Well, a little research provided a ton of info on playing cards. It is believed that playing cards originated in China around the 10th century AD. The three cards we know as the KING, QUEEN and JACK are the KING, VICEROY (or CAVALIER) and SECOND VICEROY (or KNAVE). Here are a few things I discovered about the various suits in different countries.
Arabic: coins, cups, swords, polo-sticks
Spain: coins, cups, swords, cudgels
Germany: hearts. leaves, acorns, bells
Switzerland: acorns, bells, roses, shields
France: diamonds, hearts, clubs, spades
Italy: coins, cups, swords, cudgel-shaped batons
Apparently we use the French version here but when I have been in France all the cards I have seen do not have these suits. For anyone interested in learning more or seeing pictures of the various suits and how they have evolved click here: CARD HISTORY
One more interesting thing I discovered... the cards we have from Spain only contain 48 cards in the deck rather than 52. The 10's are actually the second viceroy/knave cards.
