All 76 Suit Systems, National Types and Patterns
Above: Illustration showing traditional suit symbols from Italian, Spanish, Germanic, French, and English playing cards.”
By around 1500 three main suit systems had evolved: Latin (including Italian, Spanish and Portuguese); Germanic (German and Swiss) and French (which has become the International or 'Anglo-American' suit system). At the same time the court hierarchies were becoming standardised, although distinctive for different regions. Some of the suit symbols may have had a semi-symbolic significance (e.g. cups, coins, hearts, batons, pomegranates) or were adapted from a different language, others a reflection of popular culture at the time; but some students like to see a religious, social or political meaning in the symbols.
Above: Traditional Ganjifa cards from India with detailed artwork and unique suit system.
These suit systems and court hierarchies became the basis for various Standard National patterns, or National Types, which were associated with specific regions or tax jurisdictions.
Many of these have remained unchanged for centuries, being handed down through the generations, preserving their archaic, medieval characteristics. Others have evolved into modern types, perhaps as a self-affirmation of national identity in countries which have recently regained independence from imperial rule (see example). Indeed, as a result of globalisation and use of computers, standard playing card designs are becoming more uniform on the one hand, but with greater opportunities for customisation or originality on the other hand (i.e. non-standard).
Akahachi 1 Ansbach 1 Archaic Patterns 56 As-Nas 3 Auvergne Pattern 1 Bavarian Pattern 10 Bohemian or Prager Pattern 5 Boisse 1 Burgundy Pattern 3 Cadiz-Pattern 23 Castilian Pattern 6 Catalan Pattern 40 Ceki 5 Dasavatara 1 Dauphiné 2 Domino-Suited 15 Dutch Pattern 2 English Pattern 4 Florentine Pattern 5 Foochow 1 Franco-Spanish 11 French Catalan Pattern 3 Fribourg pattern 1 Ganjifa 8 Genoese Pattern 13 Guarro Pattern 6 Guyenne pattern 1 Hanafuda 6 Hokkien 3 Hungarian Seasons Pattern 8 Hwatu 4 Kabu 1 Komaru 1 Kurofuda 1 Languedoc Pattern 3 Lenormand 10 Llombart Pattern 4 Lombard Pattern 1 Lyon 4 Maciá Pattern 2 Madiao 1 Mamluk 5 Mekuri 3 Money-Suited 6 Moorish 9 Navarra Pattern 6 Neapolitan 5 Nürnberg 1 Pai 9 Paris Pattern 22 Parisian Pattern 7 Patterns and Suit Types 66 Penang 1 Petit Etteilla 2 Piacentine 1 Piedmont 4 Piemontese 4 Portuguese Pattern 17 Provence Pattern 2 Prussian Pattern 2 Raimundo García Pattern 5 Rhineland 4 Rider-Waite Tarot 15 Rouen Pattern 1 Salzburger 1 Saxon Pattern 1 Spanish National Pattern 18 Spanish Suited 87 Standard Pattern 29 Suits 37 Tarot de Besançon 2 Tarot de Marseille 9 Thoth 3 Tô Tôm 2 Trappola 5 Vienna Pattern 2