Broadway Seconds Aristocrat Decks

[magicphill]

I picked up a few of these decks reasonably cheaply and although packaged as seconds they handle superbly. The stock is casino grade and they faro like a dream

Does anybody know the history of these decks and when they were discontinued ? The decks I have are dated 2004

[Don Boyer]

I do know that I saw them available online from one of the bigger retailers, but I have no idea if they're still in stock anymore.  Aristocrats are great cards, and the "Seconds" program at USPC was pretty nice in terms of the cards you got - they usually played just fine and the imperfections were hard to spot, or so I've been told.  I wouldn't be surprised if 2004 was close to if not the exact year that USPC stopped making Seconds - I never see newer decks and they're not exactly easy to find in the first place.

FYI: for all practical intents and purposes, USPC ceased production on the stock used to make Aristocrats and "Broadway Seconds".  They eliminated Tally Ho stock first, switching that deck to Aristocrat stock, then Aristocrat stock was done with the Aristocrat 727 "Banknote" reprints from about two years ago.  Beyond that, it hasn't been seen, at least not in anything outside of a casino deck.  They may still be making it for casino customers, but for standard and custom decks, they're down to Bicycle Standard and Bee Casino pretty much exclusively, other than an occasional small run on some recycled papers they use for "environmentally friendlier" decks, which also have starch-based coatings and vegetable-based inks.

[magicphill]

Thanks for the reply shame they were yet another brand that dissapeared and they are becoming harder to find

Out of interest did the USPCC stop their Bicycle seconds around the same time ? I've seen a few online sellers with Bike seconds and wondered if these were ever made in the Erlanger factory

[Don Boyer]

Thanks for the reply shame they were yet another brand that dissapeared and they are becoming harder to find

Out of interest did the USPCC stop their Bicycle seconds around the same time ? I've seen a few online sellers with Bike seconds and wondered if these were ever made in the Erlanger factory

You are probably correct.  They are NOT making seconds of anything at the Erlanger plant, to the best of my knowledge.  I suppose people wanting a cheaper deck can always resort to buying Mavericks, which to my knowledge are still being made (rather cheaply) through a contractor in China.  They leave a LOT to be desired in terms of quality, though.

Perhaps Streamlines would be the better alternative - they're cheaper than Bicycles in most stores and have recently been in production in Erlanger, having been shifted away from Spain and China.  The Spanish-made ones were probably from Heraclio Fournier in Vitoria, Spain (the company is an independently-operated but wholly-owned subsidiary of USPC) and are of good quality I'm told, but the Chinese-made decks, while not as bad as Mavericks, leave a great deal to be desired.  I went through a few hundred decks in magic performances and they can't be faro shuffled for either love or money.

[BobCards]

I have just purchased a few of these decks @1$40 each Asia.

A couple have old Ohio boxes, but the cards were printed in 2012.

The rest have Erlanger boxes printed in 2016.

So USPCC are still printing them.... but maybe only for Asia.

[Don Boyer]

I have just purchased a few of these decks @1$40 each Asia.

A couple have old Ohio boxes, but the cards were printed in 2012.

The rest have Erlanger boxes printed in 2016.

So USPCC are still printing them.... but maybe only for Asia.

But here's the thing - are they really seconds or are they just perfectly fine, bog-standard Aristocrat decks placed in Broadway Seconds boxes?  Did they have any casino imprint on them?  And if they are "seconds," meaning they're not of first-grade quality but in fact have minor defects, why on Earth would you pay $40 for a pack??

It's not unheard of for USPC to use up leftover boxes.  Do the boxes actually have 2016 copyright info on them and the Erlanger address?

[BobCards]

Hi,

- I paid $1.40 for each deck. I am not paying $40 for a deck.......

- The cards have no discernible defect, although the red ink is way darker than standard Bees.

- Rear is standard Aristocrat pattern, no borders, but two ovals with "Aristocrat" printed in them. No casino name.

- yep, the boxes have (c) 2016 with the Erlanger address. Except for the Ohio boxes which have no date or copyright on the box.

I'm happy with them. After flexing the entire deck and comparing with new Bees, I think the Aristocrats are slightly stiffer stock, subjectively.

[Don Boyer]

Hi,

- I paid $1.40 for each deck. I am not paying $40 for a deck.......

- The cards have no discernible defect, although the red ink is way darker than standard Bees.

- Rear is standard Aristocrat pattern, no borders, but two ovals with "Aristocrat" printed in them. No casino name.

- yep, the boxes have (c) 2016 with the Erlanger address. Except for the Ohio boxes which have no date or copyright on the box.

I'm happy with them. After flexing the entire deck and comparing with new Bees, I think the Aristocrats are slightly stiffer stock, subjectively.

You did write something that looked like $40 - that sounded a bit too high, unless they weren't US dollars.

They do sound like just bog-standard Aristocrats, casino grade.  They must just be using Broadway Seconds boxes, for whatever reasons they have.  Perhaps they didn't want to confuse it with the other, recent Aristocrat releases.