Starting A Playing Card Collection

Collecting playing cards is a hobby that gives prestige making them as important as artworks to be treasured & preserved. These cards have existed since the middle of 1300s. I'm sure there were individuals who were already enthralled with the artistic quality & folk lore behind them that compelled them to start a collection.

Playing cards made in the US are impressive collector's items because they are part of print & lithograph history. Their usual subjects are social trends, historic events & advertisements for customary products of the period.

Cards have always provided entertainment during gatherings or boredom, and even relieved tension for a lot of people all around the world.

As with any collection, the condition of the item is one gauge for its value. Let us tackle the system of grading these cards as developed by Gene Hochman.

"As Issued" meant it is in mint condition, the deck is fully complete including jokers and extra cards with the original package used when released in the market. It may not have been opened with the wrapper & box intact.

"Mint" is when the deck is fully complete, no traces of usage, the box are still intact but there are no more wrappers.

"Excellent" meant the deck is mostly complete and slightly used; the condition is still good, even the gold edges in the cards are still intact.

"Good" condition meant the deck is fully complete with signs of maximum usage but the deck is still in good shape enough to fit into the original box.

"Poor" is when the deck is swollen out of shape that it won't fit into the original box. It is either bent, with frayed corners, bad creases, heavy soiling, and other signs of abuse.

"With Faults" is a deck that falls into the mint or good condition but has faults like a missing card, or damage in one of the cards, or torn/missing box.

There are hundreds of designs and kinds of playing cards and many have survived the passing of time. You can start a collection by hunting around the house or telling friends & family about it. You may find decks that are still complete but may already been used or not stored correctly. These cards may not be valuable to serious collectors but there are collectors who have their own criteria for collection such as a particular color, cartoon characters, countries, finishes, and many more. Try joining collector clubs and conventions for it can also help through swapping.