The parents of a very dear friend, while tidying up their cellar, found a bag containing his “old treasure” made up of various types of collectible cards: Dragonball, Wrestling, Knights of the Zodiac and Pokémon.
We viewed the content together until we arrived at an article that awakened in me the most hidden memories of my childhood and this is precisely what I want to talk to you about today: the Topps-branded Pokémon trading cards.
But let’s start in order…Who is he? Topps?
Topps Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer of chewing gum, candies and various objects from collection. The company was founded in 1938 a New York Cityin the county of Manhattan. Although it is primarily known for producing sports trading cards, it has also produced various Pokémon-themed products.
Among the notable Pokémon-themed products were the Pokémon Topps Trading Cardsnote informalmente come “Pokémon Trading Cards serie 1“.
This is a series of trading cards of the Pokémon produced by Topps from 1999 until 2006, with license Nintendo. Series 1 includes a total of 90 cards of which 76 were dedicated to the first 76 Pokémon (from Bulbasaur a Golem), while 13 were dedicated to the characters of original series and one is used as a “checklist” that lists all the cards in the collection.
The cards in the series are divided into three content categories, each numbered separately. The cards dedicated to Pokémon are numbered in the classic way from 1 to 76, while the cards dedicated to the characters, known as “TV Cards”, are numbered TV with the following number from 1 to 13; the card used as a checklist, however, is the only card in the series that does not have a number.
Each pack of the series contains a guaranteed holographic card representing one of the 90 cards in the series. Due to this peculiarity, holographic papers are more valuable than common ones and more sought after by collectors.
The first 76 cards of the series are dedicated to the first 76 Pokémon of Kanto according to the Pokédex order.
Each card shows a close-up of the Pokémon on the front, with the location number at the bottom Pokédex with the name of the Pokémon depicted, all with a themed background of the type it belongs to. On the back of each card, in addition to an image of the Pokémon we have a brief description, the episode of the anime in which it makes its first appearance and a mini-game known as Who is that Pokémon?. Additionally, there is information about the card’s collection number and copyright caption.
These cards were marketed in both North America and Europe and distributed in the following languages: Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, English, Spanish and Italian.
Each box of cards contained 36 packets and each of them in turn contained 7 or 8 cards, one of which was holographic.
Importation and distribution in Italy was entrusted to Giochi Preziosi SpA by Topps Europe Limited.
Did you know these cards? Did you have them in your collection?
Until next time!
Laura Villa
(@la_casa_di_pikachu)