How To Date A Deck of Playing Cards (USPC)

Approx. 7 min. Read | Written by Lee Asher
Learn To Date Your Playing Cards

How Old Is Your Deck?

Are playing cards worth collecting? Let's find out. The following material, designed to assist collectors in dating their U.S. decks, is produced here courtesy of the 52 Plus Joker Organization. It appeared initially in an article by Margery Griffith, then curator of the United States Playing Card Co. Museum in Cincinnati, in their quarterly bulletin 'CLEAR THE DECKS' in April 1991.

Date Code On The Ace of Spades

People ask me all the time. How old are my playing cards? Like knowing the grade of your cards, a dating aid can be beneficial. Let me show you how. For decks manufactured by United States Playing Card Co., a dating code was printed on the Ace of Spades at the time of manufacture. The code first came into use in 1904, and it applies only to Aces of Spades that bear a letter plus a four-digit number. Combinations with fewer numbers have no meaning for collectors.

Right from the beginning in 1904, the same codes were used by National Playing Card Co. and New York Consolidated Card Co., subsidiaries by then of USPC. Andrew Dougherty and Russell Playing Card Co. also used these codes, as they became part of USPC in 1907 and 1929, respectively.

Date Your Deck of Playing Cards

If you look at the Ace of Spades (above) from a Jerry's Nugget deck of cards, you'll see the lot number M 4924 directly below the LITHO IN U.S.A. Now refer to the chart below to see which year(s) they printed the M code.

How To Narrow Down Dates

As you'll see, a range of dates sits in front of you. Now you must use your powers of reasoning & deduction to narrow down your choices to a single date.

For instance, we know Jerry's Nugget Casino opened in 1964, eliminating 1909, 1930, and 1950. Furthermore, if you look at the tuck box of a Jerry's Nugget deck, you'll see it comes with the US. Playing Card Co. perforated label. These types of labels were used roughly between 1965 and 1975. Therefore, 1990 and 2010 are out. That leaves 1970, which is precisely the year these cards were printed.

NOTE: This chart is not perfect! There are plenty of instances where dates don't match up. :(


Learn how to store you playing cards.

Date Your Playing Cards
Lot Letter 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040
A - 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
B - 1921 1976 1996 - - -
C - 1922 1941 1961 1981 2001 2021
D - - 1942 1962 1982 2002 2022
E - 1923 1943 1963 1983 2003 2023
F - 1924 1944 1964 1984 2004 2024
G 1904 1925 1945 1965 1985 2005 -
H 1905 1926 1946 1966 1986 2006 -
J 1906 1927 1947 1967 1987 2007 -
K 1907 1928 1948 1968 1988 2008 -
L 1908 1929 1949 1969 1989 2009 -
M 1909 1930 1950 1970 1990 2010 -
N 1910 - - - - 2011 -
P 1911 1931 1951 1971 1991 - -
R 1912 1932 1952 1972 1992 2012 -
S 1913 1933 1953 1973 1993 2013 -
T 1914 1934 1954 1974 1994 2014 -
U 1915 1935 1955 1975 1995 2015 -
W 1916 1936 1956 - - 2016 -
X 1917 1937 1957 1977 1997 2017 -
Y 1918 1938 1958 1978 1998 2018 -
Z 1919 1939 1959 1979 1999 2019 -

OTHER PLAYING CARD DATING NOTES:

1. Around 1965, USPC began the practice of "pre-facing" some decks, especially Congress decks. This means a supply of faces were printed then stored so the backs could be added as needed. Therefore, Congress cards and any other pre-faced brands stopped using the codes altogether.

2. The letters I, O, and V are not used because they can easily be confused with numbers. However, Q was used sporadically throughout 1991 and 1992.

3. Currently, a majority of custom decks printed by USPCC for Magic Companies either do not follow this code or do not print a number on their Ace of Spades.

4. USPCC may change its codes without notice. Most modern decks produced in Erlanger have copyright dates on the bottom of the box and the four-digit prefix before the letter indicates the week and year of manufacture.

5. The letter H was also used sporadically in 2013.


Enjoy dating Your Playing Cards!

Thanks to Don Boyer and Tom & Judy Dawson for their help updating this chart.