Vintage Star Wars Topps Cards History

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

If you enjoyed the video, please give it a like and share your Star Wars Topps memories in the comments!

[@anthonya1151]

Hi! I am Anthony! I love Star Wars!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

@@anthonya1151 Hi Anthony!!!

[@davefox7516]

EXTREMELY well done!

[@anthonya1151]

@@thepadawancollectorofficial How are you? I am doing good!

[@anthonya1151]

@@davefox7516 Hi!

[@marklendhurst1193]

I'm 54 and just built 3 complete sets with stickers for the 77 movie. Loved these when I was 7 in 77.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Very nice!!!! I would love to get a better set of the blue series one in better shape.

[@markbowman5515]

55 here...I miss these cards. I had full empire and jedi sets. We were poor as kids so my SW sets were sporadic, but I remeber the joy and frustration of running to the store with my allowance and opening a pack to see if I got a new card or if I found last elusive last one for my set.

[@paulharris7660]

The smell when opening those packs, I can still remember. The gum was like hard tack. Was 6 when starcwars came out. Watched it and remembered walking home, looking up at the stars

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That must have been magical as a kid!

[@markbowman5515]

I loved the wonder bread set back in the day. I gazed at those scenes for hours on end.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I would have bugged my mom to buy wonder bread haha

[@Diabolik771]

The blue ones with the most classic stickers were what we started with. We'd put the stickers on our doors or dressers. Some kids put them on their bikes. We should have put them in an album or something. We also got Kiss cards around the same time.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Haha I recently saw the kiss cards at a card show

[@damonpono8337]

I would highly recommend the topps books, they show each card and come with bonus cards

[@tomlewis4205]

I remember flipping through those at a shop- I wish I had bought them. 🤷

[@joetunon]

I have them, as well as the actual cards. The books are convenient but a big a disappointment, with some cards being poorly scanned, many blurry, and inexplicably at different sizes. Still, the books are better and more convenient than building sets from scratch if you don't have them.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That would be awesome to get!

[@iscesp04]

The production value of your videos is only matched by how passionate you are about these items. Awesome video as always!

[@bjnowak]

Joey is an excellent storyteller

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thank you that means a lot to me! I’m glad you enjoyed the video, Iscesp!

[@williamburke7383]

❤I still have them ALL! EVERY series, every card, every sticker UNPEELED, and all stored in separate plastic cases!

[@dragonstar6490]

Niiiiiice😆

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Wow that's amazing!!🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@timothyvandenberg2905]

Thank you for this! Still have my 1977-1983 Topps cards, rubber band damage & all! As always, Great Work!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

These are the best to collect! Thanks Tim!

[@clickmyvid]

👍 to “rubber band” damage

[@jeffleonhardt7173]

Great video! I was 11 in 1977 and bought more than my fair share of Star Wars cards. If only I still had them...

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I hope you can connect with some of these again :)

[@fever28]

I still have my red boarder ROTJ set. I spent that summer at the lake, and my cousins and I would keep going back to the cantine(a) on the beach to buy pack after pack. Didn't help the condition of the cards to collect them on a sandy beach, but what a great memory to have. Love these cards!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That’s awesome! The memories are what make those cards so special!

[@godisgreat8462]

Awesome my friend.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@dragonstar6490]

Brilliant! Very informative, i love these cards and the History is just great. 🙂

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@randomrickreviewsrrr4662]

Had some of these as a kid, cool stuff.

[@drdwaynecuster]

The Topps cards were my gateway to Star Wars before I even got to see the films. I fell in love with the universe through still photos. Brilliant! My favorite SW cards though have to be the Decipher CCG Star Wars game. Those were AMAZING!!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I'll have to check those out! I've never seen those

[@christhompson7983]

Love the direction you are going in Joey! Mini documentary style...Great video.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Appreciate it! Thanks Chris!

[@RobboTheGravedigger]

Brilliant video thank you for taking the time to do it, great memories of opening the card packets.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks for watching Robbo! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙌🏼

[@saulgralla9381]

Great video buddy.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Saul!!!

[@roosternm6830]

I remember the yellow series was the first ones i started buying and then i found the blue and red series and was so hooked on collecting them. These cards held me over until the toys came out. Star Wars changed my life at 7 years old

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Those memories are super special! Do you still have them?

[@roosternm6830]

@thepadawancollectorofficial I don't. I wish I did because I had almost every one of the high dollar cards. I remember having most of the featured cards from the yellow, blue and green. They were kept in an old pencil box and a GiJoe footlocker. The Southern California ocean front area I lived in got to them with the black mold that forms on the interior walls in every house on my street.we were a block away from the bay. I was collecting cards before the action figures came out. They were sacred to me at the time. Great time to be 7 years old.

[@patrickbirt9034]

Thanks for researching and presenting this video. I can see your passion for the vintage Star Wars line of collectables and appreciate all the hard work. One of my favourite things to do in 1978 was going down the street to buy Star Wars cards at the corner store.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Those memories are priceless!! Thanks for watching Patrick 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@tomlewis4205]

Great video! I would buy these cards from a convenience store down the street from my elementary school. I have a random collection of these still in a box in storage- none are mint and a few are rubber band damaged but still remarkably decent after so many years! The gum always sucked which makes Topps origin story slightly ironic.😂

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That’s awesome you still have your originals!

[@therumtrader]

Thank you for this explanation video. I have had a collection of Star Wars Cards since 1977 and I never knew the different series breakdowns. Like most, my cards are well loved. I spent hours looking at them and reading their backs.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

It's always fun to revisit those old memories!

[@dad2-d244]

Great video! Collected these as a kid born in 1971. And of course still have a bunch today.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That’s awesome you still have your originals !

[@toddriccitelli3788]

There was NOTHING like getting a fresh pack of Star War cards … seeing the display box and art work on the cashiers counter caused instant excitement !

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I full agree! Brings back memories!

[@skyrider4789]

Well done. Thank you for this. 🙏 I also would get my cards at 7-11. Those were great times and great memories. 🙂MTFBWY!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Those were the days for sure.

[@anthonya1151]

Hi! I am Anthony! I love Star Wars!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hi Anthony! I’m Joey and I love Star Wars too :)

[@anthonya1151]

@@thepadawancollectorofficial Do you like Marfalump?

[@garymoore1975]

Truly a great story and an awesome collection piece! As a kid I only knew the blue and red series. 👍🏽

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I only knew the ROTJ reds. For a long time I didn’t even know others existed

[@MoparMcNeer]

Above and beyond as always Joey. When you first announced that you were doing your Topps run, some time ago, I decided to dig out my cards and look into completing my sets along with you. The series 1 ROTJ red cards were the ones I had in my childhood, much like you, these held the most significance for me as I can recall going with my father to the gas station and getting a pack of these cards occasionally. I only had a handful from my youth still in my collection, so I need to reacquire them. Believe it or not, I can vividly remember my dad letting me stick the stickers on the dash of his Maverick. Lol. Who does that? I've since collected one of each of the wax packs in sealed form, along with the entire set. More recently, I was able to secure all three sets of ESB cards on eBay for an amazingly reasonable price. When time and budget permit, I'd like to go back and get Series 2 of the ROTJ cards as well as the original five from ANH. It was really fun seeing that you had collected all of these cards, along with some of the wax packs and boxes. Definitely time period items from our youth for sure. I appreciate the history on Topps as well, most of which was information I didn't know and enjoyed learning about. I know that you initially had some concern as to how best to present this content, but you knocked it out of the park my friend. Great job as always!! Only one question, did you end up picking up a set of the Wonder Bread cards for yourself?

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

The wonder bread cards is something that I want to get and have seen some for sale, but with the vehicles run I am on currently, they will have to be an item that I either trade for or get as a “throw in” as I buy the vehicles :)

[@joetunon]

I have all of these (since they came out) as well as the books (which are a disappointment because of poor scanning). I have a blue #1 Luke card signed by Gary Gerani, the designer of the cards. Thank you for making this video! You couldn't be more right. That feeling of opening the packs back in the day is more precious than the cards themselves.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That is so awesome you have signed cards my Mr Gerani!

[@alive_in_tucson]

I lived near a little league park that had a concession stand that sold the Topps cards when I was young. Every time I found 15 cents, I would ride my bike and get a pack. I have fond memories of these cards. Got some of eBay but I’m sure I had multiple Luke rookies. Thanks for the video!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Those are the best memories! Thanks for watching Alive!

[@gregmainer5416]

Oh yes... if I had a time machine as well! I still remember the smell and taste of the chalky gum stick. Loved the video!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Greg! Glad you could join me on this one :)

[@josephreynoldsii5048]

Ah, that was such a joy back then going in to whatever store and buying a pack of Star Wars cards. I do know that, as briefly shown in your video, you could buy these long packs that had three sections with trading cards in them. I think that's how I was able to increase the size of my collection.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Yes I was able to get a hold of this long pack not too long ago

[@mdaje]

Have em all, collecting since the blue set. Coolest thing going to the news spot in Lima ,PA to buy empire strikes back cards. All in mint condition protected by plastic sheets. Super cool

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Wow that’s amazing that you still have your original collection!!! Major props 🙌🏼

[@bountyhunter779]

Great video! It's like a History Channel documentary but even better! I only have one Topps card the 1980 ESB (No64) The Princess Lends A Hand that was gifted to me by a great eBay seller when I purchased a seat for my 1978 MF.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I’m really glad you enjoyed it!!!

[@markpekrul4393]

I have been collecting Topps baseball since 1978...but as a 9 year old in 1977, I remember a friend of mine giving me his stack of Star Wars cards because he had discovered baseball cards THAT year. I bought a few red and yellow series packs, but never pursued them. BUT - in the early 1990s, I purchased the entire 330 card run from a friend for $100 in NRMT condition. I think I got a good deal. I never even knew there was an orange series until that moment!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I think that was a great deal!

[@dominicrondini5980]

Great video, I loved the Star Wars Topps cards growing up! I would put them in plastic sheets and have a binder for each movie. I collected all of the full boxes of cards again for my collection but due to the crazy price of series 1 of the Star Wars cards I decided to buy each wax pack individually as I came across them. I only have 5 more packs to go to complete my entire run! 😊 Thanks again Joey

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks for watching Dominic!!! That’s epic that you have the full boxes! I would love to get a full box and have only seen the ESB ones for sale

[@scotthildebrand3148]

I guess it's always just a matter of time before something becomes desirable and collectable. For the longest time all those cards never had a big interest. Gives us something to keep collecting bro 😎🤙 thanks for the video.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

For me it’s always about the nostalgia and the fun of collecting these 🙌🏼

[@markrussell3414]

Excellent cards from star wars 👍🇬🇧👍i had battlestar galactic ones

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I’ve seen the Battlestar cards before and I loved the show when I was a kid!

[@markrussell3414]

@thepadawancollectorofficial very were good old days and star wars the phantom mence cards

[@mateosimon4237]

If we could only go back for five minutes!! Great video✌️🍺

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I know, right?!?!

[@rumblehat4357]

I have a few of each set with stickers. My original set is pretty beat up, but I have great memories attached to them, so even though they are beat up, I won’t ever dump them. I even collected the wrappers back then.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Yea my blue set is pretty beat up and I may sell it to buy another one in better shape, but it allows me to not feel bad handling them and enjoying them :)

[@rumblehat4357]

My beat up blue set is a connection to my youth and my now long gone mother, so they would have to turn to dust before I get rid of them. Are they worth anything monetarily? Probably not much in total, but there is that sentimental connection.

[@peterhyatt3635]

Yeah I loved them cards, I had all the blue ones. The bit of gum was fierce! P71.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Haha yea I want to open a pack just to eat the gum lol

[@JenniferRowe-bn8rb]

Great info.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Jennifer!

[@jettp3810]

I’m in my mid 50s, so I remember collecting various types of trading cards. I didn’t have too many Star Wars cards, but I had a lot of Empire Strikes Back cards. It was hard to complete a set because I received duplicates in every pack.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

It’s hard to resist buying more when you get duplicates

[@acrodave9287]

I had the complete blue and red sets and one of my pet regrets (when I'm reminded, thanks Joey! 😔) was that to this day, I have no idea what happened to them. I used to enjoy the small and simple jigsaws you could make from some of the card backs!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Same here, I have no idea what happened to my childhood set!

[@geekstrong1]

Great history lesson 💪😎

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Deano and happy new year my friend

[@jsnsk101]

i remember these cards, at least for the first movie. They ended up everywhere, in the lego box, in with the matchbox cars, seeing if i had enough to finish the puzzle.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Ah good memories!

[@coxystoycantina]

Great video Joey!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Coxy! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@scotthintze5901]

I have the complete Star Wars sets 1-4, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi set 1. I have a incomplete set of series 2 and 3 on ESB and ROTJ. I do however have a Series 2 ESB in a blue cardboard box I picked up at a garage sale years ago. I enjoy going to drug stores, supermarkets and retail stores and I would always get thee SW card sets. I also have three books on the SW bubblegum card sets.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Nice collection!

[@cookoonamoonyoo]

the grocery stores in chicago had the cards in the frozen section. me & my brother would race to the section & look for “lukes”

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Haha awesome! Thanks for watching cook!

[@trevorwilson3698]

In the UK we didn't have the sticker cards but the backs of our cards were much brighter than the U.S. issues. It was the same with the other Topps series like Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek TMP and such like.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I would love to see some UK cards in real life

[@ostrak1725]

Great video that brings back lots of memories (and recollection of the smell). I still have a bunch of my cards and want to pull them out to see what is missing. The unfortunate thing is the current generation has no association to these cards. What is going to happen to them once we move on?

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That is a great question, and it my mission to get the next generation informed and interested in these so they never fade away

[@Thunderflare99]

I had primarily Star Wars and Empire cards in a box in a box of drawings. I got in some big trouble in junior high and as punishment my mom threw the box away. I was crushed. Still to this day, if I could go back in time I would retrieve that entire box of drawings and cards. Oh the memories, the nostalgia. The gum was pretty bad though.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Let’s build that Time Machine! Yes the gun was atrocious!

[@theoneandonly6431]

Really loved the video, it really brought back memories of a much, much better time. I'm old enough to remember the series line of cards all the way back to Star Wars. Do you have any information on when the first (blue) series was released? Was it just before or after Star Wars hit the theaters? Also, is there any idea as to how long it was between one series release and the next? I'm thinking maybe a couple of months or so, to give kids time to get a full series set.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

They were released in the summer of 1977 with only a few weeks in between series releases

[@PoppaRick]

I believe you've become the JediCollector!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Rick! I will forever be a Padawan :)

[@davidfrechtling787]

Good work.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Appreciate it!

[@richardmcbride2220]

Great video

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Richard!

[@uncleowensbbq]

I have the movie cards to Return of the Jedi and even a few of the specialty cards from Series1 (red) and Series 2 (blue). All the stickers are long gone though.😉

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

It’s awesome that you have these though

[@landanwoodard7569]

About 20 years ago Topps sold the 1 of 1 color proofs on eBay of the blue series Vader and Skywalker rookies ungraded with a COA. A dealer named House of Mantle bought them and sent them to Beckett for labeling and grading. He auctioned them off and they sold out my price range in the 1000s in 2007 the 30 year anniversary of SW. They have not surfaced since then because I'm still chasing, looking for another chance to get one of those two rare gems.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Wow that’s a super cool story! I would love to have those.

[@billepperson2662]

1:53 What year was that set released? What were the rules like? If a game could be played with them, would that technically count as the 1st TCG in history? Or would it still be considered more of a table top novelty game like uno, since you had to have the full set to play & making different unique decks wasn't possible?

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

It was a card game like war and games like that. The rules are online if you search for them

[@messedupdude11]

My dad bought me my first SW cards (Series 3 yellow borders). My mom threw my cards in the trash when she got pissed at me for playing with them too much.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I hope you can recollect them one day!

[@dunderhill2903]

Remember the Wonder Bread Cards?

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Yes sir. They are in this video

[@dragonstar6490]

Hi, love your videos, they're great! I wondered is it worth collecting the Star wars Topps books with the cards inside?

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I would love to get my hands on one and haven’t seen them for sale. If you get one let me know!

[@dragonstar6490]

@@thepadawancollectorofficial hi, i managed to get my hands on a few Star wars first series books, one signed by Gary Gerani ( 87 of 100 ) as well as a couple of return of the jedt books but can't seem to find the empire strikes back book yet but i'll keep looking.

[@dragonstar6490]

@@thepadawancollectorofficial i have three first series books now and a couple of the return of the Jedi books too, i can send you one if you'd like mate just say to where and it's all yours as a thank you for the pleasure i get from your brilliant Star wars videos. : )

[@Craigonater]

I have 2 of the Luke Skywalker no. 1's that I would be interested in getting graded, but the edges and centering are a little wonky. I'm glad I kept all of my cards fairly unscathed.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That’s amazing you still have your originals!

[@iamtheprotagonist]

The Wonder Bread cards released in September of 1977, and the Topps Series 1 set released in November 1977. So, technically, the Wonder Bread cards are the true rookie cards.

[@tperson8347]

Have you heard of (or seen) the candy wrapper that was actually a SW pin up? They are very rare as you had to be careful not to rip it when you opened it.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

No I haven’t ! You need to send me a pic of it!

[@krdragon6950]

I still have a shoebox of the ROTJ cards (red set) but I was never able to complete the set. I kept buying packs and packs of cards and kept getting duplicates cards that I already had. I thinking the Topps deliberately kept certain cards out so you would have to keep buying more and more.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I’m pretty sure they did! People have told me that they would buy packs in deferent states when they could in order to get different cards 😂

[@tperson8347]

$1200 for a gd VCR!!!!!! [cough, cough] I'll take VCR in a heartbeat. If any of you folks out there are getting rid of a VCR, I'll take it off your hands. :) No joke. Mail it to me. :) haha Loved the video. These cards are so cool. I'd love to have them in my collection. Great looking set. Awsome collection. :) Thanks for the history on Topps trading cards and the history of the Wonder Bread cards. Thanks for the video

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks T! This one was a joy to make!!!!

[@scottpoppiti]

I love C3P0 he kicks Butt is he relates to William Daniel's who did the voice of Kitt on KNIGHT Rider

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I don’t think they are related, but if it’s true that would be awesome

[@dragonstar6490]

Also, what about rack packs. are they worth collecting?

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I have one from the Empire Strikes Back, and yes I think they are worth collecting

[@dragonstar6490]

@@thepadawancollectorofficial Thank you, i've been collecting them and i just got a series 1 trading cards book signed by Gary Gerani, i'm so pleased.

[@seansimmons8897]

Are the cards worth anything when graded ?

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Some are, yes. There is a great site that has price listings that I will share in an episode

[@geekstrong1]

💪😎

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

💪🏽🤓

[@arthurtripp6922]

How about going back and talk about Davy Crockett card ?

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Now that would be a blast! I used to watch those shows all the time when the Disney channel first came out

[@DanMiller1168]

I have heard that unless you want your "golden rod" Topps card to become confetti, you should not show it to Anthony Daniels.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Haha I’ve heard that too!!! That would be funny to get on video

[@robertcompton5232]

the corrected 207 card is harder to find than the original

[@Dr_Bombay]

i have so many of the first movie's cards, and also of Empire, but i don't think i have many of Jedi's cards. My mom would buy entire boxes of cards from the store and pay us for our chores with packs. Not sure if i have the scandalous 3PO card -- now i need to check!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Do you have it????

[@Dr_Bombay]

@@thepadawancollectorofficial i haven't checked yet -- but i will!

[@lestat1uk]

In the uk we didn't get the stickers

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I would love to get a UK pack

[@lestat1uk]

@thepadawancollectorofficial they are pretty much identical to the us packs but no stickers

[@hediho-ry6rs]

Don’t forget your supposed to have a unopened pack from each series

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I need to pick up a few!

[@JedimillerReturns]

I have the topps star wars gum set

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I didn’t know there was a gum set!?!?

[@Amandagrace-95]

Fun fact i’m now collection return of the Jedi cards now

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That’s a VERY fun fact!!

[@JOHN-o6x8m]

You still forgot the deluxe, larger Empire cards from Topps.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Yes, those were left off. I just focused on the normal sized cards

[@indigoyarkindell968]

You're missing a set. 1977 Burger King and Coca Cola set of 36 trading cards. White border, perforated sides, red text.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I’ll have to do a separate video on those 👍🏼

[@bryanisaacs9741]

I have 3 signed by Carrie Fisher

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Wow! That’s a treasure!

[@CraigBeam]

It's Gary GERANI, not Gervani.

[@hediho-ry6rs]

I’ll send ya a unopened pack of Rotj series 2 if ya eat the gum on air 🥸

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Haha I’ll do it! I’m actually curious to see what it tastes like after 40+ years 😳

[@kilgoretrout413]

Why would you import tobacco from Europe into the USA?!?!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I have no idea

[@hediho-ry6rs]

Don’t be lame collect the marvel comics now.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

HAHA! I have the first three so im only partially lame

[@JedimillerReturns]

I still collect these. Im Jedimiller on the topps trading app. Also bought lots of the living set until it ended

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

I need to download the Topps trading app :)