Need Help With a Vintage Deck

[Evan]

I need some help with these vintage decks from 1955. The cards and the case were given to my grandma I'm 1955 for her wedding shower.
The box is a beautiful box and on the bottom corner it says "Rumpp Italy"
The cards are as shown in the link below.

Does anyone know anything about these out what they're worth? Keep in mind that it's a 3 deck set.

http://s1087.photobucket.com/albums/j472/MagicAddictz/Vintage%20Deck/

[Don Boyer]

Do all the decks have identical deck backs?


First of all, Rumpp is likely the box manufacturer.  It's not uncommon to sell nice storage boxes with another company's cards in them.


Assuming all three decks are the same, they're all USPC Congress brand, with a "U" date code on the AoS placing them as being made in 1955, consistent with what you stated.  The look as if they were once gilded, but much of that gold has worn off with use.  They're heavily soiled from use - are any of the cards damaged, torn, bent, crimped, etc.?  They appear to be bridge-sized (dude, you have small hands)!


The vintage value on a soiled, worn set of bridge decks isn't very high.  The box might be worth more than the cards, though.

[Evan]

Yes, they all have identical back and they are bridge sized. I don't think they were gilded but the edges are very dirty. These cards were used a lot. I don't see any damaged or bent ones but they're dirty.

[Don Boyer]

Yes, they all have identical back and they are bridge sized. I don't think they were gilded but the edges are very dirty. These cards were used a lot. I don't see any damaged or bent ones but they're dirty.

Holy cow!  If that's not the remnants of gilding, it's the remnants of filth!  Yeesh...

I couldn't imagine it selling for a lot.  The cards might sell better separately from the box; the box could get a decent price.  Italian-made boxes are common but popular - Italians are inveterate enthusiasts of card games, can't get enough of them.  What materials is it made of?

[AlessandroPangia]

Haha thanks for the compliments about Italians Don! The box manufacturer was indeed Italian, but they produced boxes for the USPCC and sometimes Arrco, not for the Italian card companies. They seem soiled and the fact that they are bridge sized makes them go down for the price. I think that if they were in better conditions they could have been easily sold in combo with the beautiful box,

[Don Boyer]

Haha thanks for the compliments about Italians Don! The box manufacturer was indeed Italian, but they produced boxes for the USPCC and sometimes Arrco, not for the Italian card companies. They seem soiled and the fact that they are bridge sized makes them go down for the price. I think that if they were in better conditions they could have been easily sold in combo with the beautiful box,

I suspect he'd do better by having the box cleaned and repaired, then selling it with a fresh set of either vintage decks in good shape or brand new still-sealed decks.  The vintage deck idea would be awesome - find three decks that are period-correct, and depending on the box, poker-sized decks might even fit in there.  He could put together an awesome combination that could get a nice price on eBay.

From what little I know of Italian culture, they love conversation, and what's more conducive to conversation than sitting on the front porch with a table, some chairs, some fine wine and a few packs of cards? 

[Dazzleguts]

Yes, they all have identical back and they are bridge sized. I don't think they were gilded but the edges are very dirty. These cards were used a lot. I don't see any damaged or bent ones but they're dirty.

Actually, the ace proves these to be Congress #606, which only came with gold edges when they were first issued. So, unless they started making the #606 with plain edges, some of the grime might be the dull remains of the gilding.

[Evan]

Ok then, I guess it was gilded. I didn't know for sure. Thats a big help actually! Thanks

[Don Boyer]

Yes, they all have identical back and they are bridge sized. I don't think they were gilded but the edges are very dirty. These cards were used a lot. I don't see any damaged or bent ones but they're dirty.

Actually, the ace proves these to be Congress #606, which only came with gold edges when they were first issued. So, unless they started making the #606 with plain edges, some of the grime might be the dull remains of the gilding.

Yeah, that did look a lot more like worn gilding than grime.  But if it was - eewwwwww...  I can easily imagine a 1955 deck of Congress 606s as being gilded.  Today the gilding is less popular, though to be sure, it's still out there.

I've said on other topics - I feel like gilding is the kind of feature that's for people who don't like to play cards but do like to have pretty things in the house.  But in '55, I'm sure it was extremely popular to have anything that represented prosperity on display.  It was practically the birth of the age of conspicuous consumption!