Politically-Themed Playing Cards

In honor of the recent U.S. Presidential election, here is a look at a couple of decks of playing cards with a political theme from my collection. First up, “The President’s Deck” made by USPC in 1972 featuring caricatures of then-President Richard Nixon as the kings....

And here is the Politicards 2012 Playing Card Deck depicting the two candidates from the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election with Donald Trump as Beetlejuice and Hilary Clinton as the Black Swan...

The Cheapo Card Collector Still Lives!

Wow! It has been a little over four years since I last posted, but I wanted to reassure you all that I, the Cheapo Card Collector, am still alive. Although this blog has been badly neglected, my collection has not, and has grown considerably since then, so I thought maybe I should  return every once in awhile to share with you some of my favorite items from it  like the following:

One of the Most Unique Items in my Playing Card Collection – a Hand-Drawn and Calligraphed Deck by the Cornwell Scribe Works of Chico, CA

The Answers to the Mystery Deck Challenge Revealed!

It's been almost a month since I've posted my Cheapo Card Collector Mystery Deck Challenge, so now it's time to reveal the answers! Thanks to a retweet by Lee Asher, the post was viewed 192 times (about a third of all the views of this blog in its entire lifetime)! No one left any guesses in the comments section, so it's difficult to judge how easy people found the quiz, but I'm willing to bet most were baffled by mystery decks #2, #7, and #14: 

Mystery Deck No. 1:

Monarch (Theory 11)

Mystery Deck No. 2:

Cartamundi (Atlantis Back) Low Vision

Mystery Deck No. 3:

Steamboat #999 (Dan & Dave Reprints)

Mystery Deck No. 4:

Bicycle Racer Back No. 1 (Reprints)

Mystery Deck No. 5:

Fournier #605 (Lee Asher Signature Series)

Mystery Deck No. 6:

Tahoe Cartouche Club Back No. 9 (Arcco Originals)

Mystery Deck No. 7:

Drury Lane (Sold Exclusively by the Long Defunct Katz Drug Store Chain)

Mystery Deck No. 8

Carlton Aviator

Mystery Deck No. 9:

Dal Negro San Siro

Mystery Deck No. 10:

Ask Alexander (Conjuring Arts)

Mystery Deck No. 11

Green Phoenix (Card-Shark)

Mystery Deck No. 12

Bicycle Thistle Back (Reprints)

Mystery Deck No. 13:

White Arcane (Ellusionist)

Mystery Deck No. 14:

  EMpower Magic Entertainment (Printed by USPCC for EMPOWER Co. Ltd. of Japan)

Mystery Deck No. 15:

Aristocrat #727 Back No. 2 (Russell Playing Card Co. Originals)

So how did you do? Did you correctly identify them all? Or were you stumped by some? Please let me know by posting in the comments section.

Mystery Deck Challenge

The Cheapo Card Collector is back with a challenge! Can you name the following 15 contemporary and/or vintage decks from my own personal collection by their back design? Almost any serious (and not so serious) playing card collector shouldn't even raise a sweat identifying most of them, but hopefully I have included a few stumpers as well (HINT: you can find the name of at least two of these decks in a previous post).

Mystery Deck No. 1

Mystery Deck No. 2

Mystery Deck No. 3

Mystery Deck No. 4

Mystery Deck No. 5

Mystery Deck No. 6

Mystery Deck No. 7

Mystery Deck No. 8

Mystery Deck No. 9

Mystery Deck No. 10

Mystery Deck No. 11

Mystery Deck No. 12

Mystery Deck No. 13

Mystery Deck No. 14

Mystery Deck No. 15

Please post all guesses as a comment. I will reveal the names of all the decks in my next post.

The Cheapo Playing Card Collector Returns...Once Again...

Hey there, Fellow Cheapo Card Collectors!

It's been five months since I wrote my last post for this blog. It's now a new year, and I'm back to give it one more try...

 So what went wrong? Well, let's say I was a bit too ambitious. I had all these glorious ideas, intending to enlighten my readers with tips and advice on starting their own cheap playing card collections, but my intentions overwhelmed me, and I developed a bad case of writer's block. Meanwhile, my own collection began to grow, and grow, and grow... Frankly I have no idea how many new decks I acquired over the past few months, but I'd estimate I'm the owner of at least 1000 packs now (about 52000 individual playing cards, more or less).

So instead of telling you what to do, let me show you what I got...

MY LATEST ACQUISITION: A Vintage Bridge Size Deck of Chesterfield Brand Cigarette Playing Cards Dating Back to the 1950s, Manufactured by The United States Playing Card Company in Cincinnati, Ohio

My Latest Aquisition...

A Vintage Deck of Bicycle Racer Back No. 2 Playing Cards Produced Probably Sometime in the Late 1920's

The Cheapo Card Collector's Terms & Definitions #1: "BUNDLING"

A Deck of White Arcane Playing Cards That I Purchased as Part of a "Bundle" on an Online Auction.  This and Eleven Other Collectible Decks in the Lot Came to Less Than Four Dollars a Piece,  Almost Half the Price Than If I Purchased Each Deck Separately.

You might be aware of the term " Bundling" from the practice of the telephone, cable, and other companies offering several products or services together as a package deal for a single price, but you ask "what does that have to do with playing card collecting?". You will often encounter "Bundling" when you discover a  deck of playing cards that you've been lusting for on an online auction that being sold as part of a "lot". You also might find yourself in a similar situation in many thrift stores which do not sell decks of playing cards singularly, but instead package several decks together in a clear plastic bags. Probably you don't really want to purchase the other items (usually it's grouped with other playing cards, but not always) but the seller refuses to sell you your object separately (though it doesn't hurt to ask). So what do you do? Well, it really depends how you feel about the surplus cards. You might really want the others as well, or at least not mind adding them to your collection. If so, there's no problem. Just divide the final price by the number of decks to figure out the cost for each, and use that figure to evaluate if it's worth the purchase. But if the extra cards are totally unwanted, you should treat the price for the entire lot as the cost of the single deck. In many cases, you will find it just too expensive, and it might be best to pass on the entire deal. It's really up to you, and how much you really want that desired deck. Many times, I've been forced to buy not only really crappy cards that I already owned just to claim a treasure, but totally random junk as well. This has happened to me particularly over and over in one specific nation-wide thrift store chain that has peculiar habit of bundling their playing cards with unrelated items: puzzles, staples, screws, sewing notions, drink coasters, etc. Once in pursuit of an deck of cards in this store, I even acquired a glass paperweight of the Sydney Opera House in Australia!
Though bundling can be a real pain, but it can be beneficial as well. Often it will turn out those spare cards that you didn't think you wanted will be a better find that the original deck you bought the whole lot for. This has happened to me a few times, most memorably in that same thrift store I've mentioned, discovering a very rare vintage scenic railroad deck from the 1930's, I was totally unaware of, in an unlabeled card case among very common airline playing cards sold together in a plastic bag.

So good luck, my fellow cheapo card collectors! May all your "bundles" be blessed!

 Rare Green Phoenix Playing Cards From That Same "Bundle".