By the end of the 15 th century, pip cards – Two to Ten – replaced former face cards showing people of the royal court. That is the main reason for today’s prominence of the French playing cards.īack then, the four suits Trèfle (Clubs), Pique (Spades), Coeur (Hearts), and Carreau (Diamonds) were established in Lyon. By the end of the 15 th century, Lyon blossomed out as one of the most important centers for card game production. Particularly the German and French printers spurred each other. The invention of woodcut, later of chalcography, and soon after of the printing press, made producing larger volumes of playing cards gradually easier and cheaper.