When you begin collecting sports cards of current players, vintage cards, or any other types of sports memorabilia, there are words and jargon within the industry that you'll want to learn. You can print this handy reference guide and slip it into your wallet for quick reference as you're getting acquainted with your new hobby and investment.
Following are some of the popular words (listed in alphabetical order) used among sports card collectors and enthusiasts.
9-Up Sheets - Sheets of nine cards that are uncut which are used most often for promotions.
Autograph Cards - A card that bears an original player's signature printed on it.
Base Sets - This is a complete set of cards from a specific series.
Blister Packs - These are factory produced plastic bubble packs of cards or packs that are manufactured for retail peg - hanger sales.
Box Topper Cards - These are sold in a factory sealed box.
Boxes - Produced by the card's original manufacturer, they are multiple pack containers, and most likely, they include twenty - four packs per box.
Cards - Often referred to as sports cards or trading cards, which are normally 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.
Cases - A case is a factory-sealed crate that is filled with boxes of cards that are usually packed with 6 to 12 boxes per case; twenty-four packs per box.
Chase Cards - These are included as a bonus in a card company's factory - sealed case.
Common Cards - Not known as rare, they're comprised of a main set, such as from one to two - hundred.
Factory Sets - These sets normally are complete base sets, which are sorted and sold directly from the factory.
Hobby Cards - These are usually sold to collectors through stores dealing exclusively in cards that are not available through retail outlets.
Insert Cards - Also known as chase cards, they consist of both rare and not rare. They are inserted into packs with a varied ratio, like one card is inserted into every twenty - four packs. Insert Cards are often different from the main set that they are inserted into, and the numbering system on the back is different also, i.e., TT01 - TT10.
Insert Sets - his is a complete set of a specific class of inserts, and are often called a subset of the main set of cards.
Master Sets - These are usually a base set that is available as an insert set. Master Sets do not include autographed cards, sketches, promotional, or mail - in cards.
Oversized Cards - This may seem obvious, but to clarify, oversized cards are any sports cards that are known as base, common, insert, or other cards that do not have the measurements of a standard or wide - vision - sized card.
Packs - Comprised of base and insert cards that have their original wrappers, previously called wax packs that contained 2 to 8 cards per pack; whereas today, packs are wrapped in plastic or foil.
Parallel Cards - These have a modification to the original set of cards, and they can consist of hologram or extra foil stamping. They can contain between one per pack to one per thirty-six packs.
Promo Cards - These are promotional cards that the manufacturer distributes to encourage future sales.
Rack Packs - Usually these are unwrapped cards sealed in a pack that are intended for retail peg - hanger sales.
Redemption Cards - Manufacturers mail these special cards (in packs) as a bonus or gift.
Retail Cards - These are any packs, boxes, or cases that are sold to large retail stores such as Walmart or Kmart.
Sell Sheets - These are ads on slick paper that are sent to distributors to encourage case sales to the public.
Sketch Cards - These display an artist's unique sketch of a sports icon such as Ted Williams or Hanley Ramirez.
Swatch Cards - These have a swatch of a sport's figure's cloth garment that is mounted on a card. The swatch could be from the sport's player's jersey, hat, or jacket.
Tins - Tins are factory - made metal cans that are filled with cards or packs (usually inserts).
Uncut Sheets - When someone refers to uncut sheets, they are implying that the cards are printed on large sheets of paper and have not been cut into individual cards for base, promo, insert, or other types.
Unreleased Cards - These are printed by the manufacturer, but have not been released for distribution yet. Sometimes manufacturers will allow the news to be leaked to a reliable source to create more "buzz" about the new items.
Wrappers - A wrapper is the original cover of a pack of sports cards, and they usually are made of a collectible variety.
One additional terminology phrase was not included in the list above, but it's important to your sportscard collection adventures. The phrase is "Rookie Card," and among collectors and sellers, there exists some controversy. Now, you might believe it refers to an athlete's first appearance on a trading card or a sports card. However, other collectors and sellers are of the mindset that it is the first issue licensed and heavily distributed from a manufacturer.
Next, to enhance your sports card collector's knowledge base, you can familiarize yourself with the terminology you've just learned by visiting http://www.americaspastime.com to see how several of these terms are used when selling a sports card.