Inheriting a Thoth collection

Hi everyone,

I've had my trusty greenie Thoth deck for twenty-plus years, and though I was aware of all of the different editions, etc. I pretty much just let it all wash by. I adore the deck but never felt the need to acquire any of the rare editions. My deck's battered and bruised and I love it to pieces.

However recently I inherited the tarot collection of fellow AT-er Zezina, which includes some pretty spectacular Thoths... and I'm not sure what to do with them. I'm still deciding whether I should hang on to them or sell them. Zezina gave me her blessing to do whatever I wanted with them, on the proviso that if I did sell them, I would sell them for what they were worth.

What would be the best first step in trying to figure out what these Thoths are worth? I know a tarot deck is "worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it", but I'm hoping I can find someone impartial who can give me a bit of advice on these decks - including whether I should keep them together, how common they are, etc.

They include

the 1969. White Box 'A'. Weiser Misprint Edition
1969. White Box 'A'. Weiser
1969. White Box 'B'. Llewellyn/Hong Kong Misprint Edition
1983 Green Box
1986 White Box 'C'.
1986 AGMuller Blue Box
1987 White Box, Standard size, 3 magi

among some of the more recent releases.

A bit of direction would be much appreciated.

edit to add: I have looked through the Tarot Garden page on the Thoths, as well as the post listing the different editions on this subforum, but am still not sure what to do with these guys...

I've seen prices on these range fairly widely. I've picked up a couple of the older white box decks off Ebay for $40 or so recently, but also seen then go for twice that. Most don't seem to be that rare. I'm not much of a collector though, and it didn't really matter to me which specific edition it was. I just wanted something that was in good condition and to compare to for curiosities sake. Hope someone else can give you a more specific answer

Let me know before you sell the Hong Kong print, please... It's the only one I am missing (well, she didn't pass on a Sangreal, did she ? I know someone here had one - and if she DID- PM me IMMEDIATELY !)

Thanks Grigori and Gregory. No Sangreal - they're beautiful, aren't they?

I will have a think and a watch and see how things pan out. If I do sell the Hong Kong Gregory, I will let you know

Dwtw

Depending on condition...

$60-100---1969. White Box 'A'. Weiser Misprint Edition
$60-100---1969. White Box 'A'. Weiser
$100-200---1969. White Box 'B'. Llewellyn/Hong Kong Misprint Edition
$20-35---1983 Green Box
$40-80---1986 White Box 'C'.
$40-80---1986 AGMuller Blue Box (large size/3 Magi?)
$30-50---1987 White Box, Standard size, 3 magi

Of course, sometimes people pay too much because they really want a certain deck, and other times you find a deal because no one's looking for one that week. But these are average ranges.
Some of the asking prices on ebay lately are on the high end, but if you look at what actually sold, you'll see that the sale prices are usually reasonable.


Litlluw
RLG

RLG said:

Dwtw

Depending on condition...

$60-100---1969. White Box 'A'. Weiser Misprint Edition
$60-100---1969. White Box 'A'. Weiser
$100-200---1969. White Box 'B'. Llewellyn/Hong Kong Misprint Edition
$20-35---1983 Green Box
$40-80---1986 White Box 'C'.
$40-80---1986 AGMuller Blue Box (large size/3 Magi?)
$30-50---1987 White Box, Standard size, 3 magi

Of course, sometimes people pay too much because they really want a certain deck, and other times you find a deal because no one's looking for one that week. But these are average ranges.
Some of the asking prices on ebay lately are on the high end, but if you look at what actually sold, you'll see that the sale prices are usually reasonable.


Litlluw
RLG

Click to expand...

Thanks very much RLG! - this is really helpful! Interesting that the HK misprint edition is harder to get hold of / more desirable than the 'A' editions.

Thanks for posting RLG, that is really interesting and good to see laid out like that. I wonder if you've ever seen one of the foil stamped decks sell? While I no longer think of myself as a collector and am likely to start selling off most of my collection soon, if there was one thing I could get my hands on...

Dwtw

Alas, no, I've never seen a foil stamped deck for sale. I'd love to see some good photos, even though they're probably hard to capture. I can't imagine what one would sell for -- it could get ridiculous. But I guess at a certain price level, you could just pay someone to custom make one for you

Litlluw
RLG

herself said:

Thanks very much RLG! - this is really helpful! Interesting that the HK misprint edition is harder to get hold of / more desirable than the 'A' editions.

Click to expand...

Dwtw

The thing about the Hong Kong is that it is actually the first printing. And it was done in 1971/2, not 1969. The earlier date is incorrect, but was perpetuated by being put on the boxes, and in Kaplan's Encyclopedia.

Anyway, the Hong Kong is the rarest of the 'official' full colour printings, as they quickly moved printing to America. It's also the worst printing, IMO. Non-laminated, flimsy card stock that is semi-transparent, with poor coloring that can vary quite a lot from deck to deck. It's really only for collectors. If you want an example of the early printing, get the Weiser or Llewellyn White Box B printed in the USA, it will cost a lot less, especially if the box is damaged. And it looks basically the same as the HK edition, but with better card stock.

Litlluw
RLG