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

Bicycle Steampunk Playing Cards

Front of deck

The Bicycle Steampunk playing cards are standard poker sized deck. This is the bronze edition, and and features cog and gear covered backs, and a metallic bronze tuck case. Original artwork is found on the ace of spades, joker, card back design, and tuck case. A subtle touch is the USPCC closure stamp, which is usually black, is a golden bronze color on this deck.

While the artwork is lovely, and the deck does sport the name “steampunk,” there are other artist decks out there that really run with the steampunk theme. I would say that these are more steampunk lite. This deck is unopened in the original packaging. 

Bicycle Mayhem

Front of deck

Mayhem is a Bicycle branded, custom deck created by the Cardicians. They were published by USPCC, and was a Kickstarter funded project. The name Mayhem was chosen due to the the mix of styles brought into the composition, giving it a feeling of chaos. The deck includes custom face cards, custom pips, and custom joker cards.  The tuck case is black with a deep burgundy/blood red and gold designs complete with a custom seal with a stylized M. The card faces are a rich burgundy/blood red, with black and gold detailing. Visit the (now completed) campaign page for images of all of the cards included in the deck. This is a standard poker sized deck containing 52 cards plus two jokers, still sealed in its original packaging. 

Bicycle Prestige cards are 100% plastic cards (Dura-Flex), but made to feel like paper cards. Thicker than regular plastic coated cards, these cards are waterproof and will bounce back into shape. These cards don’t have a tuck case, and are instead housed in a plastic top lift box wrapped in a silver cardboard casing. These cards aren’t recommended for cardistry, as they don’t fan out as smoothly. The first run of these cards came in red or blue, with a stylized take on the traditional Bicycle angel design. This red backed deck is sealed in original package. Appearance of scratches and scuffs in the images is just on the outer plastic wrap.

Bicycle Prestige

Front of deck

Back of box

Back of box showing card back design

Bicycle Dragon Back Red

Front of deck

Bicycle Dragon Red boasts a mirror image dragon design on the front and four-way dragon design on the back. This style also comes in blue, gold, green, and yellow. The heart and diamond pip colors match each color deck, and the face card colors correspond with the dragon colors. The Dragon Back Red deck has red and gold face cards, and the heart and diamond pips are red. This deck comes with 2 standard Jokers (one color matching, one black and white), and a double backed gaff card.

This deck was released after supposedly being discovered by a USPCC employee looking through a book of old card back designs. The Dragon Back was designed decades ago, possibly in the early 20th century, but there is no record of it ever being produced.  – Playing Cards Wiki

This deck is sealed in original package.