With that in mind, Trace ‘n Chase, the leading trading card and memorabilia company in Europe, based in Thessaloniki, is here to help you learn everything about #thehobby of collecting sports cards with a comprehensive glossary of hobby terms and definitions for beginners that will help you navigate in the current market as you grow your collection!
GLOSSARY:
Artist Proof: A popular type of parallel card that was originally produced by Pinnacle Brands Inc. back in 1994.
Auction / Auction House: The hobby of sports card and sports memorabilia collecting serves a wide range of collectors. Some of these collectors have a wealth of financial resources at their disposal. Often times, purchases of high-grade cards and vintage sports memorabilia are made through one of the hobby’s numerous auction companies like Goldin Auctions, famous from the recent Netflix documentary “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch”!
Autograph Authentication: The process of having an autographed item examined by an expert or third-party authenticator like Beckett Authentication to determine if the autograph is legitimate and in fact signed by the person purported to have signed the item.
Autograph Card / Autographed Card / Auto and AU: A card that carries a signature of an athlete, coach entertainer, celebrity or other personality.
Base Card/ Regular Card: The main cards that make up a sports card or non-sport product’s base set.
Base Set: All of a trading card product’s base cards.
Blaster Box: A packaging configuration for collectible sports cards and other trading cards, typically reserved for retail distribution through a “big-box” store such as Wal-Mart or Target. The boxes usually contain anywhere between 5-10 packs and on occasion an exclusive card or cards.
Book Card / Booklet Card: A trading card that combines two trading cards into one by attaching them with a hinge, or spine like a book. They can be vertically or horizontally oriented and usually are a high-end card showcasing game-used memorabilia and/or an autograph.
Box Break: Usually referred to as a term for an event where collectors buy a spot in exchange for receiving some of the cards in the case/box/pack. These are typically live streamed so that all participants in the box break can share the excitement of seeing the pulls and hits as they happen. Box breaks have become a popular and economical way for collectors to get potentially higher-value or rarer cards without buying a whole box or case themselves.
Card Show: An assembly of sports card and memorabilia collectors and dealers. These events first originated in the 1970s as small regional shows, usually taking place in a mall, hotel lobby or banquet room. Today, these shows still exist but have also evolved to include much larger shows attended by collectors from across the world, just like the “National Sports Card Convention”.
Case: Typically used in reference to a packaging of a specific trading card product. Cases contain multiple boxes depending on the product and can range between 2-20 boxes.
Case Breaker: A term referred to a person or business that opens multiple cases of product or operates as a Group Breaking website.
Case Hit(s): In an effort to encourage the purchase of cases of trading cards, some manufactures guarantee a specific type of high-value or short-printed card in every case. These cards are referred to as “case hits” (e.g. Stained Glass or Downtown)
Centering: Centering, in regards to grading sports cards, refers to the ratio of the borders/frame of the card from left to right and top to bottom. It is arguably the most important aspect of a card’s marketability and eye-appeal.
Certificate of Authenticity / C.O.A. / Letter of Authenticity: Also known as a C.O.A., a Certificate of Authenticity is a document attesting to an item’s authenticity. They are commonly issued by a third party grading or authentication company “certifying” that an autograph is in fact legitimate or that an alleged “game-used or worn” item was in fact, worn/used by said player. Individual sellers can, and often do, issue there own C.O.A.’s, however, they carry very little value compared to those issued by a reputable third-party services in the hobby.
Checklist: A listing of all of the cards contained in a product’s base, with insert and subsets.
Chrome: The original metallic-like trading card stock manufactured by Topps with laminated chromium paper – a premium, metallic cardstock that is more durable than traditional cardboard.
Condition: Used to describe the attributes of a trading card or collectible that contribute to its overall physical quality based on a condition scale [Gem Mint – Mint – Near Mint-Mint (Nrmt-Mt) – Near Mint (Nrmt) – Excellent-Mint (ExMt) – Excellent (Ex) – Very Good (Vg) – Good (Gd) – Fair (Fr) – Poor (Pr)].
Die-Cut: A trading card that has had part of the card stock removed to create a specific shape, design or function, such as a stand-up. In today’s collecting era, such cards are used as inserts and are usually short-printed resulting in increased rarity to that of other cards in the set.
Ding / Dinged Corner: A “ding” is the term used to describe damage on the corner of a trading card. Dings commonly occur as the result of cards being mishandled. A card with such condition issues is obviously worth less than a card without a “ding”. The result of a ding is a bending of the corner or a fraying of the paper at the corner.
Donruss: A trading card manufacturer that began production of entertainment trading cards in the mid 1950s. They began production of sports cards in 1981. The company and brand changed hands several times and the intellectual property, including the Donruss name is now owned by Panini America with a few products still carrying the same term, including the upcoming 2023-24 Panini Donruss Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Basketball Hobby Box!
Error Card: A trading card that contains a mistake. Some of the more common errors include misspelled names, inaccurate statistical information or the wrong photograph. Often times, the error is caught before the entire print run has been completed. If the card with the mistake is corrected this is referred to as a Corrected Error Card. Depending on which card was printed in the smaller quantity determines which of the two cards may have any premium in value.
Factory Set: A complete set of trading cards packaged by the manufacturer. Factory sets typically carry a premium over hand-collated sets.
Fleer: A now defunct, New Jersey based trading card company whose intellectual property is now owned by Upper Deck.
Game-Used: A piece of memorabilia that has been used in a professional sporting event. These items can include, but are not limited to: jerseys, bats, fielding or batting gloves, bases, football pylons, hockey sticks, basketball nets, shoe soles etc.
Game-Worn: A piece of memorabilia that has been worn by a player in an actual game. These items can include, but are not limited to: jerseys, hats, shoes, pads, etc.
-
Player-Worn: A piece of clothing or memorabilia that has been worn by a player but not in a game. This may be their draft day jersey, a jersey used in a photo shoot or an item held while taking a photo.
-
Event Used: A memorabilia piece that has been worn or used at a specific event like a player’s draft day and rookie debut events.
Graded Card: A trading card that has been examined by a third-party service (Beckett, PSA, CSG,) grading specialist for condition and assigned a specific numerical grade, that corresponds with the card’s physical condition.
Grading Company: An independent, third-party service that specializes in examining cards for physical condition and assigning the card a corresponding numerical grade for the card. Today, the trading card market recognizes the following companies as industry leaders: Professional Sports Authenticators (PSA), Beckett Grading Services (BGS) and Sports Card Guaranty (SGC).
Graded/Grading Card Scale: Each individual grading company bases their card grades on a numerical scale. All but one company uses a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest grade. SGC uses a 10 to 100 numerical scale. Each number on the grading scale corresponds to a card’s physical condition on the Condition Scale.
-
Pristine: A term used by BGS to describe the highest possible grade, a 10
-
Gem Mint: A term used by PSA to describe the highest possible grade, a 10
Group Break: An opportunity for a “group” of collectors to come together online and split the cost of a box or case of cards and then divide the pulled cards amongst themselves in a manner which was previously agreed upon before the break begins.
(The) Hobby: An abbreviation term used for the hobby of collecting (sports) cards.
Hobby Box: These are high-end boxes that typically feature a greater number of chase cards, which makes them more expensive/valuable. Unlike retail boxes, which are widely distributed in big box stores (think: Walmart or Target), hobby boxes are usually distributed exclusively through hobby shops or online.
Hit or Hit Card: A modern hobby term referring to higher-valued cards or those perceived to be of having a higher value than other cards pulled from a box of trading cards. These cards are typically those that are autographed, contain a piece of memorabilia or are significantly short-printed.
Inscribed/Inscription: A term used in autograph collecting where the subject, in addition to signing their name includes a specialized notation, such as a statistical achievement, nickname, Hall of Fame induction year or personalization (e.g. Nikola Jokic adding “The Joker” nickname)
Insert Card: In general, can be used to describe all non-base and non-parallel cards in a trading card set. These cards typically have their own themes, names, designs and numbering.
Junk Wax: A term used in reference to the majority of trading cards manufactured between the late 1980s and early 1990s. This was an era of over-production in the trading card industry, the likes of which the hobby had not seen up until that time or since. The cards from this era have little, if any, monetary value. Unfortunately, many of us who are between the ages of 35 and 45 have thousands of cards from that era. But we still love them…!
Kaboom!: A hugely popular modern insert featuring a comic book style design, printed in limited numbers that has a higher market value.
Lenticular: A printing technology which causes a 3D-like effect allowing the image or images to have the appearance of movement when viewed at different angles. To create this effect, a small, ribbed, plastic lens is used to produce images that give the illusion of having depth.
Licensed Card: A trading card that carries with it the official endorsement and authorized usage rights from a respective sports licensing body like the NBA, NFL, NHL or MLB.
Limited Edition: A term often used by trading card manufactures and memorabilia companies in an attempt to imply scarcity of an item. A limited edition item’s worth is proportional to the precise number that are made. If the supply of the item exceeds demand, the card or item will result in having little or sometimes no value.
Limited Production Run: A term often used by a trading card manufacturer to describe a product’s total print run when it is considerably smaller than that of the company’s other trading card products.
Lot: An auction term typically used to describe a number of items up for bid, like trading cards. The cards, or other items, may be the same type or they may be an assorted variety.
Manufacturer: A company like Panini that produces trading cards or memorabilia in the sports and entertainment collectibles market.
Master Set: An entire print run of cards from a product including all base, parallel and insert cards including autographs and memorabilia.
Memorabilia Card: A card that contains a piece of player related equipment, venue item or other authentic items in some way connected to the player or subject depicted on the card. The item is actually embedded in the card and these are also referred to as Relic Cards.
Numbering: The card number affixed to the back of a trading card indicating its order in its respective set.
-
Serial Numbering: Usually stamped in foil on the card indicating its exact print run and represented as xx/xxx, with the first set of numbers indicating the exact card’s serial number and the second set of numbers showing the total number of cards of that type printed. Serial numbering is most commonly used on parallels and insert cards.
On-Card Autograph: A term used to describe an autographed card whose signature is directly on the card and not on a sticker label affixed to the card.
-
Hard-Signed: Another term synonymous with On-Card.
-
Sticker Auto, Sticker Autograph: An autographed trading card that has a sticker or label signed by the card subject affixed to the card as compared to being signed “on-card” or hard-signed”
One-of-One Card: A one-of-a-kind trading card, typically serial numbered as such with the designation 1/1, meaning that there is only one of that exact trading card in existence.
Pack: A group of cards packaged for sale by a manufacturer.
Parallel ή Variation: A card that is similar in design to its counterpart from a base set but offers a distinguishing quality. This can be in the former of border color, texture, card material, printing technology employed among other characteristics.
Penny Sleeve: A thin plastic pocket used as the first level of card protection. They can also be inserted into a top loader for further protection. Penny sleeves are inexpensive and come in quantities of 100 to a package.
Personal Collection: A term used in the modern hobby to describe cards that a collector is typically not willing to sell or trade. These cards belong to the focus of a person’s collection.
Population Report (POP): The number of cards that have been graded by a specific grading company. It is also used in expressing the number of cards receiving a specific grade. For example, PSA 10 Prizm RC of Luka Doncic has a POP Report of approximately 20.000 copies.
Printing Plate: In recent years, the actual plates used in the printing process have become collectibles in and of themselves. Each trading card in a set is made using four (4) individual plates in the following colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta & Yellow. These plates are often inserted into packs and are serial numbered 1/1.
Prism: A card that displays a metallic like quality with a bright and shiny design that creates an appearance that refractors or disperses light.
Prizm: A term used by Panini America to describe their own type of specific parallel cards. They also use it as its own brand name which in recent year has become the market standard. The cards display a metallic like quality with a bright and shiny design that creates an appearance that refractors or disperses light.
Rainbow: The complete series of all the possible parallel colors of a player’s specific card.
Rare Card: A card or series of cards of very limited availability making them hard to obtain. The term is very subjective and today is used all too liberally to hype a card’s value. It should be noted that when using the term in reference to vintage trading cards, “rare” cards are harder to obtain than scarce cards.
Rated Rookie: A baseball card term originally used by the Donruss company to designate a top tier rookie player. Rated Rookie remains in the hobby lexicon as part of the Donruss brand of baseball cards now owned by Panini America.
Raw Card: A card that has not been encapsulated by a grading or authentication company.
Redemption: A program established by multiple card manufacturers that temporarily substitutes a card that should be in the product for the right to redeem that card when it is available from the manufacturer. The practice became necessary in the 2000s as the demand for autographed cards increased. Often times, manufacturers are left to the mercy of athletes to return their contracted autographs and must wait to fulfill those redemptions until the cards are returned. However, the manufacturers cannot wait an indefinite time to release the product in which the cards are supposed to be contained, resulting in the practice of including a redemption card.
Refractor: Similar to a Prism Card. A card that utilizes a printing technology that produces a visual effect that refracts and disperses light in a manner that produces a prism or rainbow-like effect. The process has become very popular with modern trading card manufactures as a result of increased demand for these types of cards from collectors. Topps was the first trading card company to utilize this dynamic printing process.
Release Date: A term used by trading card manufacturers to denote when a new trading card product is scheduled to be available to the public. These dates are often fluid as a result of unforeseen circumstance in the manufacturing process.
Reprint: A usually unlicensed card that has been purposely reproduced of an original, usually more expensive, card or set.
Rookie Card/RC: Designates a player’s first officially licensed trading card after making the roster for one of the four major sports professional teams at the major league level (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL).
Rookie Patch Autograph / RPA: A card that features a rookie’s autograph and a patch relic which makes it a very sought-after card for any collector.
Scarcity: A card or series of cards with limited availability. The term is very subjective and today is used all too liberally to hype a card’s value. It should be noted that when using the term in reference to vintage trading cards, “scarce” cards are easier to obtain than “rare” cards.
Short-Print (SP): A base-set card that is printed in lesser quantity than other cards in the set. Once occurring because of necessity, given the number of cards on a printing sheet and the total number of cards in a set, manufactures now do this to spur additional sales as collectors purse completion of the set.
Super Short Print (SSP): These cards are even rarer than (SP). Usually a print under 50 is considered SSP.
Slabbing/Slabbed: The process of encapsulating a card for protection and tamper resistance after it has been graded and/or authenticated.
Team Card: A sports card depicting a picture of an entire team.
Team Set: All the cards from a sports card set consisting of players from a specific team.
-
Subset: Can be used to refer to a themed number of trading cards within a product’s base set or to be used synonymously with insert set.
Top Loader: Thick, plastic encasing used to protect and store cards. Valuable cards are typically placed in a thin penny sleeve and then in a toploader for maximum protection.
Variation (VAR): A card that is, in someway, subtly different from the same cards in any set. These variations can include, but are not limited to characteristics such as: a different color background or lettering, a corrected error, a name misspelling or photo variation.
Vintage: A subjective term used to describe older sports cards and entertainment trading cards. Some people refer to anything printed before 1973 as vintage. This was the last year that Topps issued cards in more than just a couple of series. Other people consider anything produced prior to 1970 to be vintage.
Wax: A general term used to describe trading cards either as a single pack or a box full of packs. Even though manufactures today use different packaging types, the generic term “wax” has remained part of the hobby vernacular.
That’s all for this week as we hope you better understand the wonderful world of #thehobby. We are waiting for you on Trace ‘n Chase’s social media for even more – and continuous – tutorials!