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

Vaudeville playing cards

Vaudeville playing cards front of box

Made by United States Playing Card Company for The Blue Crown, the Vaudeville deck was made for magicians. The back design is ideal for flourishes and throws. The front and back of this deck is all custom artwork by illustrator/artist Fracturize.

The box on this deck is a bit tattered, but not torn, and the edges are worn. The cards inside did not come sealed, but they are unused and still in their original packing order.

United Airlines 1970s

Ocean to Ocean Service

United Airlines branded playing cards touting “Ocean to Ocean Service.” This deck is from the 1970’s and is unopened with intact the U. S. Playing Card Company sticker. The box is in excellent condition. Very slight wear and only the sticker shows some discoloration. Back in the day, some airlines handed out decks of cards to people on flights. Now you are lucky if they don’t run out of pretzels.

Coca-Cola®

Coca-Cola® Mini Deck

This deck of Coca-Cola® cards has the trademarked curve bottle with bottle caps on it. Stars and circles (or bubbles) float around the bottle. This mini deck is 1.75″ X 2.5″. This deck was printed by the United States Playing Card Company (USPPC). As best as I can find, this design dates to the early to mid 1990’s. This deck is unopened.

You can find standard size copies of this deck, printed by Bicycle® (a USPCC company) sold online, but other than a couple copies on eBay, or specialty shops, I found the most copies in France and Japan. I only found one seller on eBay selling the mini deck.