So I am familiar with the basic history of the Aristocrat cards, but I have a question about the bank note reprints released last year and about Aristocrat casino cards.


First off, I was a little disappointed recently learn the USPCC has only two stocks (Bee and Bicycle), 1 finish (Known variously as Air Cushion, Linen, Cambric, etc), and 2 coatings (magic and regular).

So does that mean that the Aristocrat 'Bank Note' reprints from last year are basically Bikes or Bees with a different print on them? I noticed that they are 'modern cut' btw.


I thought previously that Aristocrat was a separate stock and finish, but that doesn't appear to be the case for some time now.


Also, it appears that there are Casino cards that are still Aristocrat brand. Is this only a difference in printing and they are basically Bee cards now?

I have a few cancelled decks that have the Aristocrat back design (with Casino logo) and they seem to feel like a slightly different stock than Bees, but it's hard to really tell since they are used. Also, I don't know how old these are.


Can anyone shed any light on this for me?

Thanks!

Edit - I guess they have two finishes, smooth and air cushion/cambric/linen/linoid. Not sure if smooth finish is used with any serious playing cards.