World’s Top 11 Rare and Expensive Card Decks

The custom of playing cards seems to be ubiquitous. For generations, people have been meeting on a daily or weekly basis to keep the tradition of playing cards alive. Online Rummy games have brought revolutionary changes in the way Rummy is played and perceived.

Enduring the love for card games, there still remain a great percentage of players who are avid collectors of cards. They relish collecting unique and impeccably designed decks of cards. The look and feel of physical cards reconnects them with the old charm of the game. For them, a deck is much more than just 4 suits of 13 cards and 1 tuck. Each deck is a piece of art and sometimes even has a history behind its creation. Cards have become part of their treasured possessions. Those who are superstitious prefer to use playing cards only from their collection.

So, if you are looking forward to adding some exquisite decks to your stash, here is a list of most rare and expensive decks of all time. It requires a lot of obsession and effort to find them. The difficulty of finding these decks is rated from 1 (easiest to find) to 5 (most difficult to find).

Blue Blood

Blue Blood is an inimitable and highly coveted deck of cards that features hand-drawn illustrations by the popular artists Linnea Gits and Peter Dunham. It is the first deck in Uusi’s spectacular six-deck series printed by United States Playing Card Company.  

USP- It is a fully custom deck of cards. Everything is hand-drawn, be it pips, faces or courts. Blue Blood is hard to obtain as it is available in a limited quantity of 2500. United Playing Cards Company printed them with their air cushion and finished on a bicycle grade card stock.

Difficulty level- 1

Market Price- $100

Red Fontaine

Launched by Zach Mueller, Red Fontaine first came out as a crowdfunding project under Indiegogo in 2013. It earned significant recognition and ended up as a huge success. This project reached its goal of $10,000 in just 18 hours and doubled its funding within a month!

USP- The paucity of Red Fontaine made it expensive and famous among card collectors. Due to high demand, the card deck was sold at a premium on eBay. 

Difficulty level- 3

Market Price- $200

Zenith

The first deck of Encarded Signature series, Zenith is famous for its dramatic re-imagination of classic playing card decks. It brought back archetypal themes like the black and white deck design, the central circular medallion motif, and the borderless design. Paul Carpenter was the architect of this intellectual creation.

USP- Zenith comes in a unique sideways opening tuck box. Even the box is elegant and is created with a thick matte black paper. Zenith is bejeweled with intricately detailed holographic silver foil. It comes with a sequential number seal (xxxx/1000) under the cellophane.

Difficulty level- 4

Market Price- $150

The Boss Deck

In 2013, The Boss Deck Playing Card was created as an additional or companion deck for the Draw like a Boss Kickstarter campaign. It was an incredible and fully custom deck. United States Playing Card Company printed it keeping their highest standard possible.

USP- Stock of only 2500 decks was printed, and it immediately got sold out during the campaign. It is a premium quality deck- both rare and exclusive.

Difficulty level- 5Market Price- $100

Market Price- $100

Green Rarebit

Green Rarebit playing cards were exclusively made for patrons of The Rarebit Restaurant and Lounge located in Charleston, South Carolina. The original Green-foiled version was given as a token of gift to the patrons whose meal cost $100 or more. This deck was produced by Theory11, which customized and patterned face cards, courts, and Jokers as per the logo of Rarebit Restaurant.

USP- It comes with a beautiful matte black tuck box that highlights the intricate foil line design. The custom seal adds another exclusive element to the tuck box. The deck itself has the same back design as the tuck but comes in a yellowish-green pallet.  

Difficulty level- 4

Market Price- $100

Empire

Kings and Crooks’ Empire is regarded as the breakout deck on Kickstarter. Due to its impressive design, it immediately got the funding. The bold gold and dark red palette add more depth to the look and feel of the card. This card deck established Lee Mckenzie as an incredibly passionate designer with an inspiring vision.

USP- Each card of the Empire is completely customized and comes with bold and strong imagery. It reflects the personality of the illustrious card designer Lee McKenzie.

Difficulty level- 5

Market Price- $100

Scarlett Tally-Ho

The Scarlett Tally-Ho is produced by Jackson Robinson of Kings Wild Project and is named after his daughter Scarlett. It comes in a deep red tuck case, which is embellished with gold foil accents. The interior of the tuck has a lattice pattern to give it an edgy look. Also, the deck comes in a limited gold edition featuring gilded edges.

USP- Only 200 decks of the Scarlett Tally-Ho were produced, and thus it has become a task to get hold of them. Every single card is customized like courts have two gold metallic ink accents on the face, and the back has a gold metallic ink accent presented in a bold and intricate design.

Difficulty level- 4

Market Price- $180-185

Unbranded Black Reserve Note

The Unbranded Reserve Note Playing Card Deck came out as the part of the Federal 52 Part II, which was a follow-up to the Original Federal 52 campaign. The campaign consisted of a total of 6 decks- The Silver Certificate, The White Reserve Note and the Black Reserve Note (branded and unbranded versions). As compared to other decks, only the Unbranded Black Reserve Note gained popularity among card collectors.

USP- Unlike the Branded Reserve Note Playing Card Deck, The Unbranded one is more coveted and exquisitely designed. It features a two-panel diptych of George Washington crossing Delaware as well as the black card backs which come along with a trimming of bright red foil. This Card Deck lands in the exclusive category as only 1,000 decks were produced.

Difficulty level: 5

Market Price: $250

White Centurion

Only about 1100 White Centurions Playing Cards were produced. The concept of Theory11’s Bicycle Centurion inspired the design of these cards. They first appeared in Chris Kenner’s 1-on-1 effect blueprint. Even though the White Centurions Playing Cards were very much like the original (only with the inverted and more chic appeal), they still grabbed the attention of fans from all over the world, who invested in this treasured piece of art.

USP- Limited quantity made White Centurions Playing Cards popular all over the world. Chris Kenner’s 1-on-1 effect blueprint added an edge to this deck, and after the show, many card collectors expressed interest in acquiring this deck.

Difficulty level- 5

Market Price- $325

Venexiana Gold

Every card collector’s dream, the Venexiana Gold playing card displays the unique and spectacular work of Lotrek. The deck features a gold foil hot-stamped on each of the 52 cards. All the Venexiana faces are also made with metallic gold ink and come gracefully packed in a stunning gold-foiled accented tuck case.

USP- Gold Venexiana is known for being one of the most luxe decks of playing cards. It is printed on 3300gsm French casino card stock, and only 212 decks were produced.

Difficulty level- 5

Market Price- $425

Microsoft David Blaine

Expert Playing Card Company produced extremely rare and prodigious Microsoft David Blaine Playing Cards. Very little is known about them, but as per the sources, they were given to Microsoft Interns who were present when David Blaine performed in a Microsoft-sponsored function in 2015. It has become awfully challenging to find these cards. 

USP- Only 2,015 decks of Microsoft David Blaine Playing Cards were produced. The deck features a double seal Split Spades, which became the reason for its rampant popularity.

Difficulty level- 5

Market Price- $425 starting auction price

Analyzing the data above, it can be aptly said that the playing card market is still strong all over the world. If given a chance, will you ever buy any of these élite card decks? Do you think they are worth investing such a big amount of money? Or Are you one of those who would rather play online Rummy games and invest this money in playing instead of buying card decks?

Let us know your opinion in the comments below.