1863 Patent National Reproduction Playing Cards USGS

This turned out to be an interesting piece of Americana and American history. I was particularly taken by the apparently authentic image of a tax stamp with LC Cohen stamp from November 1863 superimposed. Pretty cool! Having been born approximately when the USA entered WWII, my family was always engaged in card games. I was never an intense collector of card decks; but I did always purchase foreign decks of interest on trips, and also kept card decks given to airline passengers back in the '60's and '70's. I have also been a fan of American history, and this deck fits that bill to a T because of the two-card history of who printed the deck back in the day, and their corporate history during and after the Civil War. Three observations: (1) I can't believe the paper/card stock was this good back then, but maybe so; (2) I bet the square corners are precisely correct (and I'm glad to see an improvement in that regard over the years; and, finally (3) I'm pleased that the size of the "working man's deck" has stayed the same over the years, although the "bridge-sized deck" was certainly in vogue when I was younger.

I bought these after reading past reviews and I'll just cut to the chase. No, they don't feel like plastic. They riffle shuffle like a dream, because of their sharp corners. Yes, you'll need some practice to handle like rounded cornered cards, but they're mostly just fine. The only issue I had was doing a single handed cut, but I got over it after practicing it a few times. If I were to say anything specific to this deck it would be that, like the originals, they are sturdy and meant to be durable. Not the deck for every purpose, but the historical aspect will certainly make me want to practice workarounds where I need to.

I purchased this deck along with the Samuel Hart 1858 reproduction, because I like reproductions of old decks, and both decks have the same interesting "matte" finish, making them "feel" old as well as look historical. My only complaint with this deck is the same complaint i had with the Samuel Hart in that the square-cut edges poke my hands while shuffling, as I don't riffle shuffle, but mash-shuffle or fan and swish (and then gather) shuffle (I am a card reader, not a game-player). It makes you appreciate "modern card innovations" that someone along the way began to round the edges for ease of shuffling as time went on. But otherwise, these cards are nice and really "seem" old, for a reproduction.

I purchased three of these decks on sale to experiment with use in period packet tricks.

Of the three USGS vintage decks I chose these as they have a back that at a distance is a two-way back. The back is symmetric except for the small five-pointed star in the back's center. That's a plus if we use the deck for a "period" routine that requires one-way backs!!

I set up a packet for a monte routine (reason why I bought three decks) and they handle well for the in hands stuff. But the square corners made it difficult to slide a card into (out of) a shirt pocket. The corner gets snagged. Using a small corner rounder fixed that issue. .

The deck comes with two ace of spades -- one has the large decorative spade pip, the other the small spade pip.

One other item. We can glue two of the information cards back to back to make a DB.

Three decks for $12 on sale. I'm very pleased.

The 1893 Reproduction are a fantastic addition to my growing vintage collection. I really enjoy using them for poker games and just for the novelty of them. I enjoy how they feel like I imagine they did during first print, maybe a bit stiffer. Out of my collection of vintage sets, this is my favorite due to the packaging alone. They don't have the gritty feel some other vintage repos have. I like the look of the backs as well, the artwork is something to be admired. Overall a nice deck well worth the price.