Curse of Scotland Gurney Benham's book about playing cards, in describing the game of Pope Joan he gives his own explanation for why this card is known as the Curse of Scotland: "The crown of Scotland contained only nine stones, as they never could afford a tenth". Eric Partridge's "Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slang" considers: “the various theories are as interesting as they are unconvincing”. "Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland" says for "Curse of Scotland" "This is usually taken to be the nine of diamonds playing card, though explanations differ". The 19th century Tarot of Marseilles is one of the standard designs for tarot
United States Playing Card Company In October 2011, the United States Playing Card Company in a partnership with Encore Software announced that they are launching the 2012 Hoyle product line - Hoyle Card Games 2012, Hoyle Casino Games 2012 and Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games 2012. The company offers several card brands, including: Introduced in 1927 in commemoration of Charles Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight in the "Spirit of St. Louis", Aviator playing cards (stock 914) feature a bordered, monochrome back design of predominantly circles. They are lower-quality and less expensive compared to Bee and Bicycle cards and are available in the same general assortment of back