"Common Sense" card cheater cuff link

[ALAMOTX]

"Common Sense" card cheater cuff link

I found this unique item near a 1878 house.

Is says "Common Sense" and has a patent date of Dec. 29 1885.

This was a popular item in the saloon and for river boat gamblers in the late 1800s.

The alligator clip held the card and the other was a cuff link.
The last picture is the same item which was selling on ebay.
Just wanted to get yall's input on this.

Thanks

 

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[daroofa]

Re: "Common Sense" card cheater cuff link

This is a pretty good article comparing cuff holders and card holdouts.


http://cardshark.us/holdouts_frs.shtml

 

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[CRUSADER]

Re: "Common Sense" card cheater cuff link

This is a pretty good article comparing cuff holders and card holdouts.


http://cardshark.us/holdouts_frs.shtml

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: "Common Sense" card cheater cuff link

This is a pretty good article comparing cuff holders and card holdouts.


http://cardshark.us/holdouts_frs.shtml

Well done! Cuff holder it is.

 

[thrillathahunt]

Re: "Common Sense" card cheater cuff link

I found something similar a while back that looks like it has a piece broken off of it...looks like something was attached to the back of the clip.... the two pat. dates are APR. 30 78 and SEPT. 11 83

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: "Common Sense" card cheater cuff link

This is a pretty good article comparing cuff holders and card holdouts.


http://cardshark.us/holdouts_frs.shtml

Great article daroofa. I think its now officially SOLVED, (not that there was ever any doubt in my mind). I ll copy and paste your link here. Green check please.

Tombstoneoutfitters sold theirs for $100 as a card cheater..


THE WIZARD

If you ever searched eBay for "card cheating" you probably stumbled up on several sellers offering a nifty-looking clip that has the word WIZARD stamped on it. There is even a patent number stamped on the other side of the little Wizard. And the usual eBay description is that this is an old gamblers' cheating device, called a holdout. These nifty little Wizards usually sell for 10 to 20 bucks, but I have seen them go for over $80 apiece. If you ever purchased one of those Wizards, I'm afraid you've been had.

The Wizard is not a holdout device, has never been used or even intended to be used as a holdout device and it was not designed or made for that purpose. In fact anyone trying to sell one of these Wizards, as card-cheating devices, around the late 1800's or early 1900's, would have hade trouble making a sale. Not because at that time there was no eBay to sell these things through, but rather because at that time everyone knew what these gadgets were really for.

So, if the old Wizard is not a holdout device, what is it?

Well, the Wizard is just a cuff holder - not a card holdout. In the old days, gentleman used to wear shirts with detachable collars and cuffs. When the collar and cuffs got dirty (and we all know those are the part of a shirt that get soiled first) the person could just remove them and replace them with fresh ones. This way gentleman could always maintain the appearance of wearing a fresh shirt.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: "Common Sense" card cheater cuff link

I found something similar a while back that looks like it has a piece broken off of it...looks like something was attached to the back of the clip.... the two pat. dates are APR. 30 78 and SEPT. 11 83

It could be a cuff holder. Maybe someone will check your patent dates.

 

[diggummup]

Re: "Common Sense" card cheater cuff link

Way to go guys. Looks like BigC gets another one.

 

[LisaBeth]

​

Is says "Common Sense" and has a patent date of Dec. 29 1885. it is not for cheating as i seen it for holding paper cuff and ebay has them for around 2-3 dollars and no one really uses them any more but to hold on to it as it came from 1885 is pretty cool as it is 129 years old and not in bad condition

 

[surf]

A very cool find, from a bygone age. I did not notice the age of the original post until just now.

You guys were at the top of your form on this one.

 

[Breezie]

Breezie?Where are you Breezie

Hey Kuger, I just now saw this post, and BCH is exactly right about it holding a gentleman's cuff. Of course it is much more exciting for 'some people' to believe it is a cheating device, and certainly makes for better beer drinkin' and story tellin'.



Breezie

 

[dreamva]

It is a cuff adjuster made by L.a. Stillwagon. Here is link to the patent Patent US333485 - Cuff-adjuster - Google Patents. I have two of these but do not know the value.