Been bitten by the vintage bug lately and want to start collecting antique tarot cards. The Queen of Cups from an old deck I saw at an estate sale keeps haunting me… just something about those aged, hand-colored images that modern reproductions just can’t capture.
The problem is, I have no idea where to find authentic antique tarot cards without getting scammed. eBay seems risky, we just had the Etsy post today and local antique shops rarely have them. Does anyone have good sources for genuine vintage decks? I’m also curious about which historical decks are actually worth hunting for versus just getting a quality reproduction.
What antique tarot cards have you found that were worth the investment?
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I don’t know if it qualifies as antique but I do have a vintage deck that probably wouldn’t get much attention these days compared to some of the more modern artworks.
I’m sure there are some expensive decks out there, but I don’t have that kind of budget, so if I wanted to add to my collection now, I’d probably look at something like these.
I’ve been learning that the real goldmine for spotting authentic oldies versus sneaky repros is understanding the printing techniques from different eras, like how pre-1920s decks have that distinctive woodblock texture you can actually feel with your fingertips. Once you know what genuine aging looks like versus artificial distressing, that haunting Queen of Cups will practically leap into your hands when you find her authentic sister at the next estate sale.
The vintage card market is rough. I spent months looking for authentic pre-1900s decks and kept running into reproductions. Sellers always have some story about finding them in an estate sale, but you can tell they’re new.
Real antique decks are hard to find. Most of what’s online has perfect edges and fresh ink smell, dead giveaways that they’re recent prints.
Finding old tarot decks in Asia is tough. Most antique shops don’t carry them. But there are other options like hwatu cards from Korea or hanafuda from Japan. They’re used for divination too, just in a different way. The artwork and symbolism are completely different from what you’d see in tarot.
Posted photos of her antique collection and someone used the details to steal everything. Now she won’t shut up about getting proper insurance riders for valuable decks. Learned the hard way that standard homeowner’s policies are pretty useless for antique tarot.
Hey, I’ve got that deck too! Mine’s in an old sliding cardboard case, the really thick kind. I’ve been trying to date mine forever. From what I can tell on eBay, yours with the standard box is probably 1970s. Can’t believe they’re going for $250 now.
The tarot market is something else. Mine’s probably late 50s or early 60s judging by the case. Would be so much easier if they’d just printed dates on these things. Do you actually use yours or just keep it for the collection?
Argentina and Chile got a lot of Italian immigrants in the early 1900s who brought their tarot decks with them. I’ve seen Tarocco Piemontese and Tarocco Bolognese decks at flea markets in Buenos Aires going for pretty cheap because dealers there don’t always recognize them.
They’re different from standard decks - only 62 cards instead of 78. And the court cards are sometimes replaced with local saints, which is kind of cool.
I’ve had good luck finding vintage tarot decks through playing card dealers. They often have them mixed in with their regular inventory. Since they’re not marketing to tarot collectors specifically, the prices tend to be more reasonable.
There’s less competition from other buyers. Kind of like getting the Page of Pentacles, sometimes the practical approach works best.
I would avoid using Etsy for valuable cards like that (just look at what happened in that thread).
Just be careful if you’re using these for your clients. A lot of people are allergic to these old cards. The paper and ink can trigger reactions. Mine definitely has that musty smell when you shuffle it. If you’re sensitive to that stuff, you might want to be careful with antique decks.
They’ve been around forever picking up dust and who knows what else.
Haha yeah I buried cards in coffee grounds for a month. What a mess. You can usually tell fake aging by the smell. Old cards smell like an attic or old books, not starbucks.
I was just talking to someone at my local metaphysical shop about how those old forum threads have saved us a lot of research time. We discussed a thread about spotting fake Rider-Waite decks from the 1970s, which was really helpful. The knowledge shared by longtime members is impressive.
I have a deck that’s been in my family for a long time. I wouldn’t use it for actual readings though, but it has a nice spot in my collection shelf.
Started hunting for antique decks to use in my practice and man, the prices are rough. Genuine ones are hundreds of dollars minimum if they’re damaged. Good condition? Forget it.
The popular decks go for over $1000. I ended up looking at 50s-60s vintage stuff instead (still not cheap but better than dropping a grand when you’re just starting to learn what makes a deck valuable.
The most valuable antique tarot decks are the hand-painted ones commissioned by wealthy families, those go for thousands. But mass-produced vintage decks from the early 1900s can be just as nice and way cheaper.
I do yes/no readings with a 1920s Rider-Waite I got at an estate sale for $40. The worn edges and faded colors make it feel like the cards have absorbed decades of wisdom. That Queen of Cups you mentioned probably has the same feel that new reprints lack. Estate sales and local auctions are good places to look. You can check the cards yourself before buying.
After joining a few long-standing tarot collector circles, I’ve had a lot of luck finding authentic antique decks. Members often trade or sell within the group, and the experienced collectors can easily spot any fakes. These connections have led me to some unique estate sales and private collections that are usually off the radar.
Obviously, this is a reprint (and not an actual antique), but you get one of the oldest living pieces of Tarot history and a highly usable deck for a small fraction of the cost… and you don’t have to sell a kidney.
Coming from data analysis, I’m probably way too obsessive about this stuff. Got a whole spreadsheet system going, purchase dates, sellers, authentication notes, the works.
The photo thing has been huge though. I take pics from multiple angles and run reverse searches on them. Found the same ‘one-of, a-kind’ deck being sold by four different people last month. Time consuming? Sure. But I’ve avoided some expensive mistakes this way.
The historical aspect of antique decks is what gets me. You can see exactly what artists thought was beautiful or meaningful in different eras.
Victorian decks are interesting; they’ll put these almost-but-not-quite risqué figures on the Lovers card or court cards, but it’s all very proper and covered up. Then you look at Art Nouveau decks and it’s completely different with all the nature themes and curved lines.
Each deck becomes a snapshot of its time. That Queen of Cups you found was probably carrying all kinds of artistic influences from its era. The way people saw the world back then gets embedded in the artwork somehow. Modern reprints might look the same, but they don’t have that authentic feel.
