Il Quinto Seme
An Italian pack with a fifth suit of “amici” (“friends”).
One tends to think of five-suit packs as coming mainly from the USA and Great Britain. However, five-suit packs have been produced elsewhere, including this one from Italy. The fifth suit is called “amici” (“friends”) and is bicoloured (red and black combined). The name “amici” was chosen because a card of the “amici” suit can sometimes act like a Joker and can be a substitute for another card, thus lending a hand in the way a true friend (or “amico”) would do. To give unity to the court cards, the standard English pattern courts have been redesigned, with the courts of the “amici” suit being in a similar style and in a similar range of colours. The extensive booklet in Italian contains the rules for 16 different card games... more►
See the box►
Above: “Il Quinto Seme” five-suit playing cards made by Modiano, Trieste, Italy, 1977. 65 cards + 3 Jokers + 2 score cards + booklet of rules, in tuck box. Size: 63 x 88 mm.
By Roddy Somerville
Member since May 31, 2022
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
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