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