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Playing Card Chat ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ => A Cellar of Fine Vintages => Topic started by: publius on April 20, 2017, 12:12:07 PM

Title: Help Identify this Deck?
Post by: publius on April 20, 2017, 12:12:07 PM
Doing some browsing online and saw this deck. This is the only picture provided, and there is no other identifying information. Which company did the AoS like this with the number "8" in the center? (https://img1.etsystatic.com/029/0/9452019/il_570xN.598068329_n4id.jpg)
Title: Re: Help Identify this Deck?
Post by: andrew daugherty on April 21, 2017, 07:35:28 AM
Very common USPC ace, used starting in at least the 1930s and through the 1960s. Found on Aviators, bridge decks of all sorts. Served as one of the generic or default ace designs for many brands. 
Title: Re: Help Identify this Deck?
Post by: publius on April 21, 2017, 10:27:28 AM
I did some digging last night and read basically what you posted. Don't know how I haven't come across one before, but I am still a novice to vintage decks. Tell me, I found a supply of a handful of these decks in great condition, different spinoff brands like Torpedo, Mohawk, etc; all around this era or a little earlier, for about $6 a deck - but oddly enough most are missing their boxes. Is this a worthy investment? One deck features the AoS that identifies only "Russell Playing Card Company" with the old Russell AoS design. I would imagine that much of the deck's value is contingent on the tuck box, correct?
Title: Re: Help Identify this Deck?
Post by: Chuqii on April 22, 2017, 12:45:46 AM
 For these common decks which were used under multiple names, the tuck is more important.  It is what gives the deck it's personality. I recently received a deck of "Whoopee" playing cards.  They are plain old Torpedo cards, but the tuck is great.
Title: Re: Help Identify this Deck?
Post by: publius on April 23, 2017, 03:12:58 PM
Those are awesome
Title: Re: Help Identify this Deck?
Post by: Don Boyer on April 30, 2017, 04:57:40 AM
I have Torpedo and Mohawk decks - inside, they were simply Aviators.  At one time in history, they were using "off-brands" like Torpedo, Whoopee, etc. as a way of off-loading leftover stock on the cheap - they'd really put whatever decks they had excess of into those boxes.  The back of this deck looks an awful lot like modern Aviator backs.