I feel quite lucky right now

[xela]

Victoria and I took a trip down to a few antique malls here in Vegas. I ended up picking some cool vintage casino decks, but nothing too special. However, then I met this guy who was selling two packs of Bicycle cards. They have a bar code and there was no way to tell when they were from without opening them. So I offered the guy $5 for both packs and he agreed. I came home, opened the blue one, and lo and behold it's a 1973 deck with the long tongue flap and an extraordinarily unique finish very similar to the Nuggets. I'm keeping my red deck sealed, and I'm not sure what to do with it yet.

I'm meeting with him on Tuesday to go through his collection of ~100 vintage, sealed USPCC decks. I can't wait to see what else he has.

Here is a list of everything else I got, all for $1-5 each:

1970s El Rancho PGC Hoyle deck sealed in cellophane
1960s-1970s Silver Nugget Bee sealed in cellophane
1970s Bourbon Street PGC Hoyle deck sealed in cellophane
Harold's Club Playing Cards (not sure what year, but they go for $130 on eBay)
1960s-1970s Frontier Bee sealed in cellophane

I'll be throwing a ton of vintage decks into my store after my meeting with said guy on Tuesday. The guy has no idea why I want the cards, and is utterly surprised that I do.

[john]

Why do you get all the cool things! In jersey we don't have anything cool . I need to move...

Anyway, i would love to see what kind of epic amazing vintage stuff you'll find. Maybe you can find bricks and bricks of jerrys

[digipunk]

They have a bar code and...
behold it's a 1973 deck with the long tongue flap...

USPC uses barcode since early '80s, it should be 1993 if it has barcode and '90s decks did have long tongue flaps. You didn't mention the sticker style, I guess it's round cornered blue sticker instead of USPC stamp-like sticker.

[xela]

They have a bar code and...
behold it's a 1973 deck with the long tongue flap...

USPC uses barcode since early '80s, it should be 1993 if it has barcode and '90s decks did have long tongue flaps. You didn't mention the sticker style, I guess it's round cornered blue sticker instead of USPC stamp-like sticker.

Hmm, I thought the barcodes began since the 70s did they not? The sticker style is rounded, but it's the thick paper style and not the stretchy style, like my Slims decks.

I'll be a tad disappointed if it's 93, but not that much since it's still a fantastic deck of cards. This finish is superb. Anyway, the guy said he has "sealed Bicycle decks with no bar codes" so I'm more excited for that. I don't want to jynx it though. Knowing my luck it will be something totally different.

[Evan]

Thats awesome! So they handle better than the current bike decks?
And please let us know what else you get from this guy. Sounds like he may have some cool stuff.

[digipunk]

@alex, even though it is a '90s deck, it is still a good deck.
 
If this is a 1973 deck, it should have USPC stamp-like sticker. The stamp-like stickers were used in 1965-1976, while barcode was used on the boxes since early '80s. And therefore the stamp-like sticker and barcode would not appear at the same time on one box.
 
However, we can find some 1976 to early 80s decks used round cornered stickers without barcode:

 
I know the thick paper style stickers you meant, decks from 1976 to 1990 used that kind of stickers. And sometime around 1990 they changed to "transparent border" stickers (the borders were white at first, but became more and more transparent with time), such stickers may be found on Holiday Back or Santa Back.
 
▼the left is a paper style sticker, the right is a "transparent-border" one

[NathanCanadas]

Hahaha LUCKY! IN Oakland, CA it's really hard to just find sellers selling cheap decks...

[moonexe]

My precious...

Alex, if you can get your hands on any of those, I might be interested...

[Jin Jian]

you are really lucky man ..

[dmbaggs]

Dang! You luck son of a gun!! I'll be looking forward to seeing what ends up in the shop.

I'm sure my day will come some day  Until then I'm happy with what I have

[Collector]

If this is a 1973 deck... one

I officially announce that I am a @digipunk fan from this moment[/size]

[Don Boyer]

If this is a 1973 deck... one

I officially announce that I am a @digipunkfan from this moment

Join the club!  He's got what appears to be one awesome collection.

Alex, just remember to give up that heads-up when you find some good stuff you want to sell!

[John B.]

i might be getting some old decks lately, my grandma know a lady who is 90 years old and says she has old looking playing cards, im hoping there vintage and so im hoping to check them out soon. could be really nice even if opened.

[xela]

Yeah guys I will buy whatever looks like it would be wanted even if it won't go in my collection. Hopefully if I find anything decent you guys will see some nice additions to the sales threads.

I still feel silly that I bargained the guy down to $5 for two sealed 1993 Bikes. For anyone wondering, the finish feels a lot more smooth and you can't feel the dimples as much. The cards are in every way, shape and form better than modern Bikes.

I also opened the El Rancho Hoyle deck, and I love the stock and finish.