Can someone else shine some light on this topic? I too have seen these reprints on eBay and have heard of the fakes and whatnot. And why was the production process banned? I apologize for all of the questions but ever since I got into collecting everyone I know holds these decks on a pedestal and I'm not exactly sure as to why. I mean, sure they might be of good quality, but aren't hundreds of other decks?
There are rumors to the effect that toxic chemicals were used to make the finish. I learned that's not really the case.
The deck was made in what I like to call the "golden age" of playing card manufacture. The technology had advanced to the point that some excellent cards could be created. This was back when USPCC actually did have different finishes for different decks, and when the embossing of the paper was done AFTER printing, using cotton or linen rollers to create the embossing. It's where the term "Linen Finish" originally came from. It's also how Jerry's Nugget decks have an embossed feel on one side, a smooth feel on the other.
The golden age ended maybe a little over a decade later. USPCC changed owners a number of times following the golden age, and less attention was being focused on quality, while more was focused on making the deck with cheaper processes. Traditional face-down card cutting was replaced by face-up cutting, making cards more difficult to faro out of the box. Multiple finishes were eliminated, resulting in the small actual number of finishes today. Cloth rollers were replaced with steel rollers for applying finish since the lasted much, much longer. Embossed "finishing" was no longer done in the finish stage, but instead by embossing machines before the paper is printed. At one time, "Air Cushion Finish" was a legit term, because the air cushioning was applied with the finish by the use of the old cloth rollers. Today, the term has nothing really to do with the finish anymore - it's just a marketing term.
If the golden age went on forever, cards would still be just as good today as they were back then. Unfortunately, they would probably also cost considerably more, since no company is willing to eat the increased cost of the supplies needed to manufacture anything. Imagine something like the typical Bicycle deck - instead of retailing individually for about $3-4 (less in some areas), they might cost more like what we pay for custom decks, perhaps $10 a pack or more. With other companies shifting to cheaper processes, USPC would end up dying out much like the Betamax videocassette and the analog laserdisc.
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