The popularity of playing cards both in Europe and in the whole world depends on many factors linked together. Why has the ace, which was worth nothing for centuries, become the most important card? What happened in England if a king or queen was crowned? Curious facts and some anecdotes can tell a lot about the meaning and historical roots of the playing card symbols. Whether you love Solitaire or Mahjong, or know the best Hearts strategy, most us of us have a pack of playing cards at home. Let’s learn the stories of these together.

How were the card suits born in Europe?

The cards of Latin origin have at their base spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts, which indicate different social categories: peasants, guards, traders, and manufacturers. While travelling around the world, you realize how some countries use cards with totally different suits from the most common ones. German cards have acorns, leaves, and bells accompanied by hearts, while in Japan, there are five suits. The charm of tradition has left the cards practically unchanged, and consequently, it is hard to rediscover some of their hidden messages. Both in land-based and virtual casinos, such as zodiac casino, you can find all the familiar card symbols.

How did the French cards appear?

A decisive contribution to the playing cards’ appearance came from the French, who invented the deck which later became the most famous with the following suits: 

• coeurs (hearts), 

• piques (spades), 

• carreaux (diamonds), 

• and trefles (clubs). 

The reasons for the adoption of these symbols were almost only economic: hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs were in fact symbols much more easily reproducible than the German ones. The practicality and ease of reproducibility contributed to the great diffusion of French cards in the world. 

In the late Middle Ages, pictures were often used to depict the royal families of the various European dynasties. Thus, the King, the Queen, and the Jack were born. Interestingly, the value of the cards in England was linked to the sex of the ruling person. If there was a King on the throne, the King was the highest card in the deck. If instead, a Queen was in charge, it also replaced the King in the hierarchy of playing cards.

However, if we talk about the variable value of playing cards, we cannot forget the ace, which had the lowest value of all until the end of the 18th century. How did this evolution happen? According to some scholars, this could be linked to the social changes that occurred after the French Revolution and to subsequent movements born from below, such as socialism. Raising the ace to the highest card would have been a symbolic way to replace the nobility, taking away the command of society in favour of the lower class – represented precisely by the ace.

*This is a collaborative post.