UnitedCardists.com - The forum for Cardistry, Magic, Custom Decks and All Things Playing Cards. Sponsored by Mike Ratledge and 'Friends of UC'

Hi there,
Recently I found these 1901 playing cards (photos attached) with the writing "the forbidden city pekin & chinese views souvenir playing cards copyright 1901 by grimes-stassforth stationary co, los angeles, cal".
As it is there are all 52 cards but no joker, leaflets or information cards.


After researching I found these two links:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOS-ANGELES-SOU ... 7675.l2557 (sold for $588.88 but with joker and information card)

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... 1810705296 (unhelpful in terms of valuation but interesting for information)

I'd really appreciate it if someone could give me advice on firstly the valuation of this deck but also where I might be able to sell it (or should I keep it and wait until the value increases?)
Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

I can tell you the $500+ price for a COMPLETE deck in excellent condition matches the price guide I have. However, a deck in poorer condition and especially one missing a main card (including joker) will reduce that price by more than half. Thus if you can manage to find a matching joker to complete the deck it may very well be worth it. Of course a deck only has that value if you can find a buyer. My guess is what you have is probably in the $50-$100 range depending on the buyer, primarily because of the torn/taped tuck and missing joker (missing information card lesser impact). You may be able to sell for up to $200 as is, but again finding the buyer is the tricky part especially for this condition with missing cards.