Types of Cards to Collect

There is a large variety of cards available to today's hobbyists. Four major companies currently are licensed to make Major League baseball cards. Each of these companies comes out with a variety of different sets throughout the year each year. Each company usually has a regular set of cards that comes out early in the season (or even well before the season), and includes a large number of cards for many different players. Most companies also have a premium set that they produce every year, that carry a specific brand name such as Upper Deck Finite, Fleer Ultra , and Topps Stadium Club. These usually cost a bit more and often feature high-quality action photography along with many high-dollar inserts with pieces of memorabilia , autographs, or low ser#'s on the cards.

 Each company also produces a number of other sets each year. These can be low-cost sets such as Upper Deck Collectors Choice, premium or super-premium sets such as Upper Deck SPX  or Topps Gold Label, "vintage" sets featuring cards that look like older cards such as Topps Heritage, or commemorative sets featuring old-time players like Fleer Greats of the Game. From time to time, sets may be issued which are actually reprints of an earlier set. Within each set, collectors can find a variety of different kinds of cards. Each set released may feature some or all of the following types of cards :

Errors are cards that were printed with some error on them. These may or may not be more valuable than a regular card, depending on whether (and how soon) the error was corrected and collector interest in the particular mistake. Of course, cards of star players are more valuable than cards of average players. Cards that are not of star or semi-star players and which do not have some other characteristic that sets them apart are called commons. Commons are the lowest-priced cards in a given set, and are of interest mainly to collectors who are collecting that specific player or are trying to build a complete set.

Base Set : These are the basic cards that make up the set. The number of base cards can range from 500 or more in regular and some premium sets to fewer than 100 in the more expensive sets. In some instances, the base set may contain certain cards that are short printed, making them more of a challenge to collect.

Subsets:  These are cards that are included as part of the base set, but which have a special characteristics. Examples of subsets would be the "All-Stars" in older Topps sets, or the "League Leader" cards that Topps often includes in its basic set, or Donruss's popular "Diamond Kings". Subsets are usually included in packs at the same rate as other cards in the basic set.

Inserts: Smaller sets of cards that are seeded into packs at scarcer levels than the regular card sets. Insert sets have a distinct design and usually number between 10-20 cards. Both parallels and inserts are inserted into packs at a specified ratio. A 1:24 ratio, for example, means that on average one of every 24 packs will contain a card from that insert set.

Memorabilia cards: A special type of insert card that is either autographed by the player or contains a piece of equipment used by the player in a Major League game, such as a piece of a bat, jersey or cap. These are usually the rarest cards, and are often highly prized by collectors.

Parallel Cards: Cards which have the same basic design as a base card, but have some variation in a design element that distinguishes it. For example, a company may issue a parallel set that features a different color border than the regular base card. A GOLD, SILVER, or PLATINUM versions of each card are common parallel cards. 

Serially Numbered Cards: Parallels, inserts, memorabilia cards, and even subsets may be serially numbered, meaning that only a limited number of the cards were produced and each card is numbered sequentially. The serial number of the card is stamped onto the card itself. For example, some sets have all the rookie cards serially numbered, so that the first card is 1 of 750, the second is 2 of 750, etc. In addition, cards sometimes have certain characteristics that make them more or less valuable to collectors.

The first time a player appears in a major set, the card is considered to be his rookie card, which is usually the most valuable regular-issue card for that player. Short prints have been mentioned before; these are also often more valuable than basic cards.