Using Old, Valuable or Hard-to-Replace Decks

I tend to believe that things shouldn't be locked away in the cupboard (unless you're a Collector proper) - they should be used and enjoyed. However I'm struggling with this with a couple of my decks. I keep looking longingly at the Tarot de Paris but I don't want to spoil it. So it stays in its box.

Do you have special decks that you actually use?

Have you had a special deck that you've used and that has lasted well, or have you regretted letting it wear?

I have a Rumi Tarot that I treasure. I do read with it, but the cards are in sleeves so as to minimize any wear.


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I use the surrogate method - shuffle and draw with another deck, then repeat the layout with the deck you wish to preserve.

euripides said:

I tend to believe that things shouldn't be locked away in the cupboard (unless you're a Collector proper) - they should be used and enjoyed. However I'm struggling with this with a couple of my decks. I keep looking longingly at the Tarot de Paris but I don't want to spoil it. So it stays in its box.

Do you have special decks that you actually use?

Have you had a special deck that you've used and that has lasted well, or have you regretted letting it wear?

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I definitely see where you're coming from in not wanting to ruin out of print decks etc,as although I use all of my decks,even rarer ones,some of my more fragile/oop/expensive decks are treated very carefully and are used as my personal decks,as I know to be careful with them but at least they still get used.
My advice to you is just use it every now and then,maybe for really important readings for yourself,most decks are pretty durable so I doubt you'd spoil it if you used it lightly.
Another thing to think about is that although on here tarot decks are treasured,not everyone views them that way,since we all only get 80 or 90 years or so each eventually our decks will leave our care,would you really want to have spent money on something to never use it and then some relative eventually stick in it the bin or a donation bag?Although its not nice to think about,I found it gave me a reality check and made me start using decks and other things I was saving for best.

One of my more valuable decks that I use all of the time is my Bohemian Gothic Silver edition. It is my absolute favorite deck, and I wouldn't dream of not using it! I only have two "rules": 1. No riffle-shuffling and 2. I am the only one who touches it. Other than that, life is simply too short not to luxuriate in something so beautiful and treasured. I have owned it for a couple of years and have not noticed any wear or tear.

willowy said:

would you really want to have spent money on something to never use it and then some relative eventually stick in it the bin or a donation bag?Although its not nice to think about,I found it gave me a reality check and made me start using decks and other things I was saving for best.

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That's a good point. I'm approaching a milestone birthday, and I think about mortality a lot. And I'm also trying to become more minimalist - I've heard too many stories about people dealing with the loved ones' possessions. It's all just stuff in the end.

You're so right, RiverRunsDeep - life is indeed too short.

Some yes and some no. I decided to use one of my 1st Edition Morgan Greer decks. I go more by feeling. If it's OOP or rare it just depends on how I feel about using that particular deck.

Btw - Think this thread is in the wrong section.

Tarot to me is first and foremost a tool, and tools are to be used. With that said, it would be sad if VERY special decks got ruined, say a hand-painted (just an example, I don't now if this exists lol) RWS from the year it was released or something.

In a way I feel that decks produced in the last couple of years probably won't be sold in the future for astronomical amounts of money. Sure maybe 200 dollars or so for some first edition deck, but I doubt the first edition of the Wild Unknown will be worth 1000 dollars so I'd rather enjoy it now.

I am going to use it once I think it's time do so, and I won't have any qualms. I bought it for my edification and pleasure too, so why shouldn't I? I'd be very careful when I use it though.

I think there is a kind of ranking of rareness - and it depends on the type of collection you have. For me, at the top, there are the irreplaceable historic ones - whether or not you'd use your Pam A or 19th Century Gumppenberg. Then there are the rare decks that we really think are not going to be reissued - like the Ironwing or Greenwood or Bohemian Gothic Silver - then there are the ones we think of as rare because they are OOP and we have seen prices creep up - someone mentioned the Rumi, but there's also the Royal Fez Moroccan, Lisa Hunt's Fairy Tale, Fantastic Menagerie etc. This last list is, naturally, the longest.

I've been in tarot long enough to see the desirable OOP ones that people paid good money for come back into print - the Alchemical, Hermetic etc etc, so really, if it's a mass market, mainstream publisher, it'll come back into print at some time. I always think like that - so like, you don't use a deck you love for twenty years and then it comes back into print?

I know the idea of back ups is not for everyone, but it definitely changes how I see a deck - I make fewer impulsive purchases from LoS and Llewellyn and US Games and then buy extra copies of what I like when I see it reasonably priced on ebay or here. I have two BG Silvers, three Greenwoods, five Royal few Moroccans, three Hunt Fairy Tale tarots and various others. These are decks I love and I now use without a second thought.

But I think it's wise to be careful - hoard for years and then watch it come out mass market again? Not a great feeling...

Historic ones I tend not to use regularly - just gently and for me. If a deck is really fragile - not relevant here but like my Destroyed Dondorf - it is in plastic sleeves and I use Tag's reprint. But I do use my Pam B. Cards don't deteriorate. The worst that can happen is you either lose a card (so be attentive!) or you bend when shuffling, but of course you shuffle more carefully. Plus I'm not getting any younger. Two more decades left? Possibly. How many decks can you grind to a fine powder through shuffling in two decades?