Smoke & Mirrors: Gold Private Reserve

Introduction to Smoke & Mirrors: Gold Private Reserve

Smoke & Mirrors: Gold Private Reserve cards were released to be an exclusive take on the initial Smoke & Mirrors Playing Cards. It’s so rare that only 2, 500 of them were printed (2015), and that you can only find these at rare card auctions, online sales, or by requesting them from the creators in San Diego, California.

Gold Private Reserve Playing Cards were created as a personal deck, which incorporates the best qualities of what Dan & Dave Buck trust to be good. Art is done by Si Scott, an illustrator based in the United Kingdom who occasionally collaborates with D&D.

Card backs are covered with a unique geometric design, and embossed with golden foil. Reviews call them comfortable, taking their feel from the United States Playing Card Company (Bicycle Cards).

Smoke & Mirrors Deck Details

The regular Smoke & Mirrors deck launched in 2013, a creation of cardistry aficionados Dan & Dave.  Smoke & Mirrors: Gold Private Reserve is a bespoke update, making the original sought-after deck more exclusive by only printing 2, 500 decks.

Illustrations are done by UK-based illustrator Si Scott, whose resume includes work for large companies like BBC and UNESCO.

Gold Private Reserve Playing Cards can be found for approximately $150 at auction or card websites who are lucky enough to have them in stock.

Smoke & Mirrors contains 52 classic cards plus the Jokers, completed with a unique Ace of Spades design. Card backs are covered in a unique geometric design, which is embossed with golden foil to add to its luxurious look.

According to the box’s embossed design, every card is “hand-inspected”.

Card boxes are also uniquely wax sealed, giving them an even more special look and feel.

Some descriptions say that it was made for “Dan & Dave’s personal use”, which makes it a particularly special deck for cardists and card players to have. For card magicians and lovers of card decks, it has all the best touches you’ll want – from its look to the feel.

You can find discussions about the Smoke & Mirrors Gold deck on Reddit: other than this, good luck finding a deck that’s for still for sale outside of an auction.

You can also find some of their decks by making a personal visit, by appointment only, to the Dan & Dave Showroom in San Diego, California.

About the Creators

Dan and Dave Industries is a playing card company launched by twins Dave and Dan Buck, sometimes affectionally called D&D by their fans. They’ve become synonymous with modern card magic, lending their expertise to creating the best exclusive card decks.

The pair also owns Art of Play, a company they founded in 2013. According to DanandDave.com, it’s “a wonder emporium of sorts offering a collection of playing cards, puzzles, games, toys, and home goods.’

All their cards and merchandise is geared to magicians, card enthusiasts, or puzzle fans.

A full list of their decks can be found on their website.

About Si Scott

The Smoke & Mirrors Deck contains the best of two worlds: D&D gives their cardistry experience, while illustrations are thanks to illustrator Si Scott.

Scott is an illustrator from the United Kingdom.

He was born in Manchester, and later studied at the Leeds College of Art & Design. According to biographies, Scott worked at “different design and advertising agencies in London” before settling to establish his own studio in 2008.

He specializes in hand-drawn art, from pieces called Swirling Pen and Ink Wildlife to his work creating card decks. Scott occasionally combines artistic forces with Dan & Dave Industries for their mutual love of playing cards.

It’s not just about playing cards. Some of Scott’s clients have included big names like UNICEF, Casio, and the BBC.

Other Decks

Dan & Dave Industries produces good card decks for a living, and you can find many other decks browsing through their listings. Every deck is inspired by a specific theme, but doesn’t take the theme overboard to sacrifice its quality – one deck is simply named Damn Good Cards, and retails for $12 and up.

According to their website, you can also find the regular (not Gold) Smoke & Mirrors Anniversary Edition Box Set for $108.

Rare Decks Series

Rare decks of cards are special collections that often include hard-to-find editions, old cards, and uniquely designed sets. People collect these cards because they look beautiful, have interesting stories behind them, and sometimes become more valuable over time. These decks aren’t just for playing games; they’re also pieces of art and history that can be enjoyed for their uniqueness and the special stories they tell.

In our Rare Decks series, we’ll dive into what makes these decks so special and why collectors are so passionate about them.
Click here to view other articles in this series.