| Native Name: | German: Schellen |
Bells (German: Schellen) is one of the four playing card suits in a deck of Swiss-suited and German-suited playing cards. Unlike the other German suits, this suit was not adapted by French card makers. In its place, there was initially a suit of red crescents until the suit of Diamonds was added to the French pack (known as tiles in France).[1] The suit is usually known in German as German: Schellen, but is sometimes abbreviated to German: Schell. Cards are referred to as in a French deck e.g. the "9 of Bells", but in German as German: Schellen 9, or the "Unter of Bells" (German: Schellunter or German: Schell-Unter).
Bells are the lowest suit in Skat, Schafkopf and Doppelkopf, but the second highest in Préférence.
The suit of bells specifically depict hawk-bells which are used in falconry.[2] As such, they are reminiscent of the falcon suit used in earlier German hunting decks such as the Ambraser Hofjagdspiel and Stuttgart pack.
In a 32-card pack the lowest card is a 7; in 36-card packs it is a 6. In Austria, the 6 of Bells often has special powers, typically being wild, and is known as the Weli, Welli or Belle. In William Tell and Salzburg pattern cards, the Weli bears the additional suit symbols for Hearts and Acorns in recognition of this role. It may also be promoted to become a high trump card, for example, it is the second highest trump card in the popular Austrian game of Watten.
The gallery below shows the suit of Bells from a German suited pack, Saxon pattern pack of 32 cards. This pattern was traditionally used in Saxony and is still made by ASS Altenburger.
The following images depict the suit of Bells from an 1850 Swiss-suited pack: