A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of cardboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other text (statistics, attacks, or trivia)[1]. Cardboard is a generic non-specific term for a heavy duty Paper based product Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging There is wide variation among different types of cards as to the configuration of objects, the content on the card, and even the material used to make the card[2].
Trading cards are traditionally associated with sports; baseball cards are especially well-known[1]. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively A baseball card is a type of Trading card relating to baseball usually printed on some type of Paper stock or card stock Cards dealing with other subjects are often considered a separate category from sports cards, known as non-sports trading cards. Sports card is a generic term for a Trading card with a sports-related subject as opposed to Non-sports trading cards that deal with other topics An non-sports trading card is a Trading card featuring entertainment content on some subject of popular interest other than Sports designed for Collecting These often feature cartoons, comic book characters, television series, or movie stills. The word cartoon has various meanings based on several very different forms of Visual art and Illustration. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U
As with playing cards, which they generally resemble, trading cards are often used to play various games[1]. A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper thin card or thin plastic figured with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing Card games In the 1990s, cards designed specifically for playing games became popular enough to develop into a distinct category of collectible card games. Collectible card games (CCGs also called trading card games (TCGs or customizable card games (CCGs are played using specially designed sets of cards These tend to use either fantasy subjects or sports as the basis for gameplay. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting
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Origin
From approximately 1887 to 1901, small cloth strips were circulated with the names of baseball players on them[2]. Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting These original cards were very rare, and are worth up to 800 USD today[2]. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been
From 1902 to 1935, printed cardboard baseball cards originated as gimmicks distributed with tobacco products, bubble gum, and other snacks (similar to prizes in cereal boxes today)[1]. In marketing language a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. Bubblegum (or Bubble Gum) is a type of Chewing gum especially designed for blowing bubbles. A prize is an Award given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements During this period, there was wide variation in the production of cards, mostly because the style was new and distributors had not yet decided on a particular style. Many cards also had rare flaws and misprints because manufacturers were still experimenting with different production methods[2].
After 1936, most of the card manufacturers had decided on a certain style, and most cards remained the same. The cards themselves ceased to be packaged along with other products and became a product in their own right[2].
Today, the development of the Internet has given rise to various online communities, through which members can trade collectible cards with each other. Cards are often bought and sold via eBay and other online retail sources[1]. eBay Inc is an American Internet company that manages eBaycom an Online auction and shopping Website in which people and businesses buy and
Value
The value of a trading card depends on a combination of the subject's popularity, the scarcity of the card, and the card's condition[1]. In some cases, especially with older cards that preceded the advent of card collecting as a widespread hobby, they have become collectors' items of considerable value. A hobby is a spare-time Recreational pursuit Etymology A Hobby horse is a wooden or Wickerwork toy made to be In recent years, many sports cards have not necessarily been appreciated as much in value due to mass production, although some manufacturers have used limited editions and smaller print runs to boost value[1]. Mass production (also called flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of The term special edition ( deluxe edition and collector's edition are also used is a term generally used as a Marketing incentive for various kinds of products
Terminology
Presented in logical order, not alphabetical:
- Cards – usually the standard baseball size of 2. 5 in. by 3. 5 in. , but 'widevision' cards are of the tall historically-basketball size.
- Packs – the original wrapper with base and insert cards within, often called 'wax packs', typically with two to eight cards per pack. Today the packs are usually plastic or foil wrap.
- Wrappers – the original pack cover, often with collectible variations.
- Retail Cards – cards, packs, boxes, and cases sold to the public, typically via large retail stores, such as K-mart or Wal-Mart. Kmart (sometimes spelled as " K-Mart " is a chain of department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores
- Hobby Cards – items sold mainly to collectors, through stores that deal exclusively in collectible cards. Usually contains some items not included in the retail offerings.
- Blister Packs – factory plastic bubble pack of cards or packs, for retail peg-hanger sales.
- Rack Packs – factory packs of unwrapped cards, for retail peg-hanger sales.
- Tins – factory metal can, typically filled with cards or packs, often with inserts.
- Boxes – original manufacturer's container of multiple packs, often 24 packs per box.
- Cases – factory-sealed crate filled with card boxes, often six to twelve card boxes per case. Often 24 packs per box.
- Common Cards – also known as base cards. Nonrare cards that form the main set (for example Cards 1-200).
- Parallel Cards – usually a modification of the main set of base cards which contains extra foil stamping, hologram stamping and are often seen one per pack up to one per 36 packs.
- Insert Cards – also known as chase cards. Nonrare to rare cards that are randomly inserted into packs at various ratios like 1 per 24 packs for example. An Insert Card is often different from the main set, contains a different number on the back such as SS01 to SS10, etc.
- Promo Cards – cards that are distributed, typically in advance, by the manufacturer to enhance sales.
- Redemption Cards – special cards that come in packs that are mailed (posted) to the manufacturer for a special card or some other gift.
- Sketch Cards – insert cards that feature near-one-of-a-kind artists sketches.
- Autograph Cards – printed insert cards that also bear an original cast or artist signature.
- Swatch Cards – insert cards that feature a mounted swatch of cloth, such as from a sports player's jersey or an actor's costume.
- Box Topper Cards – cards that are included in a factory sealed box.
- Chase Cards – card or cards included as a bonus in a factory sealed case.
- Oversized Cards – any base, common, insert, or other cards not of standard or widevision size.
- Unreleased Cards – cards printed by the manufacturer, but not officially distributed for a variety of reasons. Often leaked to the public, sometimes improperly. Not to be confused with promo cards.
- Base Sets – a complete set of base cards for a particular card series.
- Insert Sets – a complete set of a particular class of inserts, often called a 'subset'.
- Master Sets – not well defined; often a base set and all readily available insert sets; typically does not include promos, mail-in cards, sketch, or autograph cards.
- Factory Sets – card sets, typically complete base sets, sorted and sold from the factory.
- Uncut Sheets – sheets of uncut base, insert, promo, or other cards.
- 9-Up Sheets – uncut sheets of nine cards, usually promos.
- Sell Sheets – also 'ad slicks'. Usually one page, but increasingly fold-outs, distributed by the manufacturers to card distributors, in advance, to enhance case sales.
Condition descriptors
- Mint condition - A perfect card; no printing imperfections or damage whatsoever. Mint condition is an expression used in the description of pre-owned goods
- Near Mint/Pack Fresh/Factory Fresh – Numerous terms which refer to, with slight variation, the same thing: a collector's grade card. There may be a minor production imperfection or very slight damage from handling or storage, but you have to look carefully to notice. These terms refer to cards in, more or less, the same condition they were in when they left the factory.
- Mint/Near Mint - At least near mint. A shorthand for collectors and sellers that do not single out their mint cards but simply deal in anything that is at least near mint.
- Excellent – A nearly perfect card, with a bent corner or other minor imperfection.
- Fine/Very Good – An otherwise good card with inconspicuous errors which are not easily visible, but can be seen on close inspection.
- Good – A card with small amounts of writing on it, poor centering, a mild crease, or worn (but present) corners.
- Fair – A damaged card, with damage such as bad creases or completely worn-off corners.
- Poor – A seriously damaged card with little value, except if it is extremely rare or limited-edition.
Companies that produce or have produced trading cards
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Categories of trading cards
Sports cards
- American Football
- Australian Football League
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Football
- Golf
- Hockey
- Racing
- Tennis
Non-sports cards
- These are several examples of trading cards. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with The Australian Football League (AFL is both the professional Australian national competition in the Sport of Australian Rules Football and its highest Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m Boxing (sometimes also known as English boxing or pugilism) is a Combat sport in which two participants generally of similar weight, Football is the word given to a number of similar Team sports all of which involve (to varying degrees kicking a Ball with the foot in an attempt to score a Hockey is any of a family of Sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a Ball, or a hard round rubber or heavy plastic disc called a puck Types of racing Unassisted human racing Using only the Human body 's own Muscles Running: Cross country Tennis is a sport played between two players ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles) For a complete list, see List of collectible card games. See Collectible card game for information on this genre Numbered links refer to the game's official website
- Digimon
- Garbage Pail Kids
- Magic: The Gathering
- Pokémon
- Wacky Packages
- Yu-Gi-Oh!
- World of Warcraft
- Webkinz
Movie and television cards
- Please see the article "List of collectible card games" for a complete list. Garbage Pail Kids (in Australia, 'The Garbage Gang' is a series of Trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed This article is somewhat over-complete Please do not add significant new content without first discussing it on the talk page The Pokémon Trading Card Game (Pokémon TCG is a Collectible card game based on the Pokémon Video game series first introduced in Japan in Wacky Packages are a series of Trading cards featuring Parodies of American Consumer products. is a Japanese Manga created by Kazuki Takahashi, which has spawned a franchise including multiple Anime series a trading card game and numerous video The World of Warcraft Trading Card Game is a Collectible card game based on Blizzard Entertainment 's MMORPG, World of Warcraft Kinds of Webkinz See also List of Webkinz stuffed animals There are many types of Webkinz See Collectible card game for information on this genre Numbered links refer to the game's official website
References
- ^ a b c d e f g DCS Sports Cards. The History of Baseball Cards. n. d. 29 Jan. 2008 <http://www.dcssportscards.com/baseballcards.html>
- ^ a b c d e Trading Card Central. History. php. 2007. 29 Jan. 2008 <http://www.tradingcardcentral.com/history.php>
See also
Cigarette cards are Trade cards issued by Tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and advertise cigarette brands. In the Trading card collecting Hobby, an error card is a card that shows incorrect information or some other unintended flaw See Collectible card game for information on this genre Numbered links refer to the game's official website Trade card describes small cards similar to the Visiting cards exchanged in social circles that businesses would distribute to clients and potential customers Artist Trading Cards are individual Art miniatures which pass hand to handDictionary
trading card
-noun
- A collectable card included with tobacco, food or confectionery products and featuring sports, cars, natural history, film characters or other information of interest to purchasers.
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