I consider a deck of playing cards an Enigma. You see, no one knows the origins of where a deck of cards comes from. Those exciting images, from Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and the rest of the deck. How did those images come about? Where do they come from initially?

Who Played with a Deck of Cards

In medieval Europe, much like today, everyone played with cards. Ordinary people, nobles, and the religious, all would have interacted and played with cards. For obvious reasons, playing cards were immensely popular with gamblers. Today, a deck of playing cards is as popular with school kids, as it is with gamblers. Almost everyone has their own preferred go-to game of choice.

Where did the Ace come From?

The history of the Ace card is a bit more specific. This particular card was first seen in 1765, which coincided with an English tax, placed on the sale of playing cards. The Ace has initially been a stamp to show that the tax has been paid. What was the penalty of forging an Ace stamp? The answer is the death penalty. (they took this stuff seriously in the past).

The Ace in playing cards is historically known to have come from the Middle East. The four images represented different values (1, 5, 10, and 20). Eventually these coins phased out and replaced by paper money but not before number cards had been included in standard playing card decks due to this spherical coinage system using stamps for different numbers.

Ace itself was also seen in European culture with its original meaning defined under Royalty as an intermediary between low ranks/ common people or kneelers and senior members of government or military. This game aspect still stands today; where Ace demonstrates importance between minor figures such as Jacks, Queens and Kings - usually a signifying higher value when placed within various hands of poker or blackjack games adding further spice to traditional callous gameplay!

Works of Art

A deck of cards is extremely common nowadays. Take for example the promotional playing cards that we have on our website. Our custom-printed playing cards are offset printed in lots of hundreds. They look beautiful, but not handcrafted artisan pieces. The playing cards of old, however, are the total opposite.

Old playing card decks are handcrafted individually. You can consider them investment pieces. They were so beautiful that many of these old deck of cards were re-used as invitations, as paper for letters and documents.