Since it appears that there are approximately 7,000 items listed under playing cards each week on eBay and since no one has so far undertaken to submit a guide, I am making this attempt to bring a little insight to the subject. It may be that knowlegable collectors of playing cards will find little of value in this guide but I am more interested in providing information to the casual collector and to those who come upon decks of cards haphazardly and offer them for sale without a clue as to what, if any, value they may have. Ultimately, I would like to see the interest in collecting playing cards and the number of collectors increase.

The field is immense. There are cards that can appeal to many interests. To mention just a few, one may collect cards that have appealing backs that feature pictures of dogs, cats, flowers, or intricate designs.There are literally thousands of such decks and collectors often are content to acquire single samples from decks which they usually keep in albums much like photo albums. Such collectors are known as "Singles" collectors. Included in this class of collector is the collector of Jokers.  Decks of playing cards have included a Joker since around 1870 and they do indeed come in many varied and interesting foms. However, the Joker is considered to be a vital part of the deck and without it the deck is considered to be incomplete even if all the other cards are present. Such collectors are the bane of collectors of full decks.  Many a collectable deck has had its value seriously reduced by the fact that the Joker is missing. Sometimes the Joker collector is to blame but unfortunately, many times the Joker was discarded altogether by those who used the deck for play and saw no reason to retain it in the deck. 

Another area related to the collecting of back designs is the collecting of decks the backs of which are used to advertise businesses, products or services. Advertising decks are just about as numerous as those with pictoral backs. The idea of using playing cards for advertising is an old one. Consequently, the element of age enters into the question of a deck's value. Obvioulsy, a deck advertising a product that has been off the market for ages is worth more than a recent deck advertising something current.

Then there is the collecting of souvenir decks. This too constitutes a vast area of collectables. There are souvenir decks of just about every State in the Union as well as decks commemorating World Fairs and Expositions. There are also souvenir decks for many colleges and universities. The list is endless. I should also mention that playing cards have always been put to use for magical puposes. Every magician usually begins with the learning of card tricks. I would guess that no sooner was the first deck of cards made, when someone palmed a card. There are many specially designed decks that enable the performer to stage minor miracles. I have no doubt that those special decks are also of interest to collectors who do not actually perform magic. 

I have mentioned some of the areas of card collecting that seem to have general appeal and involve topics of interest that anybody can appreciate. But, I have only touched the surface. There is an area, one that I am myself partial to, that focuses more on the historical development and evolution of playing cards and their manufacture. In this area, the back design of the cards is very often secondary to the faces of the cards!  That will no doubt sound strange to the average, casual observer of decks.  One may be inclined to ask what can be of any interest in the faces?  Are not the faces just about the same from one deck to another? Isn't one King of Hearts just about the same as any other King of Hearts?  And surely, arn't all the pip or numbered cards the same in every deck?  Well, it may surprise many to know that the answer to those questions is an emphatic "no".

Space will not permit a full review of the history of playing cards but I will attempt a thumb nail sketch. I will begin with the quantum leap in the development of cards made by the French card makers in the mid 1400's. Prior to that time, cards in Europe were essentially of Italian design and had suits of Coins, Cups, Staves and Swords. They were elaborately designed and involved many colors applied by hand. The French hit upon the idea of simplyfying the suit designs and devised those which we know today as Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs and Spades, respectively. They also hit upon the idea of using just two colors for the suits. Red for hearts and diamonds black for clubs and spades.These colors could be applied very simply by stencil which by that time had become the printing technology. That basic French design has survived almost unchanged to this day! However, changes of a utilitarian nature evolved over the centuries. The cards in use during the 15th, 16th, 17th  and up until the latter part of the 18th centuries featured full length pictures of the Kings, Queens and Jacks. They were not "double headed" as are the ones of today. Also, those early cards did not have the corner indices seen on today's cards. The "double headed" cards with corner indices came into being approximately between 1865 and 1870 and appear to be the invention of American card makers of which there were quite a few at the time. The appearance, history and disappearance of those makers is an intragal part of the study and collecting of the decks that they made. Collectors in this area pride themselves in having acquired specimens of early American decks that have full length court cards without indices and usually made with square corners. I will mention just a few of the early American makers. They are Louis Cohen, Lawrence & Cohen, Samuel Hart, Andrew Dougherty and the Union Card Manufactory.  There are many others and I recommend that those seriously interested obtain a copy of The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards. It is available from U.S.Games, Inc., located in Greenwich, Connecticut.

No matter which area a deck falls into, there are a few general guidelines that one must keep in mind when either buying of selling a deck. It is imperative that a seller provide an accurate and full description of the deck which should include the name of the manufactuer, number of cards, whether or not the Joker is present, whether or not the original box is present and how old the deck is so far as can be determined, if at all. The dating of a deck is often a very difficult thing to do with exactness. However, with respect to decks made prior to 1965 I can offer the following information. Up until 1965, there was a federal tax on playing cards and each deck sold carried a tax stamp on the box.  The tax was repealed in 1965.  Therefore, if a deck is found with a tax stamp on the box, for sure it was made prior to 1965. This of course asssumes that the cards are in the correct box. Another helpful hint is the fact that on many of the card boxes and/or on the aces of Spades, the address of the manufacturer appears. If that address includes a zip code, it was made after 1963. Zip codes were introduced on July 1,1963.

I have left for last the question of condition. This is one of the most important parts of the descripion of a deck. It is also one of the most difficult to give. In the first place, it is somewhat subjective. One person's idea of condition is not the same as anothers and there is no way to guaranty accuracy unless the deck is in mint condition.  Other than that, the degree of usage and ware is a problem to describe. Nevertheless, an honest effort must be made. I think that the best approach is to grade a deck an a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being mint and 1 being a deck that is grubby, very well worn with bends,creases or even tears.The same scale should be applied to the box. The degree to which condition effects the value of a deck is not strictly a one to one proposition. By that I mean to say that while a common deck will loose all value if it is in very bad condition, a very rare deck in the same condition will still retain some value,  Not as much as if it were in good condition of course, but some value simply because it is so rare. I think that the 1 to 10 grading helps eliminate the problem caused by the system of "relative" grading. That system takes into consideration the age of a deck so that, for example, it may be graded as "excellent for its age", a relative evaluation. In absolute terms, irrespective of age, the deck may be in very bad condition.  The 1 to 10 scale gives more of an absolute condition and age must be considered separately.

I hope this information will be of help to someone.