Introduced in 1903. Discontinued in 1919. Not uncommon in red and blue, but extremely rare in green and very rare in brown. I have only seen singles of the latter colors in salesman’s sample folders. But, a fellow collector contacted me recently to let me know that he has a complete brown deck in its original box, along with a couple of brown singles that are not from a salesman’s sample book. So, that’s why I have upgraded the brown version of Automobile No. 1 to “very rare.”
Pictured below is an early issue US8c tuck case. Note the small image of the back design printed on the inside flap. Automobile No. 1 is one of five different Bicycle designs that are known to be issued in this special box, although most are only found in the US8d version. For a complete list please visit the US8d page by clicking on the link, above. Automobile No. 1 is also one of a number of Bicycle decks that were offered for sale in the United Kingdom. Click on “UK” above for more information.
The last image below shows a portion of a salesman’s sample folder with the Automobile No. 1 back visible on the upper left in three out of the four colors. This folder contains a total of 80 cards and is an impressive sight when fully unfolded. These sample folders are not offered for sale very often, and when they are, competition is usually fierce.
SALES DATA
A US8d Automobile No. 1 joker sold on eBay for $70 on 10/28/16.
A US8c Automobile No. 1 ace of spades sold on eBay for $27 on 2/11/17.
A red US8d Automobile No. 1 ace of spades sold on eBay for $10 on 3/20/17.
A NM blue US8c Automobile No. 1 deck w/joker in its original worn box sold on eBay for $339 on 12/28/19.
A VG+ red US8d Automobile No. 1 deck (no joker) in OB3 with the back design printed inside sold on eBay for $389 on 8/12/20.
A VG+ red US8c Automobile No. 1 deck + joker in OB1 with the back design printed inside sold on eBay for $411 on 9/26/21. This is the rare early US8c version with small indices (see photos below).
