I have several decks of Coke playing cards, most of which don't have anything special on the fronts, so at first I was putting them on the other playing cards page. But then I thought, I might as well save some space on that page by collecting the Coke cards on their own page. (The image I use on the index page to link to this page is from the card deck I have used more than any other to actually play cards, so the cards are all pretty faded, on both the fronts and the backs. I scanned the back of one of the Jokers, because they're much less worn than the others.)


Here is the back of one deck of cards, and the deck's face cards (the numbered cards have no pictures). I have no idea who the artist is (I assume they're all by the same person). The box just says, "The Coca-Cola Company archives are rich with images of our past lives. Some of the wonderful images are beautifully reproduced on these premium playing cards."


Haddon Sundblom. Two decks of cards that came in a tin. Both pictures appear, embossed, on the lid of the tin. The package says "From 1931 through 1966, Haddon Sundblom created Santa Claus illustrations for The Coca-Cola Company. People everywhere have defined an image of Santa Claus through Sundblom's paintings. This holiday season, the legacy lives on with this Limited Edition 'Coca-Cola' Tin and Playing Cards." (Though there's no year given, so I don't know which holiday season is being referred to. I would think it must be sometime in the 21st century, though.)


Nostalgia. Two decks of cards that came in a tin. These are the backs of each deck, and the same two pictures appear on the lid of the tin. The set is just called "Nostalgia," and gives no indication of who the artist is. (But of course it's Haddon Sundblom.)


Polar bears. When Coke started using CGI polar bears in its commercials, I really liked them, so over the years I bought myself various merchandise involving the bears, though I probably received more as gifts than I bought for myself, and now I wouldn't remember which things I bought and which someone bought for me. Anyway... This deck just has pictures on the face cards, not the numbered cards. I didn't include the Ace here, because it just has the Coke symbol (like the back of the cards, but without the ice background).


Mini decks: one deck has skate boarding polar bear, the other is just the "Always Coca-Cola" logo. These cards are probably slightly less than half the size of normal playing cards. The polar bear box is inside a clear plastic case that snaps shut, and is attached by a chain to a plastic clasp, so you could clip it to... I dunno, a zipper or a belt loop, maybe?






Classic ads: Pinup girls on the face cards, plus the back of the cards and the wild card. (The other wild card is the same picture, but in black & white.)

playing cards index