Trading cards, as we know them today, are vessels for pop culture, fandom, and even investment. Most collectors today aren’t aware of the surprising beginnings of trading cards over a century ago, with the tobacco industry. Let’s take a trip through the years and trace how these small collectibles became the must-have memorabilia they are today.
The Late 1800s: A Tobacco-Tinged Beginning
When we think of trading cards today, two things come to mind:
- Trading card packs and boxes that are sold individually, containing tens or even hundreds of potentially valuable cards.
- Trading card singles, like the Shadowless Charizard, with incredible intrinsic value.
The first trading cards released in the late 1800s did not have that intrinsic value. In fact, they weren’t even sold as part of a pack or a box! The very first trading cards were sports cards that could be found in cigarette packs, accompanying varsity athletes from top universities, like Harvard.
Smoking and college sports for mass consumption really started taking off during this period, and tobacco cards were an excellent way to get the word out. Since these early trading cards were more or less just a nominal way to advertise cigarettes, they featured very basic, toned-down sepia designs.
Read: Security Challenges in Web Application Development and How to Overcome Them?
The First Dedicated Trading Card Set
Trading cards really came into their own in the early 1900s, particularly with the T206 set released by the American Tobacco Company in 1909. This was the first set of dedicated trading cards released for buyers, and only a handful of these cards remain today. You might have heard of the T206 Honus Wagner card, currently valued at $7.25 million.
1950s-60s: Post-War Resurgence
As you might imagine, consumer demand remained depressed during the early 1900s with both World Wars. Companies either completely stopped producing or minimized production for most non-essentials. Buyers either didn’t have the money to pick up trading cards, or they just weren’t interested enough, with a few exceptions, like cheap gum cards in the 1930s.
The real resurgence happened in the 1950s, with Topps emerging as a strong contender against Bowman and other established companies. Consumer demand was back, and companies like Topps constantly innovated with new designs to keep it that way.
This period also saw the release of the most expensive sports card of all time: the Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle #311, priced at $12.6 million. Some other changes include:
- The replacement of basic sepia designs with more vivid colors.
- The frequent inclusion of player statistics and other fun facts on the back of cards.
- The choice to use real player photographs instead of illustrations.
1980s-90s: The Big Boom
Considering their current popularity today, these were some of the most monumental decades for the evolution of trading cards. Sports cards exploded in popularity among consumers, not just in the US but across the globe.
This also led to a massive increase in production numbers, giving rise to the ‘junk wax era’ in the late 80s, a period where cards frequently had manufacturing defects, like misprints and misalignments. What else changed?
- Local trading card shops multiplied in number, popping up in small communities across the US.
- Companies like Topps radically overhauled sports card designs, introducing much brighter colors and even using new technology to create the first holographic foil cards.
- More collectors started seeing the investment potential of trading cards, treating them as assets rather than basic collectibles.
Pokémon Enters The Scene
No discussion about the evolution of trading cards and pop culture would be complete without a mention of Pokémon. Creatures Inc. (now part of The Pokémon Company) first brought these cards to market in 1996.
The very first release was known as the base set, featuring now-iconic cards like the original Pikachu and Blastoise. Even misprints from this set, such as the Shadowless Charizard mentioned earlier, are more expensive than most sports cards.
2000s Onwards: The Digital Renaissance
New printing technology and online trading spaces have largely defined this period. Holo foil cards are easy and relatively more affordable to print, making them more widespread across sports cards and even most TCGs. Collectors are now familiar with more advanced holo features, including layered textures.
Ecommerce and online trading in general widened the market and made trading cards more accessible for collectors everywhere. While this process started in the early 2000s, it really picked up momentum with the rise of social media and easily accessible ecommerce platforms.
Considering these trends, you would expect digital collectibles to be a huge focus right now, but that hasn’t really been the case. That said, the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duel Links game has seen a lot of success, and it might open the door for more successful digital sports cards and other TCGs like One Piece.
The Future of Trading Cards
Will the future of trading cards in pop culture be completely digital? Unlikely. Collectors still mostly prefer the excitement of pulling packs by hand and discovering a 1/1 rare. While digital cards can’t really replace that feeling, they will slowly carve out a niche as time goes on.
Author’s Bio:
Skybox Collectibles is a leading trading card shop that specializes in best-selling sports cards and TCGs. The authors over at Skybox Collectibles are avid enthusiasts and collectors themselves, and they’re passionate about delivering the best possible experience to collectors across the country.
