Star Wars Trading Card Collecting Part Three, The Red Border Master Set
One really nice feature of the PSA Set Registry is that collectors can define their own sets, both for display and for competition. This allows us to create sets that are more challenging than some of the production sets, and to cater to our own collecting focus. This article focuses on a custom vintage Star Wars set referred to as the “Red Border Master Set”.
As mentioned in previous articles, the U.S. Topps set contained five border colors (blue, red, yellow, green and orange). Many countries around the world issued similar sets, but none followed through with all 5 border colors. In addition to the U.S. set, Canada’s O-Pee-Chee, Topps France, and Topps U.K., all had a red border subset (series two). The master set also includes the U.S. variation with the 30th Anniversary stamps.
Unfortunately, the Topps France cards were just U.S. cards packaged in a different wax wrapper and wax box (the same wax box for the Series 1 blue border and Series 2 red border), so the cards themselves cannot be collected (i.e., PSA authenticated, graded, and slabbed) separately. This resulted in the “Red Border Master Set” being made up of four red border subsets of 66 cards (Topps U.S., O-Pee-Chee Canada, Topps U.K., and Topps U.S. 30th Anniversary stamped) for a total of 264 cards.
Nearly 100,000 1977 Topps U.S. Star Wars cards have been graded by PSA, according to their population report. The series 2 red border are cards #67 - #132 and their rarity and value depend greatly on the population of each card on the report, along with the competition for those cards. For example, cards #126 and #132 have never been graded a PSA 10. If someone were to get a PSA 10 on either of those cards, they would likely sell for several thousand dollars each. PSA also tracks the APR (Auction Price Realized) for each card (based on data from eBay and multiple auction houses), and their APR report shows that #132 has sold for over $1,240 in just a PSA 9. The value of the U.S. cards is generally much higher than their foreign counterparts, due to the stiff competition to have or retain the #1 set.
The Canadian O-Pee-Chee series 2 cards differ significantly from the U.S. cards, with the French translations and the rougher cut edges. They also used a different font for the captions, and the cardstock is noticeably lighter (primarily on the back). In contrast to the U.S. Topps set, only 3,000 Canadian O-Pee-Chee cards have been graded by PSA. The cards themselves were printed in much lower quantities, and are also much harder to find. That does not, however, translate to higher value given that fewer collectors are building this set, making the competition for high-grade cards significantly less fierce. Prices can still go fairly high, with red border series 2, 1:1 PSA 9’s going for several hundred dollars and PSA 10’s closer to $1,000.
The U.K. (Topps Ireland) series 2 cards also differ significantly from the U.S. cards, primarily with the numbering. Instead of numbering the cards from 67 – 132 like the U.S. and Canadian sets, in the U.K. the series 2 cards are numbered 1A to 66A. Some of the images are also in a different order, and the cardstock is lighter than the U.S. cards.
Just over 1,000 Topps U.K./Ireland cards have been graded by PSA with only 355 from Series 2. There has never been a card from the series 2 set graded a PSA 10, and only several in PSA 9. This is partly due to the fact that unopened boxes have never been discovered in modern times, and only a very few unopened packs (which were likely kept as unopened packs, due to their rarity). Although these are my favorite of the red border master set sub-sets, and by far the most rare, they are also the least valuable (again due to the lack of competition for the high-grade cards).
Finally, the 30th anniversary stamped cards are included. The red border master set includes these, but not the 40th Anniversary set, for several reasons. The main reason is that it’s not known whether or not the complete 40th Anniversary set exists (no one has ever completed any of the subsets). Also, collectors generally prefer collecting a static set, if the composite is continually changing, it would be too difficult to get to 100% (which is necessary for the set to receive awards at the end of each calendar year). This subset is getting more and more difficult as the years go by, as these were box toppers (one per box) in a modern set that has long been sold out. Currently, the red border 30th Anniversary is more common than any of the other 30th Anniversary subsets, but they are still less rare (and expensive) than the U.K. A-Series cards.
If you want to find out more about vintage Star Wars card collecting, join the Facebook group Vintage Star Wars Trading Cards 1977-1984. I also post hundreds of photos on my Instagram page and my entire collection is up on the PSA set registry. Andy Dukes also has a nearly complete catalog of the vintage cards on his website.