Costume cards have been a staple in this hobby for a long time and are now considered almost a common box insertion, although they are still regarded as a premium hit. They are also more often called relic cards these days, I guess because it sounds better than a swatch card.

So yesterday Marilyn Monroe's iconic JFK dress sold for 4.8 million dollars. I checked and found that I own 3 Monroe swatch cards, mainly from Americana sets. I have not consulted the guides, but I don't think I'll get much of that pot money. Still they are nice looking cards, which got me thinking about relic/costume/material cards in general and how collectors feel about them now that there is so much overproduction. Additionally there are now high end products that are giving 2 relic cards per box in lieu of any other premium hits. I was wondering if that practice is being accepted as well. So here's the general questions and please leave comments if you want to talk about it.

Question:
Do you collect relic/costume/material cards?

Choices:
Yes, they are my primary interest.
Yes, they are a secondary interest.
Sometimes when I like them.
Not really, I try to trade or sell most of them.
Not at all.

Question:
Have you ever purchased an individual relic/costume/swatch card?

Choices:
Yes.
No.

Question:
Are you satisfied with products that offer you 2 hits per box, which may be only relic/costume/swatch cards?

Choices:
Yes.
No, I don't buy those products.
Sometimes, I'll take my chances.

Question:
Do you think that manufactured patches, medallions, or other created items made into cards should be counted as premium hits?

Choices:
Yes.
No.
Sometimes.

Question:
How many relic/costume/swatch cards do you have in your card collection?

Choices:
None.
Only a few.
Under 100.
Over 100.
More than I can count.

 

For me if the relic is something worn/used on the show then that is as desirable as an autograph.

If it is a manufactured item or "material used in the making of " I have no interest in it. These medallions and patches Topps and Upper Deck put in their products are an insult to collectors and why I don't buy any of their products, no matter that I am a big fan of Marvel and Star Wars.

I hate the manufactured items, but love the production used relics.

I used to collect a lot of the Harry Potter relic cards. Artbox had an incredible run obtaining such a large variety of costumes/props for their cards!

Honestly, the manufactured stuff just seems like a cheap and easy alternative for a lot of these new sets.

I have zero interest in costume/relic/manufactured cards in sets. I like base sets and autographs and those are what draw me to various sets. Sketch cards don't interest me, either.

On balance I probably prefer costume/relic cards to autograph cards. But the item must have been used/worn on the show and the picture must be of the actual item as worn/used on the show.
Some of the Red Dwarf, Tudors and Harry Potter cards are amazing.
I find the Jericho costume cards are far superior quality to the auto cards.
Game of thrones has been a real disappointment so far but theres still time for them.

Dont see the point at all of items that dont appear on camera.

As for box pulls, I would be happier to pull 2 costume cards of major characters than 2 autos of bit part actors ive never heard of.

I like the costume and relic cards but they have to have two things for me or i am not intrested.

1. The costume or item has to have appeared in the show.

2. The picture on the card has to be of the person wearing the item.

I like the move from costume to relic as all sorts of other stuff gets included (bits of sets or props). But I am only interested if it is show worn, preferably with the correct image on the card but I can live without that.

I never used to care about variants but Warehouse 13 got a bit too easy so I actually have a costume card collection for that. Other sets I just have one costume card for each main character and I pick the one I like the best, regardless of season or whatever. This is the same practice I have for autograph cards.

Definitely not my 'primary interest', more of a fun extra.

As others have said, the item has to have actually been used in the film/tv show, otherwise what is the point?
Material "used in the making" of a costume... off cuts then? I'll pass thanks.
Similarly, 'manufactured' patches are equally pointless. They feel like a shady con, made to dupe less informed buyers.
Medallions are something else though. A potentially attractive chase card, but nothing more. Certainly not a hit equivalent to an auto/sketch/real relic card (despite Topps' attempts to keep shoving them down collector's throats).

I know some are not totally enamoured with something like a plain swatch of material embedded in card but for me it depends.
The new Bond set has a very attractively designed costume cards, but I'm not interested because I'm not overly fussed about the costumes themselves. On the other hand, the CC1 card Rittenhouse did of Connery's Tuxedo from Dr. No is a VERY cool card if you ask me, and I guess others think so too as it has held a good price these last 14 years.
I suppose what I am saying is, I tend to get more excitement from the types of costumes that are a bit more iconic or from memorable scenes (think of complete outfits that would sell for ridiculous amounts at auctions because of their memorable status). A costume card of a jumper worn in any old scene of a show, not so interesting to me. That said, when costume cards are cheap, and they often are, I'll pick up the more average stuff. For example, I have one costume card of something Daniel Craig has worn in each of his Bond films, even if they are from a more 'boring' shirt or jacket, and that is enough for me.

I do think prop cards inevitably make for more interesting cards though:
As a Bond fan, how cool is it to get though. How about a card with a piece of casino chip from a Bond movie embedded in it? A playing card from the movie Casino Royale? A piece of windshield from an Aston Martin?
(On that note, one of my few collecting regrets is selling the Live And Let Die prop card featuring the butts of 'The Lover's' Tarot card. Such an idiot for letting that one go! )

Another impressive relic that sticks out in my mind was the stake card from Buffy. Or how about actual pieces of THE ENTERPRISE from the upcoming TREK set?
If some purists turn their noses up because the item is no longer 'complete' then I'll let them pay the tens of thousands needed to buy original/complete props/costumes. I certainly can't afford to, but I can buy these very cool cards.
Whatever the item is, so long as it is 'show-worn' I think it is amazing for a collector to be able to say that they LITERALLY have a piece of their favourite film/show, and in a way that means a lot more than any autograph or sketch card.

For my part, I'm not especially bothered by mismatched pictures or "used in the making of" materials, but I can understand where people who actively collect costume cards might want to confine their buying to more authentic choices. I have way too many costume/material cards, but only a few that I went out of my way to purchase. The vast majority are just byproducts of box breaking.

I do not consider prop cards to be anything like costume/material swatch cards and I don't agree that relic card should be the catch-all term now. Props are better than costumes to me. Like so many other people who have posted here, manufactured relic cards leave me cold, but its not that I object to making the pretend patch or medallion card so much. Some are very attractive. I object to their being employed as replacements for premium hits. If you have 2 hits per box, they should be a combination taken from an autograph, a genuine costume, an authentic prop or a sketch. Cards with embedded manufactured bits, or even these stamps and coins we are seeing, should be random extras to enhance value. Just because a card gets numbered does not make it special when you are just creating it from thin air. I will no longer purchase any product that has skip boxes and may yield only one or more costume cards as the premium hit.

Finally, because costume/material cards are just so overproduced and are the fall back hit in many high end sets, I am one of those who shun the one color solid swatch. I don't even find it interesting in multi swatch cards. A black square is a black square, a red square is a red square. If the color and the cloth have no distinction from a thousand other material swatches, I am unable to care where it came from or who wore it. I have made exceptions for the old time screen greats early in my non-sport card collecting days, but after getting so many, I don't even want those anymore unless the material is unique in some way.

As a secondary hit I prefer a Prop card to the costume/wardrobe card. Manufactured hits do nothing for me.

I think the picture should match the fabric otherwise the authentisity is even more in question i.e. if the fabric is pink and the picture shows the actor wearing green, the card (in my opinion) is pointless. Most of my costume cards have come from box/case breaks I have purchased a few from characters that I like.

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:
As a secondary hit I prefer a Prop card to the costume/wardrobe card. Manufactured hits do nothing for me.

I think the picture should match the fabric otherwise the authentisity is even more in question i.e. if the fabric is pink and the picture shows the actor wearing green, the card (in my opinion) is pointless. Most of my costume cards have come from box/case breaks I have purchased a few from characters that I like.

I agree with this. The picture should be of the character in the outfit the clipping is from.

I know sometimes it is about which photos they rights to, but I think that is a fairly lame thing when the studios limit that. If they hope that the cards might somehow increase interest in the movie, which they do to some degree, they should allow the card companies more creative freedom.

Manufactured hits generally do nothing for me, but they might for kids. If it is interesting to kids, that is important to me. We need kids / young people interested in the hobby if we want to keep it alive.

Also, I would love a new Red Dwarf set, and I would settle for manufactured patches to go along with it. I would prefer costume cards and autographs, but I would take whatever I could get since I have only one set and a few autographs now. :-)

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:


I think the picture should match the fabric otherwise the authentisity is even more in question i.e. if the fabric is pink and the picture shows the actor wearing green, the card (in my opinion) is pointless.

I have to agree with hammer on the matching the fabric with the picture, that really bugs me when it doesn't. I am not a fan of the fabricated swatches/medallions and the like. They look nice but to me they feel like just another chase card.

When I first got into collecting the costume cards were mostly worn which it seemed to me to have more draw. I liked that someone actually worn it on the set of the show/movie and it gave it a bit of gravitas over a piece of leftover fabric.

The "ooze" manufactured cards from the Ghostbusters set are kind of cool, and definitely something I would have loved as a kid. If they come up with more interesting ideas for the manufactured stuff, they can be interesting in an amusing way, but i'd hate for them to replace any real hits like autos or production used relic stuff.

They are mostly great cards, over thickness so you can't fit into binder pockets are a pain, also they are far more attractive when the item material matches the item worn on picture, if you have a white swatch with a photo of someone wearing green, not so good.