Title says it all. I am looking for a Silver Certificate screen print poster from the Federal 52 series. Let me know if you have one.

The Case for Congress

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               I have been wanting to start this post for some time and am glad to finally get around to it. All collectors refine and tweak the direction of their collections as they move forward in a hobby. Often times it is necessary to focus in on the specific pieces we are after instead of throwing such a wide net because face it, good decks don't come cheap. I would like to make a case for some of the more under appreciated decks in our hobby; the Congress brand. Sure, the vintage wide Congress decks get their fair share of attention as well as some of the older narrow ones, but interest falls off when you start talking about the not so vintage yet not so new decks that were mass produced more recently. You know the ones I am talking about; they come side by side in a velvety box, have a vast array of back designs and are generally not as valuable or sought after unless the collector is seeking a certain theme of back designs. Until recently even I; the guy who buys everything, avoided them until one day when I really sat down and examined a deck for what it was. The back of this particular deck had a bust of an English Springer Spaniel holding a pheasant in his mouth. The artwork was beautifully done by someone who, more than likely, was creating art for purposes other than playing cards. And then I realized; these mass produced, widely distributed cards were a crossroads between a wider world of art and the playing cards we all love. There are some real gems to be found in Congress and for the most part they are a bargain when compared to the Vintage or Modern limited decks most collectors seek out. These are the perfect niche collection to have on the side when the big scores in your main collection are few and far between. Pick a theme, any theme and Congress probably printed a back for it. Yes, there are other brands that did similar style cards throughout the years in an attempt to appeal to bridge players and the like, but Congress is the most identifiable. So with that being said I am asking you to share your favorite Congress deck backs. Lets limit it to this brand only. It doesn't have to be old, just your favorites. I will kick it off with this silver edged deck showing two setters and a man on a bird hunt.

This is my first trade post! I have up for trade the following decks. First, the Red Club Back Deck in wonderful condition. There is still a sheen on the cards, no soiling, clean sides, clean deck overall. There is no Joker and no box included. Date code is M1331 and I am dating this deck 1930 due to the court face design and code. Next is a Lotus Back deck I have estimated at 1933 due to the court face designs as well as the date code of S1304. This deck has been well use and shows soiling on the cards. The surfaces of the cards are not damaged with the exception of the The eight of diamonds which has a few rough spots. This deck also has no joker or box. If you are interested or have question, let me know.

I am mainly interested in trading for a wide range of other vintage Bicycle decks. I will also trade for other vintage decks from other manufacturers as well it just depends. I am also interested in vintage railroad decks. Just show me what you may have for trade and I will let you know if I am interested.

This is just a pretty deck I picked up on eBay this week. It is the first gold or gilt edge deck I have acquired, though any semblance of that fact is long gone.

You know what would be really cool? If Bicycle created a new Bicycle themed deck. I know they have reprinted some vintage backs or decks based on vintage design, and we see so many other various custom backs, but when was the last time a new, bicycle themed, bicycle branded deck came out? Back in the day they made deck backs based on everything from bicycle pedals to bicycle chains and I think there is probably a slew of new bicycle technology out there to base a deck on.Perhaps someone has done a recent bicycle based interpretation but if they have, I am unaware of it. Maybe its just me but I think it would be neat 

Is this the forum for baseball cards? Just kidding. I am Josh and I'm from Texas. I'm glad to have found this forum and am surprised it took me so long! I started getting in to collecting cards almost exactly a year ago by chance. I stumbled across some railroad souvenir decks online and was immediately pulled in by the artwork on the back of them. Ironically I have since collected a huge assortment of decks but not one railroad souvenir deck (eventually I will buy some). You see, my initial interest kind of snowballed and sidetracked me in to vintage bicycle cards which is where I began collecting. It wasn't a far stretch from the vintage baseball card collecting I have done all my life and now I can say I'm hooked. I collect limited modern decks when the quality and craftsmanship match the price but I also love the vintage stuff. The draw to me has always been the chase. I like searching for antique decks in odd places and so far have been rather successful scoring a couple of pristine early 20th century Bicycle Wheel Backs, and a good handful of Club and Lotus backs just by deducing their probable locations and going to find them on my own. As I said I also collect modern decks and have really enjoyed getting several of these as of late. I hope joining with this forum will broaden my horizons in the playing card community.