Bicycle first printed the expert back design in 1895, and looked to recreate an antique feel with this standard poker sized deck reissue.  The first run of this deck however, featured the old fan back design (1885-1894). The fan back and expert back are very close in look, but it was eventually caught by an astute card collector, and the cards were corrected.  While I do not have one of the mistake decks with the fan back design, everything I read (and seen) has said the same thing: The corrected run overdid it on the antique effect on the cards, and they just look uniformly muddy, and that the mistake cards had a more subtle, and nicer, effect. That said, I like the old card back style reissues. A way to add some USPCC history to my collection without the cost of paying for a 150 year old deck of cards.

expertfront expertback