Here's one of the crown jewels of my collection, purchased through the
52+Joker club auction last year.
The Hycrest Modern Royalty deck dates to 1931, and is perhaps one
of the best examples of Art Deco playing card design. This deck came
with the pictured joker and a telescoping box. The edges of the cards
are gilded. The cards are in near-mint condition, truly astounding for a
nearly 85-year-old deck.
Though my deck is yellow, I've seen green and purple ones as well.
The brownish areas on the back are actually gold, which unfortunately
doesn't photograph well.
Note the large suit symbols behind the heads of the court cards.
The indices also have an unusual font.
I must admit that I don't take this deck out very often, though it is one
of my favorites. After all, there's something both intimidating and
humbling in handling a deck of cards that's older than your parents,
an item that wasn't supposed to have survived for as long as it has...
that, and I'd rather not keep such a treasure within reach of the children. ^_^;