Bicycle standard index 808 playing cards

If you’ve ever looked at a modern Bicycle® Ace of Spades or Joker, you’ve probably seen the number “808” across the card face.What does “808” mean? Many people don’t know the significance of that number, so we wanted to explain its origins in this article.

The United States Playing Card Company began as a printing company called Russell, Morgan & Company.

Russell and Morgan produced their very first deck of cards in a Cincinnati, Ohio factory back in 1881. The brand was called “Tigers” and the number assigned to these new decks was 101.

A short while later, the numbers 202 and 303 were used when the firm printed decks under the “Army” and “Navy” brands.The “Congress” brand and a few others were produced and given similar numbers in sequential order. Eventually Russell and Morgan introduced the Bicycle® line and assigned it the number 808.

Over 125 years later, Bicycle® Cards became the most popular brand of playing cards in the world, and the number 808 continues to be used on the Ace and Jokers provided with each and every deck we manufacture.