It is said there are only two certain things in Life Death and Taxes. I'll put Taxes to one side (for the moment) and Concentrate on Death. Oh I am a Happy Chap. Not Death it's self but the Card of Death the Ace Of Spades and how it came about to be called the Card Of Death.

In the 1700's during the Regin of then Queen Anne, there was a Stamp duty or tax (there's that word again) was on playing cards. There was an official insignia placed on on the Ace of Spades. People deemed this Tax unfair which Resulted in the Insignia being counterfeited showing the Tax had been paid. If however if a person was caught Counterfeiting the official mark that person faced drastic penalties including Execution. Hence one reason why the Card became associated with Death.

During the Medieval Period, Blacksmiths would mark weapons, such has Axes Spears and Swords with the Ace of Spades and the shape of the Ace was also shaped like a shovel, which of course was used to Dig Graves, further association with Death, and the reason a shovel is also called a Spade.

Coming more up to date during the Vietnam War American Troops would place the Ace Of Spades Card on the Dead Bodies of Viet Cong Soldiers, or spread them around Vietnamese Villages , as the Cards were thought to symbolize Death and Misfortune in Vietnamese Culture, thus tying the Ace Of Spades to Mortality.

The Ace Of Spades is the Highest Valued Card In A Pack. I associate the Card with the Rock Group Motor Head , listening to Lemmy Belt Out the Song Ace Of Spades, with his harsh Rasping Vocals and Thundering Bass Guitar. You just can't beat Head Banging or Grebo War Dancing, to this Iconic Song.

Another informative post @Wheelbarrow repair man although it's a bit depressing that the dear old Ace of Spades has such dark connotations

As ever I've done a little research and in some contexts the Ace of Spades is seen as giving luck & success particularly in the context of playing cards.

In some contexts, it can also represent new beginnings, change, and transformation, akin to a fresh start

And particularly in modern times, the Ace of Spades is often seen as a symbol of power, authority, and dominance. 

So I suppose the dear old Ace of Spades does have some positive vibrations too.

Interesting stuff. Bringing it back to football somewhat, in the 19th century it was common to hand out "mourning cards" at people's funerals, commemorating the person who had died. As football was growing in popularity at that time, the inevitable happened and mourning cards were produced for football clubs after defeats for the purposes of Hilarious Banter^TM.

@DangerousSausage . Perhaps these should be brought back. There will be a Few Clubs who could paper their Dressing Room Walls with them.

I’d never realised how common “death photos” once were, families dressing recently deceased loved ones for a final portrait, even using hot wax to keep their eyes open so they appeared to pose. It’s fascinating but pretty morbid, and I’m glad the practice has fallen out of favour. WRM’s post is packed with quirky details, plenty of which were new to me.

@Chris .The Victorians were a Pretty Morbid Lot and seemed to have a Fascination with Death. It's a well known fact that Queen Victoria wore Widows Tweeds for the Rest of her Life, after the Death of her husband the Prince Consort, Prince Albert. She also commanded her Lady's in waiting to lay out a Clean Shirt and Albert Shaving equipment as if he was still alive. Death Jewelry was also a Big Thing in the Victorian Era, this was usually in the form of a Brooch or Pendant with a Lock of the Deceased Hair was placed.

53 minutes ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

Death Jewelry was also a Big Thing in the Victorian Era, this was usually in the form of a Brooch or Pendant with a Lock of the Deceased Hair was placed.

This I can understand, as it's very common for parents to keep a lock of their babies hair when it's first cut.

Though much of the other stuff is very morbid, which explains why they had a fasincation with Jack the Ripper and all those type of things. Re: Death card, a fortune teller once spoke at my school and they said that the tarot card for it wasn't always a bad sign. Not that many believed her, but I have heard it spoken in films and TV.

Queen Victoria wearing all black is probably the saddest anyone could look for the rest of their life.

I Do enjoy writing about Other Subjects has I think it brings a different perspective and hopefully Interest to the Site. And I also learn things.. @Robbie for instance I didn't know about the Ace Of Spades also having some Positive vibes. Going through my collections of Books (remember them?) the Ace Of Spades always seems to have Negative stories associated to it. And I Certainly didn't know about Football Mourning Cards, so Thanks for that @Piethagoram .

@Chris I remember my Eldest Son used to have a blonde Curl in his hair when he was a little Un. His Mum cut it off and Still keeps it Safe. Some Parents also keep their Child's first tooth, Not sure if the Missus did that, but I'm sure my Sister did when her First Kid lost their first tooth. Another thing New Parents do is keep a News Paper from the Day they were Born. My Youngest Son was Born the day after the Bocastle flooding, you may not remember that, because it was 21 years ago tomorrow. All the National Papers carried the story the following Day the Day He was Born. We also have a copy of the Nottingham Evening Post from the Day of His Birth.

There we've added a Little Bit of Light heartedness, to my Thread of Morbid (but hopefully Informative and Entertaining) story of the Ace Of Spades.