page_title: Playing card
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Playing card / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Ancient French playing cards (XVI century?)
context_page_description: Playing cards is the name for the 54 cards used card games like poker, bridge, blackjack, solitaire, and Go Fish.
  There are 52 basic cards in a deck. These cards have a suit and a number. There are 4 suits and 13 ranks in each suit. There are also two Jokers that do not have a suit or a rank.
context_section_description: Playing cards have been found in 9th century China, Tang dynasty.
  Playing cards first entered Europe in the early 14th century, probably from Egypt. The suits were very similar to the tarot suits of Swords, Staves, Cups and Coins. These designs are  still used in traditional Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese card decks.
  The first documentary evidence is from Vitoria-Gasteiz (now Spain) in 1334, in which the Knights of the Band are forbidden to play cards. The next record is from Catalonia in 1371.
  Wide use of playing cards in Europe can be traced from 1377 onwards.
caption: Early French playing cards
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