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| Photo from store.theory11.com |
the USPCC Bicycle 808 Rider-backs. I chose this deck for a few reasons 1) it’s popular
2) it’s a well rounded deck of cards 3) and it’s considered the standard by many other
cardists in the community.
Of the few things that are still “made in USA” the playing card industry can still
brag that it is “made in the USA.” According to the USPCC official website, the stock
doesn’t have a particular name (although the infamous Wikipedia calls it the “808
Stock”). The 808 refers to the Bicycle line of cards. But just to be humorous, I will refer
to this stock as the 808 stock.
The rider-backs also come with the standard “air cushion finish.” This finish is
just a plastic coating that goes over the card and then pressed to form small pockets on
the surface of the card. Without the pressing procedure, the cards would stick together
like a vacuum. With the air pockets the cards glide smoothly.
Generally, this deck of cards can last a long time even with heavy use. My wife
has a deck of cards since junior high school, it was used ... very heavily (just think little
girls playing littler girl games) and she found it when we moved. Being a curious guy, I
took the cards out and tried to dribble, fan, and spring the cards. Some cards were sticky
(I didn’t ask why) but they handled better then my expectations for a 10 year old deck of
cards. I think this example is just a testimony to the quality that the rider backs are made
with.
The rider back design and color scheme generally stay the same. The back
designs are most commonly found in red and blue, with black also becoming more and
more popular. However, this deck can be found in all the colors of the rainbow... for a
price of course. Some of these colored decks will change out the “red” colors for the
color of the back design. For example a green rider-back deck will feature green hearts as
well as green diamonds with green colored court cards.
This deck, since it is so standard, is very The Ace of Spades has a unique design
that features an image inspired by Thomas Crawford’s sculpture “Statue of Freedom.”
Crawford’s sculpture was placed on top of the Capital Building in Washington D.C in
1865. The back design has changed since its first début in 1891, but the most recent back
design features a vine design with angels in the 4 corners and two in the middle. The two
angels in the middle are riding bicycles through grass directly toward the viewer. (I
personally think that the angel is operating a jackhammer or jumping on a pogo-stick)
There isn’t a whole lot of interesting things to say about the Bicycle Rider-backs because this deck is just so common. This deck is inexpensive and widely available and should be a part of
every cardists’ collection. Whether old or young, new or expert, I highly recommend this
deck to anyone who wants to start playing with cards.
It's hard to believe that a deck of cards can last that long. I feel like buying a pack of these cards now. Great post, Emmet.
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