Rare Bicycle Desert Shield Ace of Spades Playing Cards Secret Weapon

DESERT SHIELD

The death cards made an appearance again during desert Storm. because the entire war was over in 100 hours there was no point in using them on the enemy. Instead, they were made up as calling cards and personal mementos of the units involved in the war.

The President of the United States Playing Card Company mentioned them:

United States Playing Card has been making cards for the military for nearly a century, President White said. Remember those Vietnam-era images of soldiers tucking the Ace of Spades in their helmets? U.S. Playing Card made entire decks of the aces because they were believed to inspire fear among enemy fighters. Similar decks were reissued in Operation Desert Shield, but more as a tradition than as a psy-ops weapon.

 

Bicycle Ace of Spades

This is a standard Bicycle ace of spades produced by the company and shipped to the troops about to take part in the Persian Gulf War. It looks exactly like a standard playing card, except at the lower center they have printed the words "Desert Shield." Desert Shield was the name of the operation during the defensive phase of the war when the Coalition was building up its forces in Saudi Arabia. The operation was changed to Desert Storm when the Coalition went on the offensive.

It seems that The U.S. Playing Card Company sent boxes of death cards to Saudi Arabia too. In 2001 an unopened deck of all Ace of Spades was offered at auction. The caption beneath the photograph of the cards is:

Here is an unopened deck of all Ace of Spades from the U.S. Playing Card Company. During the Vietnam War, the U.S, Playing Card Company produced entire decks of the Ace of Spades for combat troops in Vietnam. They were sent free of charge in a box called "Secret Weapon." Those decks were not marked Vietnam since this was never done before. During Operation Desert Shield, however, Bicycle again produced the decks in new packaging and typeface to distinguish the Vietnam and Desert Shield decks. The Desert Shield decks are clearly marked "Desert Shield." Again, these decks were supplied to U.S. troops free of charge. I don’t think the card had the same significance as it did in Vietnam.

The box has an ace of spades stamp at the top holding it closed. The word "BICYCLE" appears around the top of the box in red. The front of the box has a picture of the ace of spade and the text "Bicycle ­ 808 ­ The U.S. Playing Card Co. ­ CINCINNATI, U.S.A. ­ DESERT SHIELD." The back of the box is all text, "Secret Weapon ­ BICYCLE ­ Aces of Spades by The U.S. Playing Card Co. ­ Cincinnati, U.S.A.