Invincible
Introduced in 1918 and apparently withdrawn from circulation in 1918. Toward the end of the first World War, the United States Playing Card Company produced four “War Series” decks under the Bicycle brand to represent each of the branches of the U.S. armed services: Big Gun for the Army, Dreadnaught for the Navy, Flying Ace […]
Handlebar
Introduced in 1908. Discontinued in 1910. This is a very rare deck, and one of three two-tone designs that appear to have been released solely in the United Kingdom. The other two designs are Chain and Saddle. While collectors have long believed that the two-tone Bicycle cards were only available in the U.K., recent sales suggest that […]
Flying Ace
Introduced in 1918 and apparently withdrawn from circulation in 1918. Toward the end of the first World War, the United States Playing Card Company produced four “War Series” decks under the Bicycle brand to represent each of the branches of the U.S. armed services: Big Gun for the Army, Dreadnaught for the Navy, Flying Ace […]
Expert
Introduced in 1895. Discontinued in 1943. Expert is relatively easy to find in all of its iterations, although US8b and US8d boxes are always scarce. This back design is very similar to Old Fan. For a comparison of the two backs, visit the Old Fan page. Expert is also very similar to two different Chas. […]
Emblem
Introduced ca. 1890 (revised from 1892). Discontinued in 1943. Most other decks with a one-way back were long since revised to be symmetrical or discontinued. Emblem endured as a simple yet elegant one-way design. Decks and singles are easily found in red or blue but are extremely rare in green and brown. I recently found […]
Eagle
Issued in 1927 (revised from 1928, thanks to information from Clay Boulware). Discontinued in 1943, but revived in the 1990s for a Spades deck (see the second image, below), and a solitaire set. For a back design with such a long run, it is surprisingly (and extremely) hard to find. Until Clay sent me the […]
Dreadnaught
Introduced in 1918 and apparently withdrawn from circulation in 1918. Toward the end of the first World War, the United States Playing Card Company produced four “War Series” decks under the Bicycle brand to represent each of the branches of the U.S. armed services: Big Gun for the Army, Dreadnaught for the Navy, Flying Ace […]
Diamond Plaid
Issued in 1906. Discontinued in 1908. A fittingly short run for a very uninteresting back design that was hardly worthy of the esteemed Bicycle brand. Like the Club back, this must have been designed to compete with other club cards with simple repeating pattern backs, such as Dougherty’s Bee No. 92. Extremely rare; I have […]
Cyclecar
Issued in 1914. Discontinued in 1917. Very rare. In fact, one of the two 2017 singles sold on eBay is the card reproduced above, since I don’t have a red Cyclecar single or deck in my collection. I do have a blue deck in its original box and will add a scan of the card […]
Cyclist No. 2
Issued in 1908. Discontinued in 1917. Very rare. Blue singles show up from time to time, but red singles and decks of either color are seldom seen. The single below is what is usually referred to as a throw-out card, a card literally thrown out by a magician into the audience as a souvenir. This […]