52 Plus Joker American Playing Card Collectors Club

Sunday, February 05, 2012

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Announcements

2012 Mail Auction

The March 2012 auction is now posted on the Auction page. It will be included in the March issue of Clear the Decks.

Search Clear The Decks

With the Conjuring Arts Research Center's help, we are proud to report that as of today, 52 Plus Joker members are able to access and search through EVERY SINGLE Clear The Decks newsletter on AskAlexander.com in a productive manner, conducive to learning, researching and sharing.

2012 Mail Auction

Our 2012 mail auction in the March CTD promises to be one of the most exciting ever. Highlighting the is a complete mint series of Bicycle War cards from 1918. There are also a number of early standard American decks, several transformations, and, of course, many lots for newer and more modern collectors. Go to the Auction page for complete listings [pages 1-15] with pictures and details.

Welcome To 52 Plus Joker

Originally formed to cater to the interests of collectors of American antique playing card decks, 52 Plus Joker has long since broadened the scope of the club to include the collecting of playing cards and related items of all sorts, and from around the world! Our recently revised Mission Statement is as follows:

52 Plus Joker was formed to facilitate:

The collection and trading of antique and collectible playing cards and related items,
The advancement of knowledge about the history, manufacture and artistic aspect of playing cards,
The promotion of fellowship among members with similar interests

Benefits of membership are many [see box lower down on page] and the cost is very low for a well-established collectors' club.

Benefits of Membership

Membership provides a wide variety of benefits, including our annual convention, auctions and our quarterly magazine, Clear The Decks. The club is always looking for new members and welcomes them whether they be experienced collectors or newcomers to the world of playing card collecting! Specific benefits include:

Clear The Decks - a quarterly publication with articles, new discoveries, and general information about playing cards and related material.
Auctions of collectible, unusual and rare decks throughout the year.
Membership roster showing names, addresses, telephone numbers and interests of our members.
Interactive 'members only' area of our website.
National conventions held annually.
Regional meetings held throughout the USA.
Low-Cost advertising in Clear The Decks.
Appraisals by experts at no cost.
Search through the entire digitized Clear The Decks via AskAlexander
Research, advice and direction.

If you are interested in joining 52 Plus Joker, click the Join the Club link in the top right corner. Annual membership dues are now only US $25/45/60 for 1/2/3 years in the USA & Canada and US $35/65/90 for 1/2/3 years for all other countries. If paying by PayPal please add 4%. If you prefer, clicking the link below will take you to a pdf file of our Application Form which can be downloaded, printed, completed and mailed to our Secretary Treasurer.

Application Form

For additional information and a free copy of the Club quarterly bulletin, contact Clarence Peterson at: denverpete@comcast.net

A Letter from our Director of Publicity

Hello fellow playing card enthusiasts.

In my last communique, I stated that it was my duty as head of publicity to leave as many 'quality breadcrubs' about collecting playing cards as possible in order to enrich those who are interested in 'picking-up on the trail'.

In this month's CTD, it's an honor to report back to you with some highly encouraging news about the 52 Plus Joker's future.

Simply put, the 52 Plus Joker organization is starting to gain 'online awareness'. The more quality information we upload to the internet for people to access, the greater our chances are of reaching those whom truly have interest in collecting playing cards.

In its most basic form, the most signifigant benefit the internet offers mankind is the ability to connect with one another.

In February 2010, a short interview about playing card conditions and grades with Tom and Judy Dawson was uploaded to the YOUTUBE website. To date, over 1100 people have taken the time to listen to it. Have you heard it yet?

As a result of offering this information to the internet, several magic-related blogs and magic-related websites picked up Tom and Judy's interview and re-syndicated the information to their own membership using services like Twitter, Facebook, and a myriad of other social media.

Slowly but surely, the word about 52 Plus Joker is spreading. Again, the more people know about the 52 Plus Joker orginization, the better our chances are of gaining new membership. By using the tools of today (Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and the internet in general) we can influence the youth of tomorrow.

Sound facinating? I hope so because I'm going to need your help, soon.

Yes you, the one reading this right now. When the time is right, you'll be called upon to help me spread the word about collecting playing cards. Don't worry, you're not going to have to do anything out of your comfort zone - I promise.

Just prepare to share information and possibly be a 'mentor' to someone in need. You probably already do that, so nothing could be easier.

Stay tuned. I'll be in touch.

cheers,
Lee Asher

ps. Click this link to listen to the Dawson interview about grading your playing cards.