There is considerable controversy on the question of which Visconti-Sforza deck is the oldest.  Some scholars believe that the incomplete 48-card Brera-Brambilla Deck is the oldest, dating from about 1445, because the artwork appears stiff and less professional that the Pierpont Morgan-Bergamo and Cary-Yale packs.

The expense and time involved in completing the Visconti cards suggest the decks were commissioned to honor special occasions.  The Lovers Card of the Cary-Yale Deck shows the arms of the Visconti and of Savoy on the canopy.  The deck may have served as a wedding present for the marriage of Filippo Visconti to Maria of Savoy in 1428, although it seems doubtful because their marriage was never consummated.

The 48 card Brera-Brambilla pack may have been a wedding present at the time of the marriage of Fancesco Sforza to Bianca Maria Visconti in 1441.  The 74-card Pierpont Morgan-Bergamo pack, with its Visconti and Sforza heraldic devices, might have been commissioned in celebration of Francesco Sforza's assumption of the ducal crown of Milan in 1450 or as a tenth anniversary present to Bianca Maria.