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How to Identify Football Trading Card Types

The first set of football cards appeared back in 1894, featuring players from Ivy League schools. As popularity increased, so did the types of cards being produced, along with companies that created them. Now, each year any number of companies might produce card sets featuring star players, All-Pro players or rookies. Brand names include Topps, Score, Bowman, Upper Deck, Panini, Donruss and Sage. Cards are recognized based on year, producing company and card number.

Instructions

- 1
  Find the date of the card. Look at the front of the card for a year next to a company logo. Turn the card over and look at the back. Along the bottom edge, you will find the copyright date for the NFL and sometimes for the producing company. The copyright date is the year the card was produced. For cards without these items, you can use the player's statistics on the back of the card to determine the issue year. The issue year will be the year following the last year of stats listed.
- 2
  Find the producing company or brand of the card. All football cards are referenced by the name of the company that issued the card. The most common brand is Topps which has issued cards every year since 1951. A brand name can be located on the front or back of the card. The location will be the same for all cards in a series but might change from year to year.
- 3
  Look at the card number, which can be listed on the front or back. Most times, the number will be near the brand name.
- 4
  Check for additional identification markers on the card. Brands can issue multiple sets within the same year. On the front or the back of the card, there will be an additional marker to denote the different set. Some common markers are All-Pro, Rookie, Certified and Hall of Fame. As more cards are issued each year, more diversity in markers are created to make cards stand out.

Sports Cards Collecting