Metallic Decks

schizandra

I haven't had my metallic decks longer than a year yet, so I can't give much input on how they hold up! I'm happy to hear from others on this thread that the gold/silver foil seems to stay on very well. I have some idea that if it does begin to flake off, it might be difficult to tell anyway. As others have mentioned, Lo Scarabeo seems to have chosen to give the foil a "flawed" look on purpose, to give the sparkle a bit of character. Regardless I'm more careful with my metallic foil decks than I am with others. I never riffle them when shuffling; I just kind of let the two edges of the deck fall together lengthwise, then gently push them together.

It's hard to pick a favorite from my shinies, but I definitely appreciate the Golden Botticelli and the Golden Tarot of Klimt because of their art, and I love the Golden Universal because of its similarities to the familiar RWS.
 

Nemia

I have the LoS Visconti Sforza, and in the at least 10 years that I own this deck, the gold hasn't suffered. I don't use them often but they're not fragile. The Klimt and Botticelli decks are beautiful and keep up very well. The Golden Tarot of the Tsar is quite new in my collection and I like it very much, too.

Nothing has peeled or flaked off. I shuffle all my decks carefully but I'm not trying to keep them in pristine condition; I actually like to feel my imprint on them, the imprint of use, shuffling, looking them, reading with them. But the golden accents seem quite sturdy to me.
 

Le Fanu

I don't think LoS decks contain the type of gold that would flake off - plus what I've seen on the beat up Golden Universal - it has never crossed my mind to worry about it.

I think the gilt on edges rubs off quicker.

I have the Klimt + mini, Renaissance, Universal, Botticelli, Visconti, Tsar, all of them in fact. No problems whatosever. I have been using the Klimt for ages. the edges are scuffed but no wear on the gold.
 

nisaba

And it has to be really fine, unless one wants a deck that is half a foot high when stacked up.

But a metal deck, wow.

I'm thinking ... the images could be *engraved* on ...
 

EmpyreanKnight

Well, I guess that answers it. Lo Scarabeo metallic decks have very hardy foil accents, even when shuffled normally.

Now I think I have a theme for the decks I'll be pining for, rationalizing, keeping away from, but ultimately purchasing next year. Thanks guys!
 

Thoughtful

l wanted a tarot deck with gold foil and have ordered the Truth Seekers Tarot. l mention it in a separate thread. Other foiled decks didn't interest me as much, they are not the style l like. Now l am happy and waiting to receive the Truth Seekers any day now :) Its an older deck and l am looking forward to seeing the pip style minors. As well as lots of gold :joke:
 

schizandra

I hadn't known about the Truth Seekers Tarot! The art is lovely in a storybook sort of way. Must find a YouTube video to see the gold accents.
 

EmpyreanKnight

Ok, this is weird. I had the Golden Universal special ordered from an import company. As far as I know, they always get the latest stocks of anything. Still, the deck I got had the intentional "flawed" look on it. I'm not complaining though, as it still looks mighty gorgeous. I guess perhaps they haven't ditched that style yet for their new decks. Or perhaps what I got was old stock, who knows?

By the way, I got a bit of a scare the first time I got my deck, as the foil on the tuck/deck box fell out of the image outlines. I just gave a sigh of relief when I looked inside. Aside from the intentional scuffs, the deck was perfectly printed.
 

Thoughtful

Disappointed with the Truth Seekers tarot. Not foiled in the way l imagined. So l may now go for my original idea of getting the Golden Universal. Just now and again we need a little bit of sparkle in life :)
 

schizandra

EmpyreanKnight, the thread about decks we love except that ONE card reminded me of this... Lo Scarabeo has a gold-foiled deck called the "Golden Tarot of the Renaissance" or sometimes the "Gold Estensi." There is a single card in this deck - the 10 of Denarii (Pentacles) - that has NO gold foil on it whatsoever. It is the only card in the entire deck without foil, and it is very IRONIC that a card representing wealth should be the card with no gold. I started a thread about it here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=235870.

Apparently this was deliberate on the part of LoS, or maybe even on the deck creator. Regardless of the reason, it really bothered me to have this one card not match the rest of the deck. If you think this might bother you as well, I'd stay away from the Golden Tarot of the Renaissance. ;)