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The Star Wars movie series exploded onto cinema screens with the release of A New Hope in May 1977 and immediately became a worldwide phenomenon. Among the most beloved science-fiction movies of all time, it grossed a colossal $775 million from an original budget of just $11 million, making it the highest-earning film of the 1970s. The antithesis to the ultra-realistic and glacial-paced Stanley Kubrick masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey of the previous decade, Star Wars made science fiction fun again, proudly reimagining the old Buck Rogers serials for a modern audience.
Major trading card company Topps was quick to capitalize on the popularity. Famous for its extensive line of sports cards, the company sought to capture a young and vibrant market that wanted more than just baseball cards. With the franchise expanding like never before, modern collectors are going wild for Star Wars.
The Original Star Wars Films
The most famous (and collectible) Star Wars trading cards on the market today are—perhaps unsurprisingly—the 1977 Series 1 print run. Released between 1977 and 1978, the set has sixty-six cards, each with a distinctive blue border. All the cards featured still images from the film and a caption. The reverse of each card had a “Story Summary” detailing key events from the film. Apart from the blue border, each example has “1977 20th Century-Fox Film Corp” in plain black capital letters across the bottom. Building on the success of the first set, a further four were produced between 1978 and 1983, each linking in with the subsequent films.
The Series 1 cards came in bubble-gum packs, each containing seven cards plus a sticker. It is worth keeping in mind these packs originally sold for fifteen cents each. In 2022, a sealed Series 1 box sold for north of $10,000 (a roughly 6,000% profit margin for any particularly savvy ’70s kids who resisted the temptation to open a pack).
Star Wars cards that have been autographed will result in marked increases in value. The most valuable signatures include Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher (who sadly passed away in 2016). Major Hollywood star Ford is a notoriously tough signer, and though he has warmed to Star Wars fans since the release of The Force Awakens in 2015, getting his autograph is still seen as next to impossible.
One thing that distinguishes Mark Hamill’s autograph is the often-hilarious captions he writes alongside his signature. For instance, a card titled “The Search for Vader” signed by Hamill includes the line “That Vader guy is a loser. Hope he doesn’t have kids.”
Even unsigned cards in mint condition can fetch unbelievable prices. A Series 1 Luke Skywalker graded Gem Mint 10 recently went for a whopping $78,000. Nearly three thousand Skywalker cards have been graded by PSA, but so far, only nine have received a Gem Mint 10.
While the autographs of the actors who played Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia are highly prized, fans may be surprised to hear that Anthony Daniels’s (who lent his voice and mannerisms to C-3PO) signature is also in high demand. This is especially the case with the now notorious Card 207 from Set 4, in which a suggestive shape protrudes from the droid’s waist area. Topps later airbrushed the card in later versions, but originals signed by Daniels are in high demand.
Topps Expands the Universe
After Return of the Jedi in 1983, Star Wars fans were left in the wilderness for almost twenty years. Apart from a few novels and the classic PC FPS Dark Forces, there was little content available for the franchise’s legions of fans. This all changed in 1999 with the release of the much-maligned Phantom Menace. While Episodes I to III may not have been to everyone’s taste, they did spawn a new raft of collectible cards.
The year 1999 saw the release of the so-called Widevision Topps cards—a series of Star Wars trading cards with landscape instead of portrait printing. Multiple scenes from The Phantom Menace were depicted. Further Widevision cards were printed for subsequent films Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). When I was growing up in the UK, these cards were all the rage—every schoolchild seemed to own armfuls of them. Unfortunately, their popularity meant huge numbers were printed, so their current market value is considerably less than the 1977 originals.
Only autographed versions of the cards hold value today. Popular signatures include Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu) and Natalie Portman (Padmé Amidala). Both of these Hollywood stars can fetch well past the $4,000 mark for a signed card in excellent condition.
Modern Star Wars Cards
Modern cards that pay homage to the original trilogy are more valuable than anything relating to the post-1983 films. Indeed, the enduring popularity of the original trilogy and the actors who starred in it led Topps to issue series after series of cards that hark back to it.
The Chrome Perspectives Series was released in 2014 and featured all the classic characters. Of note are the Superfractor cards featuring a shiny background. A Superfractor Darth Vader signed by legendary actor James Earl Jones (who lent his iconic voice to the character) recently sold for almost $20,000. Another Chrome Superfractor signed by Mark Hamill went for an eye-watering $32,000.
Vader continues to be popular today. A 2022 limited-edition Star Wars Galaxy Superfractor that bore no signature sold for over $24,000 last summer. This is because of its rarity factor—it bore the serial number 1/1.
Final Thoughts
Many of the original actors from the first three films are elderly and, unfortunately, will not be with us forever. Any fans looking to build their collection of autograph cards may wish to act sooner rather than later, as signature prices nearly always spike after an actor’s death. As with all autographs, provenance is key because several fakes are on the market. If possible, try to buy from a reputable trading card store and not an individual seller. Anything that PSA or Beckett has authenticated is trustworthy. A card’s condition reflects the sale value, and any graded Mint will command the highest prices. So if you are a fan of the Jedi, the Dark Side, or somewhere in between (because for all his loveable roguishness, Han Solo did indeed shoot first), Star Wars card collecting offers a galaxy of possibilities.
Matthew Doherty is a writer, editor, and teacher specializing in all things history-related. His work has been published in the UK Defence Journal, the Small Wars Journal, and The Collector. He holds an MSc from the University of Edinburgh and a BA from the University of Leeds. In his spare time, he also writes science fiction stories.
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