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A sampling of Bicycle Playing Cards

Bicycle Playing Cards have been manufactured by the The United States Playing Card Company since 1885. One of their factories is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. "Bicycle" is a trademark of that company. They have been the best selling playing card brand in the world for over 100 years.

During World War II they produced cards that when submerged in water could be peeled apart and both halves had a map on the inside. When all the cards were put together it made a large map. These were supplied to POWs so if they escaped they would have a map.

The company provided crates of Ace of Spades cards for U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War. It was erroneously believed that the Viet Cong believed the card to be a symbol of death and would flee at the sight of the Ace. In actuality the Ace meant nothing to the Viet Cong however the belief it did improved morale among U.S. soldiers. Thousands of decks of these Aces were shipped to Vietnam where the Aces were purposely scattered throughout the jungle and villages during raids.

5 Bicycle Decks including standard red and blue, Vintage Safety back, and Ellusionist Ghost (white) and Masters Deck

Bicycle is a standard issue deck of cards consisting of 52 red or black colored cards. Each card may have one of the four suites: spades, clubs (sometimes called "clovers"), diamonds, and hearts. The numbers on the cards range from 2 to 10, then proceed onward to "Jack", then "Queen", "King", and "Ace". The "Ace" has also been known to be the first card in a typical deck. The bicycle trademark is usually printed on the Ace of spades. The deck comes with rules for poker, an information card, and two jokers.

Bicycle playing cards are sold in a variety of designs. There are a series of Vintage backs, bridge, pinochle, Pastel color cards (which are colors light blue, lime green, and pink) and Lo Vision cards that are designed for the visually impaired. These Lo Vision cards contain large numbers on the face in a light blue color. Other types of cards with varying backs and colors are produced for magic, such as the decks sold on the Ellusionist Magic Website.

Bicycle is comparable to the Bee playing card brand, commonly used in casinos.

• Bicycle playing cards