• Kem Playing Cards Coupon
• Kem Playing Cards History

Kem.com Offers Real 100% Plastic Kem Playing Cards to Casinos, Card Rooms, and Individuals. Made of Cellulose Acetate, Kem Plastic Playing Cards are Available in Poker and Bridge Size, with Regular and Large Numbers/Pips. I have a set of KEM 100% plastic playing cards (stargazers model). They're a premium brand and supposed to be long lasting but after opening the box after not using them for some time I discovered that the top card of each deck (10 of clubs and Ace of diamonds) had warped whilst the rest of the deck hadn't. 2 Free Cut Cards + KEM Arrow Red Blue Playing Cards Poker Size Regular Index. 4.4 out of 5 stars 17. Get it as soon as Tue, Feb 2. These Professional Quality Kem Playing Cards are 100% Cellulose Acetate Plastic. They are the Plastic Decks of Choice for Leading Casinos and Card Rooms and are Available in Narrow and Wide Size. Although these cards aren’t as stiff as normal playing cards and don’t have a thick protective coating that a lot of cards do, it is still a suitable deck of cards for any Harry Potter Fan. Each of the cards in this deck measure 2.5-inches by 3.5-inches, which makes them a standard size, and each of the cards has unique imagery related to.

How Old Is Your Deck?

The following material, designed to assist collectors in dating their U.S. decks, is produced here courtesy of the 52 Plus Joker Organization. It appeared originally in an article by Margery Griffith, then curator of the United States Playing Card Co. Museum in Cincinnati, in their quarterly bulletin 'CLEAR THE DECKS' in April 1991.

Find Your Ace of Spades

Like knowing the grade of your cards, a dating aid can be very useful. For decks manufactured by United States Playing Card Co., a dating code was placed on the Ace of Spades at time of manufacture. The code first came into use in 1904 and it applies only to Aces of Spades that bear a letter plus a four digit number. Combinations with fewer numbers have no meaning for collectors.
Right from the beginning in 1904, the same codes were used by National Playing Card Co. and New York Consolidated Card Co., subsidiaries by then of USPC. Andrew Dougherty and Russell Playing Card Co. also used these codes, as they became part of USPC in 1907 and 1929 respectively.
If you look at the Ace of Spades (above) from a Jerry's Nugget deck of cards, you'll see the lot number M 4924 directly below the LITHO IN U.S.A. Now refer to the chart below to see which year(s) they printed the M code.

Narrowing Down Dates

Kem Playing Cards Coupon

As you'll see, you're given a range of dates. Now you must use your powers of reasoning & deduction to narrow down your choices to a single date.

For instance, we know Jerry's Nugget Casino opened in 1964, so these cards were not printed in 1909, 1930 or 1950. Furthermore, if you look at the tuck box of a Jerry's Nugget deck, you'll see it comes with a US. Playing Card Co. perforated label. These types of labels were used roughly between 1965 and 1975. Therefore, 1990 and 2010 are out. That leaves 1970, which is exactly the year these cards were printed.

NOTE: This chart is not perfect! There are plenty of instances where dates don't match up. :(

USPC Dating Chart

OTHER PLAYING CARD DATING NOTES:

1. Around 1965, USPC began the practice of 'pre-facing' some decks, especially Congress decks. This means a supply of faces were printed then stored so the backs could be added as needed. Therefore, Congress cards and any other pre-faced brands stopped using the codes altogether.
2. The letters I, O, and V are not used because they can easily be confused with numbers. However, Q was used sporadically throughout 1991 and 1992.
3.Currently, a majority of custom decks printed by USPCC for Magic Companies either do not follow this code or do not print a number on their Ace of Spades.
4. USPCC may change their codes at any time without notice. Therefore everything in grey on this chart is subject to change without notice. Most modern decks produced in Erlanger bare copyright dates on the bottom of the box and the four digit prefix before the letter indicates the week and year of manufacture.
5. The letter H was also used sporadically in 2013.

Enjoy dating Your Playing Cards!

Thanks to Don Boyer and Tom & Judy Dawson for their help updating this chart.

Kem Playing Cards History

KEM Cards Review

You don’t play poker at home with those cheap plastic chips from Wal Mart anymore, so why are you playing with a regular deck of cards? After a couple hours of play, someone always spills a beer and you and your buddies spend the rest of the night playing poker with cards that are stickier than a 2 year old’s fingers after a session with cotton candy. If it’s not the beer, it’s the guy who feels it necessary to just barely peek at the corners of his cards…thus warping them in no time. Or it’s the newbie who shuffles like your grandma used to, which ultimately ends up with a card being bent.

KEM cards are 100% plastic, which makes them extremely durable and resistant to tearing, bending and staining. Someone dumps a beer? No problem…just walk over to your sink and take a damp cloth to them. Your KEMs will be good as new in no time because they are washable and fully water resistant. Someone warps a card? It’s not a problem because you can gently bend the card in the other direction to restore it to a normal look. If the warp is severe, place the card under a telephone book for a day or two and it will be good as new. KEM cards are thicker and heavier than other plastic playing cards, such as Copag Cards. This results in longer usability and added durability.

Ok, that’s all well and good, but here’s the main question: How do they actually play? A new deck will be quite slick. Don’t fret because after a few orbits around the poker table, they’ll break in and you’ll love how easily they shuffle and how smooth they feel in your hand.

KEM cards went out of production in 2004 and were unavailable for several months. The production stoppage was due to KEM relocating their manufacturing plant from Pennsylvania to Ohio. Production resumed in early 2005. As a result of the production stoppage, certain styles of decks are tough to come by and a search of ebay proves this case. A call was placed to the customer service number listed on their website, but a voicemail message went unreturned.

Each individual deck of KEM cards comes in a box which can be used for storage. In addition, each deck comes with a replacement card that can be used to order a new card in case one from your deck gets damaged during a poker game.

One very important item to keep in mind regarding KEM cards is that because they are manufactured from 100% thermo-plastic, they are susceptible to damage if exposed to extreme environmental conditions. In other words, don’t store them in your car during the winter or summer and don’t allow them to be exposed to extreme humidity. If your KEM cards are exposed to these conditions, it’s very possible the colors may bleed and your premiere deck of poker playing cards will be ruined.

KEM cards aren’t cheap, but consider the cost of a couple of fresh decks in your regular poker game over a period of time. You’ll soon realize that these cards will quickly pay for themselves. Upgrade your home poker games by purchasing a deck of KEM cards today.