Playing Card Deck

Incompete deck (one card missing) of playing cards called "Stick cards" or Gun Pai 棍牌. This type of deck contains money cards with three suits: 1-9 of cash coins, 1-9 of strings (of cash) and 1-9 of myriads. There are also three extra cards: the Old Thousand, White Flower, and Wang Ying. The myriads suit contains characters from the Water Margin story. Thier names appear on the 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 of myriads. The 1 has 燕青 Yin Ching, the 3 has 大刀 Da Dao, the 4 has 柴進 Chai Jin, the 5 has 奎 (李逵) Li Kui, the 7 has 秦明 Qin Ming, and the 9 has 雷橫 Lei Heng. The zhihua 白花 (white flower) court card has the phrase: 晋華斋舖, 在双門底 at the bottom as well as 汪家 in the middle and stylized characters (?層) at the top. The Old Thousand court card has 万千 Qian Wan at the top and more writing below which is obscured by red stamps. The Wang Ying card has a portrait of Wang Ying with the an oval above his head with characters also obscured by a red stamp (光心?). Card 1 of cash has 漢記 at the top with 悦意 below that. Card 1 of strings has 晋華 at the top. Card 2 has writing as well but it is hard to read. The 9 of strings has two stylized 壽 shou characters on the top. The backs are orange. The faces are printed in black on white within a rectangular border. Three cards, Wang Ying, Old Thousand, and 9 of strings, have red stamps over their faces.

From Culin publication: "From Canton. Originally put in a set of ten packets of thirty each; no jokers. Similar to No. 14. Total, in collection, 60."