Gold Monarch vs Normal Monarch (Theory11)

With all the recent hype surrounding the White Monarchs, we figured many lucky people who managed to get their hands on the White Monarchs might now be on the hunt for the Gold Monarchs to form a complete set.


With the help of a kind sponsor for a Gold Monarch, we've decided to do a short write up on the differences between a Gold Monarch and a normal Monarch, just in case some of you are thinking of purchasing the decks off of eBay, but are unsure on how to differentiate them (without opening up the deck).


First off, before we begin, we would like to say that there is no foolproof method of accurately determining if it's a Gold Monarch or not without actually opening up the deck to take a look at the cards inside. That being said, these differences that we're about to mention have been cross referenced to multiple Gold and normal Monarchs and have been deemed to be one of, if not the most, effective methods.

Gold Monarch on the left, Normal Monarch on the right

On the left of the tuck case, where it says "Air-Cushion Finish. Made in the USA", with the lion logo on the top, the cellophane wrapping is actually "smooth" all the way down for the Gold Monarch. The normal Monarchs have their cellophane wrapping sealed up on this side of the case, and therefore, won't be "smooth".

Gold Monarch on the left, normal Monarch on the right

The converse holds true as well, as the cellophane wrapping of the Gold Monarch will be sealed on the right edge of the tuck case, where it says "US Playing Card Company", which means that this edge of the normal Monarch would be "smooth".

Gold Monarch on the bottom, normal Monarch on the top

This may be a more subjective difference, but the way the seals are attached onto the boxes look different on both decks as well. The seals on the normal Monarchs sink into the semi-circle groove of the opening flap, and do not appear as "evenly distributed" as the seal on the Gold Monarch.

Gold Monarch on the top, normal Monarch on the bottom

Myth Debunked: Some of you may have learnt or heard that the Gold Monarch will have a gold lining on the top of the opening flap, while the normal Monarch doesn't. However, as the photo above confirms, the normal Monarchs do come with a gold lining too, and in our case, our Gold Monarch didn't. 


Lastly, this is the 100% foolproof method to check if your deck is the real deal:

Gold Monarch card backs

If you open your Gold Monarch deck, the card backs should have been printed with blue and gold ink, as shown above.

Normal Monarch card backs

The normal Monarchs on the other hand, would look like the photo above. The card backs would only have been printed in blue and white ink, not gold.


To anyone else who would like to share any other differences that we've missed out, we welcome you to drop us an email to let us know. If you already have a Gold Monarch and a normal Monarch with you, tell us if these methods hold steady for you too!


EDIT: This is a difference between two normal Monarchs (not between a Gold and normal Monarch).

These are two normal Monarchs.

This difference was highlighted by Fu Jie - the theory11 logos are printed on opposite sides on these two normal Monarchs. This could possibly be due to different print runs.


If you would like to purchase a normal Monarch deck after reading this post, just quote us the following discount coupon - Gold Monarch, and get it for only SGD9! (U.P. SGD10) Thanks for reading!


Gold Monarch proudly sponsored by Fu Jie.
Photo credits: Robin Carey