He’s no longer keeping his cards close to his vest.
A soldier who guarded Saddam Hussein is ready to sell a rare collection of autographed “Iraq’s Most Wanted” playing cards — including one signed by the madman himself, The Post has learned.
“Maybe someone else would like them and they can do something with them,” said Mark Heinbaugh, 51, a sergeant who said he was assigned to Camp Cropper in Iraq while serving with the Pennsylvania National Guard.
The military issued cards — superimposed with the names and job descriptions of Hussein’s government henchmen — to US soldiers at the start of the 2003 invasion of Iraq to help identify fugitives.
The officially titled “personality identification playing cards” feature Hussein’s mustachioed mug on the ace of spades, with sons Qusay and Uday gracing the aces of clubs and hearts.
Heinbaugh said detainees signed 39 of the 52 cards. Hussein signed “Victor” in red ink on his card, a reference to the guards’ code name for him.
“Most of the time, they were really happy to do it, because they were being remembered,” he said.
Heinbaugh said tight finances have forced his hand.
“Ever since I got back from Iraq in 2006, it’s been hard to catch up, so I figured I’d start getting rid of things I had,” said Heinbaugh, who is unemployed and keeps the cards secure in a safe in his Pittsburgh home. He said he’ll entertain all offers for the prized deck.
Experts said the collection could fetch as much as $6,000.
“The key name is the Big Man, the rest are just support players that add a little to the value,” said Bill Panagopulos, the president of Alexander Historical Auctions. “These men weren’t real history-makers, just brutes who were fairly-easily eliminated compared to tyrants of old.”