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The Alternative for the Playing Card Collector

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Because of the tremendous amount of playing cards one of the first questions is, what should be collected in the first place? It is recommended to concentrate on one or only a few fields. Most common categories are: Age (older than) Suit Pattern Games (Tarot, Bridge, Skat, Jass, Happy Family, etc.) Country Manufacturer Advertising Souvenir Erotic Tax Stamp Joker Size (e.g. Patience) I Collect What I Like Most long standing collectors are primarily interested in old, even antique cards. It is not enough to have a reproduction; they want to own an original. Wanted are cards before Wold War II, cards of before German or Italian unification, cards with a tax stamp or just cards that are no longer manufactured. Of course combinations of these criteria are possible, e.g. only cards with German suits that were manufactured in Germany before 1879. Even if this example looks quite constructed, it is one that you find quite often; at least what this person collets with highest priority. But before you can decide for something, some basic knowledge is necessary, especially concerning standard patterns and some games, which require special cards. Best is to get familiar with the various card patterns. These are explained in the chapter:   Suits and Patterns

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