The day was May 10, 1869—the day the coasts of the United States were knit together, once and forever, by the First Transcontinental Railroad. For years, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific lines had been racing across the nation toward one another, each determined to claim as much territory as possible before meeting. Now, here on Utah Territory’s Promontory Summit, Leland Stanford—tycoon, governor, and Stanford University’s famous founder—drove the last spike to join the lines, a gleaming spike of 17-karat gold, tapped into place with a silver maul. Telegraph reports of his blow set off celebrations around the country, and American industry and expansion rolled forward like never before.

Legends Playing Card Company invites you to join the festivities with its Golden Spike deck, a commemoration of one of the greatest engineering achievements of human history. The gorgeously illustrated, custom court cards celebrate the major players in the railroad’s completion, from the robber barons who commanded it to the poor Irish and “Celestials” who supplied so much of the construction’s labor. Each image employs cross-hatching and other techniques to mimic authentic lithographs of the era.

A must-have for railroad buffs and rare card collectors alike!