand with vintage collectors.

[aberry520]

Does anyone know anything about these cards? They are made by gemaco and as you can see on the back they say Cosmo's Club Washington DC 1878. I read that the Cosmo's is an elite club for highly intelligent people and some members include Noble peace prize winners and presidents. I've looked all over for details about them but can't even find a picture of them. Any information at all would help.

[dcbrown]

Can anybody help identify this deck? Court cards are unremarkable, but maybe the 3-pip aces (far right) are typical of some maker in particular. They look like a three at first glance. These are crudely printed on very heavy brownish card stock.

[Jock1971]

Can anybody help identify this deck? Court cards are unremarkable, but maybe the 3-pip aces (far right) are typical of some maker in particular. They look like a three at first glance. These are crudely printed on very heavy brownish card stock.

Turnhoutse Speelkaarten No.74,  printed by Brepols of Belgium c.1890-1910

[dcbrown]

Fantastic! I was expecting a less precise answer. Would I have found this in the Hargrave book if I had it yet?

[Jock1971]

Fantastic! I was expecting a less precise answer. Would I have found this in the Hargrave book if I had it yet?

Not sure i don`t have that book....also some  more common names for this deck is "Cartes Etroites", "Cartes a Jouer" or "Cartes Marblees No2"  and they came in either 52 or 36 card packs
Here`s a picture of my 36 card  "Cartes a Jouer" pack from c.1905 ( Dierckx Zoon partnered with Brepols from 1849 till around 1911)

[Worst Bower]

Would I have found this in the Hargrave book if I had it yet?

No, it's not found in Hargrave's book.

[dcbrown]

Jock1971, your deck looks higher grade than mine. Are they printed on coated stock? The corners are rounded. Wondering if my deck might have been made for the India market...and maybe more recent than the design would suggest. Much about these reminds me of the Belgian "Mogul" decks that can be found unused in original paper wrappers.

[MPassaro]

I have a deck here that I cannot find anywhere. I can find plenty of the Congress 606 Decks but not this particular one. Any help is very appreciated, value, year it was made, etc. Tax stamp says 'Act of 1894' and '2 cents' Also, I hope I'm doing this post correctly.....

Thanks
Mark

[Don Boyer]

I have a deck here that I cannot find anywhere. I can find plenty of the Congress 606 Decks but not this particular one. Any help is very appreciated, value, year it was made, etc. Tax stamp says 'Act of 1894' and '2 cents' Also, I hope I'm doing this post correctly.....

Thanks
Mark

Do you have an image of the tax stamp?

The 2-cent stamp you describe was in use for a period from 1894-1924.  In 1917, the tax went up to 7 cents, and again in 1919 to 8 cents.  Rather than printing new stamps, these 2-cent stamps were overprinted with the "7," and later the "8," to indicate that the full tax was paid.  In 1924, when the tax went to 10 cents a pack, a new stamp was designed and printed and this design was retired.  Knowing if there is (or isn't) an overprint on the tax stamp would help to narrow down to a smaller time period when this deck was produced and sold.

Have you looked for this deck in the current edition of the Hochman's Encyclopedia?  While it's not complete and may never be complete, it does have very extensive listings of cards produced in the US up to about the mid-20th century, in many cases with images.

[MPassaro]

The tax stamp is partial, allowing me to only see the part described above. Also, of course, the stamp has been cancelled so there is ink over the stamp. I'll look at the encyclopedia mentioned above. Thanks.

Mark

[tobyedwards]

The Congress deck whose back design you have shown is called Summer and has a copyright date of 1905 by the United States Playing Card Company. It is one of three seasonal designs issued under the Congress brand featuring attractive women, the other two being Spring and Autumn. Although this back is not signed, it appears to be the work of one of the famous American illustrators who were active during the first decade of the 20th century, possibly either Howard Chandler Christy or Charles Dana Gibson. This back design was also issued without the beautiful floral border and with the name of the picture added in the lower right corner. In my opinion, if your deck were in at least EX condition with most of the gold edging still present and was complete with the joker, it would be valued somewhere in the neighborhood of $75.

[MPassaro]

Ok, thanks a lot. I'm a collector/picker of many things, but cards is not one of them. I placed them on eBay under the title of '1905 Congress....' so if anyone is interested you can check them out there, or message me through here with offers. Maybe I can add to someone's collection.

Thanks and happy collecting!
Mark

[shadeone]

This should be an easy one for everyone here, but I'm still learning about dating cards and the differences in decks etc...
The code is J which would either be 1927 or 1947. There is no zip code so that cancels out 1967. The tax stamp fell off so no help there. I have a strong feeling it is 1947, but what would make a 1927 deck different than a 1947 one? Is there a guide to the changes in the guarantee card anywhere?

[Don Boyer]

This should be an easy one for everyone here, but I'm still learning about dating cards and the differences in decks etc...
The code is J which would either be 1927 or 1947. There is no zip code so that cancels out 1967. The tax stamp fell off so no help there. I have a strong feeling it is 1947, but what would make a 1927 deck different than a 1947 one? Is there a guide to the changes in the guarantee card anywhere?

That's a darn good question.  I'm hesitant to answer because my knowledge of older decks is more limited, but I would say that the box design does look more typical of mid-1940s.  I don't know exactly when USPC started with the "classic" box design, which was used in one fashion or another up to the company's relocation in 2009 as the standard Bicycle box design.  But I do know there were other box styles that preceded it.

The number printed on the joker might be a possible clue as well - don't know when USPC was doing that, either.  And yes, the joker design is another possible telltale.  I just wish the tax stamp was intact!

[Dufus]

This should be an easy one for everyone here, but I'm still learning about dating cards and the differences in decks etc...
The code is J which would either be 1927 or 1947. There is no zip code so that cancels out 1967. The tax stamp fell off so no help there. I have a strong feeling it is 1947, but what would make a 1927 deck different than a 1947 one? Is there a guide to the changes in the guarantee card anywhere?

[Dufus]

New to this system. I messed up that quote, but here is some info:

It's been mentioned in Hochman's Encyclopedia that this particular 808 Ace first came into production around 1930 and was used for many years since.  By that rationale and by what Mr. Boyer said, its most likely a '47 deck.

[Russ]

Hello Tom, I have an older looking deck of 808 Bicycle U.S. playing cards. The box says "gold edges", the box isn't in great condition, but the inner deck is wrapped in cellophane and has gold edges it is in perfect condition. Can you give me any information about this deck? Any help would be appreciated. I live in Norwood, Ohio, former home of USPC and found them in a thrift store nearby. Thanks.

[skinny]

Hello Tom, I have an older looking deck of 808 Bicycle U.S. playing cards. The box says "gold edges", the box isn't in great condition, but the inner deck is wrapped in cellophane and has gold edges it is in perfect condition. Can you give me any information about this deck? Any help would be appreciated. I live in Norwood, Ohio, former home of USPC and found them in a thrift store nearby. Thanks.

Even from the little information you've given, you're very likely to have a treasure. Are they Rider Back? Is the inner "cellophane" sealed? Which style is the tuck? Does it say "Extra Bicycle" or is the Gold Edges text on the bottom only? Do you see your tuck if you google Bicycle Playing Cards Gold Edges? Are they possibly not red or blue? You've described a sports car, but we can't tell if you have a 1980s Camaro or a new Lamborghini.