I would have loved to have gone but we're travelling to a wedding that weekend! ☹️

I only own and (occasionally) use one deck where one card is missing. It's the Hanged Man. As a substitute I use the cover card that was left (you know those with deck title on it). So the message of the Hanged Man could get through. Of course one can read with an incomplete deck – but why? Because it's hard to declare a thoughtful and beautiful gift as useless? I hope this doesn't sound rude but I think that's the crux. If you fell for the deck's charm (understandably, it's one of my favourite Lenormand decks) drop me a line and I may be able to get you a replacement.

I'm not an experienced Lenormand reader ...although I own several decks and occasionally try a reading. As you say, the previous owner seems to have removed two 'dark' cards ...Coffin and Scythe...for a reason. Maybe afraid of the idea or symbols of death? Fair enough—although they passed the deck along to a new owner, so maybe the altered deck didn't work for them very well. I believe any deck (Tarot, Lenormand, Kipper, Oracle) takes on whatever vibe you, the reader, put into it. So, by all means, give it a try without the two cards, as you still find the deck has lovely energy. See how you get on. If you feel the deck tells you what you need to know without those two cards, then the altered deck works for you. 🙂 If you sense the deck is missing out on vital aspects of a reading, then maybe just retire it? Or see if you can replace the cards in some way? It's your deck now, and you don't need to absorb the fears of the previous owner. As to working with incomplete decks, I have been known to occasionally remove all the court cards from a tarot deck before doing a reading. This removes the references to actual people or personal characteristics, and sometimes simplifies the reading for me. (I don't do this often at all, by the way ...but occasionally.) Cards are a tool; how you use that tool is up to you.