Curating a meaningful Star Wars card collection, with Contrarian Cards.
Collecting Star Wars trading cards can be overwhelming. There’s a huge number of existing sets and card types, with more being released regularly. It can be hard to get a feel for what’s out there, and what you want to collect. After seeing some very cool cards on the show floor at Celebration 2023 I began my own collection, and have been on the look out for content that can help me navigate this world, find a focus that feels right, and get inspired by some cool cards.
That’s how I came across Jason from Contrarian Cards. He has some excellent content on YouTube and Instagram, and while a wider card collector including sports cards, he has a very clear focus and some amazing cards when it comes to Star Wars. I’ve learned loads from his approach.
While not of the generation that witnessed the OT when the movies first released in cinemas, Jason was an early teen when the special editions hit the big screen in the 90’s. He hadn’t seen the movies before standing in line with family, which is about as close as you could get to that original theatrical introduction to the saga on its debut. Like most of us, that first viewing was all it took to fall into fandom, and a Christmas gift of the VHS box set kept up the momentum.
Jason got back into card collecting amidst the boom of the pandemic in 2020, having collected various cards including the decipher Star Wars card game in the 90’s. While sports cards and pokemon got a lot of attention and bubble-like price action during Covid, he had Star Wars on the brain after the release of Rise of Skywalker. Hearing his journey and approach since then has helped unearth some important lessons for cultivating a meaningful personal collection…
Follow your own interest
Upon getting back into collecting, Jason began exploring the 2020 Topps Rise of Skywalker set, picking up cards he instinctively felt were cool. These were various numbered gold parallels, not cards that commanded the highest value necessarily, but the ones that spoke to him and created the most fun experience to explore and acquire. He continued from there, picking up single cards for subsequent sets that stood out, and exploring older sets.
A central tenet from Jason is to chart your own path as a collector. Content creators can help shed light on things to consider, but that’s not how Jason decides what to acquire. He considers it important to think for yourself and be honest about what you like, and what you don’t find important. Following the herd, chasing a flip, what others consider cool, or the newest thing, isn’t the way to build a collection that will leave you feeling satisfied as a collector.
I can totally buy into that, with so much noise online. Jason’s first pick-ups from the Rise of Skywalker set are still in his collection today. This is testament to his approach, trusting his own understanding of what he really enjoys. Not getting lost looking at or following what other people are doing.
Consider the components of cards you like
To help you figure out what you want to collect, another lesson from Jason is to consider the ‘components’ that make up the identity of cards you are drawn to. These are things that can give focus to your collecting, such as; card type; character; aesthetic; brand; scarcity; continuity; and market sentiment.
Some of these things are quite straight forward, what character is portrayed, what brand or set is the card from, how rare is it, and what is the market sentiment in terms of how it holds value, is priced, or how easy it may be to resell. However, card-type is more multi-faceted. The main types of cards Jason points to are base cards, insert cards, sketch cards, autograph cards, parallels, artistic cards, portrait or character cards, scene cards, and relic cards.
There are so many different types of Star Wars cards out there, so really thinking about what appeals to you personally is key, to avoid overwhelm. While Jason is a collector of all types of cards, in the case of Star Wars he focuses on card type and character, but all of the components matter. His focus is on the very rare numbered cards, like 1/1, /5, /10, superfractor, red, and black parallels in the ultra modern Topps sets of his favourite characters.
A character focus
The characters in Star Wars are what draw us in, we all have favourites so they’re a great relatable way to focus a collection. Darth Vader and Rey speak to Jason personally as the most interesting from the galaxy far far away, so he consciously focuses his character collecting on them. Lots of characters appeal to him, but as he says, you have to make choices when money is involved. Resources are limited for us all and being spread too thin can limit our collecting.
Jason likens collecting top end rare character cards to collecting the likes of Michael Jordan, Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady in the sports world. These can get a disproportionate amount of attention from the market. In sports, the cards at the pinncale are more than likely beyond the reach of almost all collectors, in Star Wars that is not the case. The best cards, like rare parallels, are more attainable, even for main characters like Rey and Vader. However Jason reinforces that ‘best’ should be subjective - this is a personal distinction for collectors to decide for themselves.
Try to invest wisely
Cards can be a singular or cumulatively large investment, so buying sensibly is prudent in case you want to sell cards in the future, either to reinvest in collecting or for something else. This is another reason for Jason’s focus on numbered and rarer cards relative to their price, these are more likely to maintain value. Making an effort to spend money wisely on cards helps mitigate the risk involved if you are spending any sort of meaningful amount of money.
Personal highlights
When it comes to his personal collection, Jason has some astounding stuff. A personal highlight he’s fond of is owning both the 1/1 superfractor of Rey and the 1/1 superfractor of Dark Rey from the 2023 Topps Chrome Star Wars set. Wow. Bringing these two fantastic cards together is no mean feat. They are as rare as it gets and perfectly aligned to his focus. Finding them, not one Rey 1/1 but the continuity of both, and acquiring them is just tremendous.
Both were picked up via eBay, which is the most popular online market place for cards. They were acquired raw, and Jason graded both with PSA. Both cards achieved grades of 9 adding even more continuity, a really nice touch. These cards would be the jewel in the crown for many collectors and are rightly so for Jason, and they sit alongside some other really impressive cards such as Darth Vader red refractors /5 from 2018 and 2022 Topps Finest.
What the future holds
Jason got started in content a few years ago, trying to fill a gap in the sort of content he wanted to see, taking inspiration from a few creators he enjoyed but that werent’t quite hitting the spot for his experience of collecting. Jason’s content really is quite unique, with not one singular narrow focus such as playing the market, following a particular sport, or non-sports only. He has an impressive sports card collection alongside Star Wars, and also sells cards.
I found his top 100 card series, showcasing individual cards he has acquired from across categories, really informative and inspiring to watch. Again showing real focus in terms of his approach to collecting and content. When time allows Jason is keen to share more content going deeper into process around strategy and the business and economic side of collecting. I’m certain this will be well worth looking out for.
I agree with Jason’s thoughts for the future, that it’s a great time to start collecting Star Wars cards. We are out of the craziness of the pandemic boom, with prices looking more affordable and stable. There are many new and old sets to get stuck into, and really nice looking and rare modern cards, of all sorts of types, regularly available online. This can make focusing a collection a bit baffling, but all the more reason to heed the lessons from Contrarian Cards.
Pay attention to what you enjoy, trust yourself and what you like, and have fun exploring. Thanks Jason.
MTFBWY
