Nummerkortene

Nummerkortene are the subset of a standard playing card deck that bear numerals rather than face illustrations. In most Western decks, this comprises the cards numbered 2 through 10 in each of the four suits. The four suits are spar (spades), hjerter (hearts), ruder (diamonds), and klør (clubs). The term distinguishes these cards from the non-number cards—ace and the billedkort, or court cards (jack, queen, king).

In a standard 52-card deck, there are 36 nummerkort: nine ranks (2–10) across four suits. Each nummerkort is valued by its numeral, though game rules vary on how numeric values are used. Some games assign fixed points to each nummerkort, while others focus on combinations or sequences (as in Rummy or Canasta). The Ace and the court cards may carry different values or roles depending on the game being played.

Besides gaming, the term nummerkortene can also appear in educational contexts to describe flashcards showing digits 0–9 used for counting and basic arithmetic. In Danish usage, the distinction between nummerkortene and the non-numeric cards helps players and learners quickly identify the function of the cards within a given activity or game.

See also: Playing cards, Danish playing cards, Card games.