Collector-Info for ST1E | openCards

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Collector-Info for ST1E

Welcome to the openCards Colletctors-Information for ST1E

The collector's info on openCards describes all relevant information regarding a specific card from the point-of-view of a collector. This includes the rarity, to which expansion it belongs, if it's a foil card or not, if reprints of this card exist and so on. Here is a list of all those card details as they are differentiated on openCards (independent of the game to which the card belongs):

  • the card's rarity
  • which expansion or special set the card belongs to
  • copyright information printed on the card
  • information regarding the 'print style'. This includes
    • print color discerning between color / high color / black & white
    • border color (white border, black border, silver border)
    • special printing effects (non-foil, foil, hologram card)
    • the card's orientation (standard upright or resembling a widescreen)
    • is the card printed on both sides?
    • does the card contain different parts relevant to the game,
      e.g. does it represent "two-cards-in-one"?
  • list of reprints of this card
  • list of 'personas' regarding the card

For backwards compatible cards of the Second Edition that will also be listed under the First Edition cards, the collector's information will not be listed twice (which could be confusing), but a link to the Second Edition listing will be provided.
Here is a thorough description of separate details regarding Star Trek First Edition:

A card's rarity

For collectors the rarity of a card is one of the most important bits of information. Which rarities may exist depends upon the different games. Each manufacturer has his own agenda on the number of distinct rarities necessary. On a separate page we have a detailed listing, which rarities we deem relevant regarding Star Trek First Edition.

In general the rarity depents on the print run of a particular card. Cards that were printed more often are worth more than cards printed only comparitively less. In almost all game systems the split into common, uncommon and rare cards can be found, which expresses this relation.

Apart from this there are other rarities e.g. for "fixed" cards to be found in starter boxes or for specially produced cards like tournament foils. Which levels of rarities are represented in distinct game systems is therefor not discussed here, but at the respective game systems.

In the long run supply and demand will determine the worth of a card. The demand will be influenced by the collectibility (depending upon the image on the card or the artist who painted it) and the game strength of a card. This matter is complicated by the fact that in most cases the manufacturers do not provide exact information on print runs. Because of this you can't simply assume that two rare cards from different expansions of a game system have the same amount of copies printed.

Which expansion or special set a card belongs to

On openCards all cards are catalogized by expansions. This helps in identifying cards and to distinguish between different reprint or similar cards. Furthermore we distinguish between "normal" expansions and special sets, even though this is not made easier by some general factors concerning all game systems, and for each and every game system these "special sets" exist with different parameters.

Since the expansions of First Edition have not been officially "numbered" by the manufacturer, we decided to call all those products "normal expansions" that have been distributed via boosters (including Refelections) while all remaining cards have been associated with special sets. An overview over the distinct sets is provided on our "expansions und special sets"-page.

Regarding the distinction between reprints of Firts Edition cards please consult our page concerning the Universal Card ID, which identifies every card without a margin of error.

Copyright

For all cards showing copyright information this has been included in the Collector's Info. The year of copyright may be different from the actual street date of an expansion. That is why we included information on the actual dates when cards were made available to the public in our section Inside - Expansions.

Information regarding the so-called 'print style'

Under the heading 'print style' we provide the following information:

  • print color
  • border color
  • special printing effects
  • orientation of a card
  • double-sided print
  • differentiation of distinct regions

print color
Here we distinguish between cards printed in color or black & white (remember the "Captain Proton" cards of First Edition?). Furthermore we use the term "high color" for cards printed with an especially luxurious quality like the cards from the Fajo Collection.

Border color of a card
In general collectible game cards are printed with a black border, probably, because black can both be clearly distinguished from the remaining printed image, but looks also "neutral" compared with the colorful images and icons.

But other border colors like silver or white also exist to show the difference of a reprint to the original or indicate that cards belong to an unlimited print run.

In Star Trek First Edition the WB reprints of Premiere Edition and several promo cards are prominent examples of this section concerned with other border colors. Another example would be the silver-bordered cards from the "Collector's Tin".

Special effects on a card
Examples for "special effects" would be foil-enhanced cards or holograms. We distinguish between non-foil cards, foil cards and hologram cards. For Star Trek First Edition several foil cards have been manufactured, e.g. tournament foils or cards from Reflections or Blaze of Glory. So far, no hologram cards exist in this environment.

Orientation of a card
Unter this heading we distinguish the orientation of cards, i.e. how you have to hold it to read it. In 99% of all cases cards are printed with the shorter edges at top and bottom and the longer sides to the left and right. But there are also cards where the larger edges are to be orientated at the top and bottom to be read without difficulties.

Concerning ST1E there are no cards in this "widescreen format".

Double-sided printing
Here we distinguish cards that are printed on both sides with information relevant to the game. Most cards in a game system have the same "backside", but there are exceptions.
In ST1E there are several cards printed on both sides. These include stations (e.g. Deep Space Nine and Empok Nor), the Space Door and several missions from the special set Enhanced Premiere.

Differentiation of distinct regions on a card
Another rare special case is the collection of game-relevant information on a card that virtually makes this card "two-cards-in-one". The orientation of the card may in this cases be responsible for the proper use in the game.
There are no such cards in ST1E.

Reprints

In this section all reprints are listed. Afurther discussion of the term "reprint" (what exactly IS a reprint? etc.) is to be found in the section Universal-Card-Tools-ID.

In the Collector's Info every reprint is listed with its UCT-ID and the expansion or special set, from which it originates (the card title of original and reprints is always the same, not counting errata concerning the title). We also inform you if the listed cards are "first prints", meaning the chronological first print of a reprinted card. In this cases we added "first print" in brackets after the card's listing.

'personas'

the concept of 'personas' is used in several game systems in order to indicate that several distinct cards all relate to the same person.

In First Edition this concept was added later. Thus there is no general rule to distinguish with the use of a card title, if cards count as a persona or not. Instead you will find a large rule entry in the 1E glossary concerned with this. And another ruling for backwards compatible cards of the Second Edition (these are so far not listet as reprints in the Collector's Info!)

In the 'personas'-list we always list the card title, the UCT-ID of the card and the expansion (or special set), in which it was published.