« Return to Glossary
Zebra

An extremely rare parallel that features a zebra-print pattern offered in Select products.

Young Guns

A popular set of hockey rookie cards produced by Upper Deck. Young Guns can often hold considerably more value over other rookies.

XRC

Abbreviation for “Extended Rookie Card.” A price guide term that describes a card released during a player’s rookie season but not as part of a standard release. A modern example is the XRC Mystery Redemption from Select Football – these cards are released prior to the NFL Draft and award redemptions based on future picks. An example would be a redemption for QB1, which awards the owner a card of the first QB taken in the draft.

Whatnot

An online marketplace where users can buy and sell cards.

Wax

Describes unopened packs of cards, including single packs as well as sealed boxes.

Vintage

A subjective term that describes older cards. A widely accepted cutoff is 1980, with cards produced before then considered vintage by modern standards.

Variation

Describes a card that is different from the Base card. Variations can feature different photos or subtle changes to coloring or shading. Parallels and Refractors are also types of variations.

Upper Deck

A sports and trading card manufacturer that has produced cards for multiple sports since 1989. Best known during the ultra-modern era for producing important hockey sets and the iconic Young Guns rookies.

Uncut Sheet

A sheet of cards that hasn’t been cut into individual cards by the manufacturer yet. Uncut sheets from important sets can sell extremely well on the secondary market.

Ultra Pro

A hobby supply company that produces penny sleeves, top loaders and other trading card-related products.

Topps

An iconic sports card manufacturer best known for producing licensed baseball cards for decades. Popular sets include Topps Chrome, Topps Finest, and the Bowman sets. Topps was purchased in 2022 by Fanatics for approximately $500M.

Top Loader

A common protective plastic case for cards. Top loaders are typically placed over a card with a penny sleeve for additional protection. These cases provide more protection than penny sleeves but are more flexible than hard plastic cases like one-touches or screw downs.

Tobacco Card

Cards that were distributed with packs of cigarettes as a bonus. Most common in the early 1900s, these cards were considered a marketing tool to sell more packs while also providing additional structural support to the packs.

The T-206 set is widely considered the most iconic tobacco card set while the set’s Honus Wagner rookie is considered one of the most important and valuable cards in existence.

Team Set

Refers to every player from a single team within a specific set.

Team Card

Describes a card that features an entire team.

Don’t Miss Out!

Get the latest news, tips, and exclusive deals delivered right to your inbox with the Sports Card Investor newsletter!