This posting is an attempt at clarifying some of the numbers that often appear on various Aces of Spades among the many brands issued by NYCC. I found this information in a couple of mint decks that still contained the accompanying slips of paper inserted into their respective boxes. This represented one of the ways in which NYCC tried to improve their customer service and guarantee satisfaction.
The first two photographs show the front and back of one of these slips that indicate which sorter at the factory assembled the deck and placed it in it's OB. You will note the numbers "9" on the front and the stamped number "84" on the back. This slip was inserted into a NYCC deck with their celebrated Angel back and a tax stamp dated 1899 so this was the practice at around that time.
The third photograph shows a slip of paper that was inserted into a deck of Triton brand playing cards. Although the tax stamp for this deck is intact, the red cancellation is indistinct and so I cannot identify the date which would tell us when NYCC instituted this new practice of identifying which sorter handled any given deck.
The fourth picture shows the Ace of Spades where we can see the stamped numbers "5 8 4" in the lower right hand corner representing the new way of identifying which sorter handled this deck. Unfortunately, I am unable to determine the significance, if any, of the printed number "713" at the base of this card.
The fifth picture shows the wonderful back design for this deck entitled "Flower Dance" which shows a performer adorned in what appears to be colorful Japanese attire compete with handfuls, and a hat full, of flowers. If anyone can determine when this design was issued then we can determine the circa date when NYCC changed their method of identifying which sorter handled which deck and what measures would have been called for when the incorrect deck was returned to them for replacement.

Well, I don't have info on the age of the deck or the date when they instituted the new system for IDing sorters, but I have a few educated guesses for you.

The slip with the #9 on the front - that's the sorter, right?  The #84 on the back?  This might be a supervisor's or inspector's number, someone who was "next in line" in the chain of custody of the deck before it got sealed away in the box.

The Ace with the new inspector code - you're wondering about the small three-digit number that's printed on the card - as in printed when the card was made, rather than stamped on after manufacture, like the inspector code.  It's probably as simple as a production code, similar to what USPC eventually started using on their Aces of Spades to identify their print runs.  You'd know the production code at the time the project was going to press, so you could include it on the printing plates, but you really can't say who's going to sort it until it's being sorted.

This topic has been moved to The Conversation Parlor.

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Taking a quick stab at it, I'd estimate the first deck is from the turn of the century, circa 1900, plus or minus.  The rounded corners weren't as common until the 20th century, and neither were indices, but the early index designs were small much like this one.

The second deck looks slightly more contemporary - and is that gold ink on the backs?  Probably made in the post-Great-War years and before the Black Friday stock market crash - roughly 1919-1929.  Indices that large were uncommon on earlier decks, and gold ink was eschewed on most decks made during the Great Depression, when few people could afford to buy anything so fancy.

I'd say to try the World of Playing Cards website for more information.  They'd know more about decks originating from Europe and would have more examples on hand - most of the people here have most of their deck knowledge focused on American brands and products.  We know European decks a little, while they know them a lot.

CardCon 2 has already been announced.  While the exact venue hasn't yet been revealed, it will take place in Manhattan on Saturday, November 4.  Tickets are not yet on sale and the line-up of guests and attractions hasn't been announced.

It slowly dawned on me that decks of cards from the 1970s and 1980s are starting to get up there in age.  But they are readily available, even unopened.  But how to date the unopened decks?  I collected a bunch of Bicycle decks from the 70s to present, and noted how you can narrow down the date of a sealed deck of cards from the changes in the tuck.

*** All dates + / 1 a year given that tucks and decks may have been made in different years ***

If you have a bar code on the bottom right that starts with a floating 0, your deck was made between 1980 - 1994.

If your have a bar code on the bottom right with a non-floating 0, your deck was made between 1995 - 2000.

Additionally, Bicycle added the Registered Trademark symbol to the front of the tuck around 1991, and added small slits in the tongue of the tuck around 1994.

Bar code was moved to the bottom left around 2000.

If anyone else has some tips for dating sealed modern Bicycle decks, like when the white cellophane pull strip was in use, add them below.  And if I got something wrong, please let me know.

At some point in late 2009 (I think in October), the company shuttered the Cincinnati factory and shifted all production to the Erlanger, Kentucky plant.  With rare exception, the commonly-sold decks (non-collectibles, mass-produced) made after that point had black deck seals with white writing.  It took a little while thereafter for the decks to start listing "Erlanger, KY" as the company address on the side of the tuck box.  After another little while, they left out the city altogether and just listed the decks as being made in the USA on one side with the company name on the other.

Also, sometime not too after the relocation, the company started taking the "legalese" text about "rights reserved" and all that and printing it on the bottom of the tuck box instead of on the tongue of the top flap - it's on the right, across from the bar code.  The copyright year is always given as the year the tuck box was printed, and for mass produced decks, the copyright year is in most cases the same year that the deck itself was printed - sometimes they might have some leftover box stock at the start of a new year, but they use it up pretty quick and start using the new year version when they're done.  And in this case, it is the copyright, not the trademark - the common box design in use, the one that says "STANDARD" at the bottom of the face instead of "RIDER BACK" , came into existence when they moved, in 2009.  The previous model, called "Classic" by some collectors, "Rider Back" by others, and "Model 809" by USPC themselves, is still in print but only sold to magic shops and duck specialty stores - it has the same updates regarding legalese, location of the factory, etc., and is under copyright because the design came about around the middle of the 20th century - I'd guess 1950s, certainly no later than 1960s.  So the boxes are still copyrighted, while the older, unique artwork still in use is trademarked (too old to be copyrighted).

For opened decks, they're super easy to date if they're new enough.  Any of the new-print decks made after the relocation have additional numerals prefacing the production code printed on the Ace of Spades.  Prior to this, the letter in the production code was the largest clue for when the deck was printed, and it would only reveal the year.  Now, this prefix tells a more detailed story: the first two digits are the week of the year it was printed and the last two digits are the last two digits of the year.  For example, this week (the week of Tuesday, April 18, 2023) would have a prefix in the production code of 1523 - we're in the 15th week of this year.

Rarely will you see this prefix bearing the starting two digits of 51 or 52: the company shuts down the plant for the winter holidays, reopening in the new year.  I believe they take a similar two-week break in the summer, but I don't know precisely when - if I was guessing, I'd say coinciding with Independence Day.

Thank you!!  I think you are correct about the Star Playing Cards being made by Perfection.
It?s amazing that new discoveries are still being made today.!
Is there another update of the Hochman Encyclopedia being planned? I?m sure there has been a lot of discoveries like this since the last update in 2004.

You're right in that there's still room for improvement and that there's new information being discovered all the time.

Up to now, the Hochman Encyclopedia went from Gene Hochman to Tom and Judy Dawson.  Tom passed away a few years back, and like the rest of us, Judy isn't getting younger.  Where the rights to reproduce will go from there, I do not know.  To my knowledge, Judy isn't working on a new version - the most recent and complete one in existence is the electronic one that was produced in conjunction with the Conjuring Arts Research Center.

You may well be looking at the only existing addendum to that volume of research, at least for now.  I'd wager the next version will wind up being some kind of online wiki-database.

Good afternoon everyone! This is my first time on this forum, so can't wait to talk to other passionate enthusiasts and collectors.

I producing my first project out of, hopefully, the many that I'm doing in the future. This playing card is based on Macbeth; everything from the themes, to the characters to the colour palate is based on the Shakespeare play. The project started early this year and I'm hoping to get a final draft done by August or September of this year. I wanted to launch a Kickstarter this year, but due to the uncertainties in the economy and the whole Ukraine-Russia war that's happening, which is affecting everything, I had to push the Kickstarter launch till next year.

In the mean time, I would like to show some of the artwork that has been produced for the first draft. Please provide some feedback about them, I would love to know what people are thinking about the design. Tell me what you like, what you don't like, any improvements and ideas.

The samples are in this imgur link: https://imgur.com/a/Ss7aUnF

Let me know what you think so far. Cheers!

Nice sketches.  I'd work on making the pips more attractive and the font more calligraphic, or at least like contemporary handwriting or print.  Don't fall for the faux aging trap - I'd go with a parchment or linen stock look to the background, but no aging effects; it's been played out and will only detract from the art.

Keep tabs on prices for getting your deck made.  Inflation is slowing down, but it's far from dead - prices have gone a little haywire, thanks to a handful of factors, not the least being the war in Ukraine, the pandemic's lasting effects on the supply chain and the recent collapse of three mid-sized banks.  You might get a quote today, be ready to print in two or three months, only to see the prices have gone up and you are no longer ready to print as a result.

Yeah, I know - not exactly timely tips... 

It appears that this old courts design was used until about 1960.

Do you know the correct name for this courts design?
I compared it to the 1960 Aristocrat, thinking it was a familiar design.
But it was a slightly different design.
I don't know, so I would appreciate it if you could tell me.

Those faces look to me like standard ARRCO faces, which are in use today by a few brands, though not many - Crown decks from Blue Crown would be one standout example. USPC offers ARRCO faces for less than standard USPC faces with f you want to use them for your deck design.

...and just a few more photos!

Surely the fact that it wasn't mentioned has to be an oversight? 

You are absolutely right, my friend!

With the large, and I mean LARGE, number of decks that come out in a given 12 months these days, it's easy for one to slip between the floorboards inadvertently.  Thanks a million for bringing this to the attention of the voters!

Now, on to Lorenzo's second project of the year, "Odd Fellows."  Created as the first official Portfolio52 deck, it celebrates the non-conformists in true off-the-wall fashion, inviting you to imbibe with them at the bar...if you dare.  They all look like truly fun packs of cards, done as they are in playful, almost radioactive colors - it's the kind of deck that I really wish was in regular production, it looks so cool and playable.

A grand total of six character-themed decks were made for the project: Uncle Tibia, Brass Monkey, a gilded, foil-backed limited-edition Sir Octo (a Kickstarter exclusive), a serial-numbered, gilded and foil-backed El Sapo the frog, and Jakko, the mini-deck with a jack-o-lantern design, and a Patronium-exclusive, serial-numbered deck, Dr. Crow.  The cards were manufactured by the Expert Playing Card Company.

As with the previous project, there were four prototype decks associated with this project: an Uncle Tibia and Brass Monkey in plain, hand-labeled boxes autographed by the artist and foil-sticker sealed versions of Uncle Tibia and Sir Octo.  Please remember that prototype decks are considered unfinished works and are not eligible when considering this project for Deck of the Year or the artist for Artist of the Year.

Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/portfolio52/odd-fellows-playing-cards
Portfolio52 search results page: https://www.portfolio52.com/search?search_string=odd+fellows
Portfolio52 page for Dr. Crow: https://www.portfolio52.com/deck/18382/view
YouTube showcase of Dr. Crow by Stockholm17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYJcf-bQLnU

Working under the name Thirdway Industries (TWI, for short), Giovanni Meroni is one of those artists who tries to give Jackson Robinson a run for his money, in terms of the number of decks he releases each year.  In the eligibility period, he released Galaxia, Poison and a reprint of his first ever project, with its reprinted companion deck: Good & Evil.

Galaxia is inspired by the dystopian sci-fi stories of the mid-20th century.  The three editions of the deck (Promessa, Altezza and Domina [the limited edition of the series]) tell the story of human colonists traversing the galaxy to reach Terra-2, their new home.  In addition, he tacked on two more editions through the campaign, Intregra (a design tweak of the Domina deck, intended initially for Kickstarter backers only) and Superba (a limited, gilded version with a black background design).  Meroni considers it to be a direct sequel to the totalitarian government-based series, Order.  The decks were printed by USPC, except Superba, which was printed by Expert PCC. (Images 1 & 2)

Poison has a looser story, based around pharmacists and poisoners in America during the Roaring '20s.  The editions of this project are Aspis (green, unlimited, printed approximately 2,000 copies), Kingslayer (a gilded, Kickstarter-exclusive version of Aspis, limited to 888 copies) and Belladonna (pink background on the faces, holographic foil on the backs, limited to 1,500 decks).  The first two were printed by USPC, while Belladonna was printed by Legends PCC. (Images 3 & 4)

And finally, there's the reprints - The Evil Deck was created in 2014 as a result of Meroni winning a contest on this forum before it was purchased by 52 Plus Joker, the prize of the contest being to have your deck printed by Expert PCC.  The companion deck, the Good Deck, was designed later but not printed after trying unsuccessfully to crowdfund the project on the now-defunct Decklauncher website.  Many TWI fans have asked Meroni in the intervening years about the Good Deck, but he decided that the files for it on his computer were just too old and needed an update - and he didn't want to update the Good Deck design without matching it with the Evil Deck!  The biggest update was on the spot cards - both decks now have artistic images instead of uniform suit pips on them, with standard pips in the indices only.  Both decks this time around were printed by USPC.  (Image 5)

The project pages:
Galaxia, on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdwayind/galaxia-playing-cards/description
Poison, on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdwayind/poison-playing-cards/description
Good & Evil, V2, on the Thirdway Industries web store: https://www.thirdwayindustries.com/product/good-evil-v2/

Based in Kanagawa, Japan, Jack Brutus Penny, an artist who works in many media, made a big splash with his first deck release in 2019.  Sensu is his second playing card project to date.  As with his first project, the proceeds were used to help support animal welfare.

The Japanese word sensu means "folding fan" in English.  Beyond its luxurious design and appointments, these two decks contain innovations that I've never seen in any other deck preceding them.  Fuyu-no-Sensu ("Winter?s Fan", in turquoise) and Haru-no-Sensu ("Spring's Fan", in vermillion) have unique faces incorporating seasonal botanicals in their design with angled, art-covered border which create a complete artistic scene when fanned in specific patterns, such as the spot cards or the court cards from a single suit, much like the intricate designs painted on some of the finest Japanese fans.  The Fuyu-no-Sensu deck is closer to the artist's vision in terms of an unblemished canvas for his art - the court cards have no indices and the deck comes with a Japanese folding screen, or byobu, crafted by hand by Kyoto-based byobu artisans.  The Haru-no-Sensu deck is more of a compromise design, with indices for card players.  There is a third deck, limited to only 50 packs - it's the "Golden Winter's Fan": Fuyu-no-Sensu with metallic inks and foils switched to gold.  The fourth and final deck is "The Full-Blossoming Fan": Haru-no-Sensu in a 250-deck limited edition of gilded decks with foiled, cut deck sleeves.

The project was limited to 1,000 decks of each of the two main deck designs, individually serial-numbered.  The entire project's decks were manufactured by the Expert Playing Card Company, using classic stock with metallic inks, packed into tuck boxes with foil details and heavy, textured stock.

Kickstarter project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jackbrutuspenny/sensu
Artist website page on playing cards, including this and the previous project: https://www.jackbrutuspenny.com/playing-cards