Star Wars Is Top Choice of Collectors

Star Wars Is Top Choice of Collectors

According to Beckett Media, Star Wars Is the Most Popular Movie Trading Card Franchise Ever Produced

DALLAS, May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to trading cards, the Force is with George Lucas' space epic. According to Beckett Media, the acknowledged authority on the trading card hobby for over 20 years, Star Wars cards are hands-down the most popular movie tie-in trading cards ever.

Over the past 28 years, over 250 Star Wars trading card sets have been produced (including more than 40 from the Topps Co.) in over 20 countries, encompassing nearly 10,000 cards. The most sought-after Star Wars cards are the ultra-rare, one-of-one Sketch cards that were inserted into 2004 Topps Stars Wars Heritage and 2005 Topps Revenge of the Sith. Those cards feature original artwork from Star Wars artists. They often sell at sci-fi conventions and on the Internet for up to $150.

A Rookie Card (or in this case a "Wookie Card") of Darth Vader -- the central character in the saga's latest installment, Revenge of the Sith -- from the 1977 Topps set will cost you $5.

"Before Star Wars, trading cards for movies weren't big business," says Doug Kale, Beckett Entertainment editor and contributing editor of Beckett's Collectibles From A Galaxy Far, Far Away. "We based our list of top movie card franchises on several factors -- overall sales, pricing on the secondary markets, total cards manufactured, numbers of countries in which the cards were distributed and, of course, demand. By just about any measure, Star Wars is light years ahead of the competition."

To learn more about Star Wars cards and view some of the most coveted movie trading cards of all-time, log onto http://www.beckett.com/starwars .

The Top Five most collectible movie-franchise trading cards ever according to Beckett are:

1. Star Wars
2. Star Trek
3. The Lord of the Rings
4. E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial
5. (tie) Indiana Jones/Batman

ABOUT BECKETT MEDIA

Based in Dallas, Beckett Media LP, an Apprise Media company, is the leading publisher of sports and specialty market collectible products in the U.S. Beckett operates Beckett.com (http://www.beckett.com/ ), the leading online destination for sports collectible enthusiasts, and is the premier publisher of monthly sports collectibles magazines. Beckett, considered the world's most trusted source in collecting, currently publishes 14 magazines. Its flagship title is the popular Beckett Baseball magazine. The company also operates Beckett Grading Services, the award-winning third-party professional sports card grading service. The company was founded in 1984 by Dr. James Beckett.

Source: Beckett Media LP

CONTACT: Tony Fay, Director of Communications of Beckett Media LP,
+1-972-448-9034, or tfay@beckett.com

Web site: http://www.beckett.com/
http://www.beckett.com/starwars

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