Whether we like it or not, each year bats are splintered, documents are shredded, and jerseys are ripped at the seams to be put into sports cards. While many collectors have a love-hate relationship with these types of relics, there are some other relics that lay outside the norm. Relics that don’t make an individual question why Jordan’s jersey was torn apart or Babe Ruth’s bat cut into a million pieces. I’m talking the weird, strange, and downright cards that could make any collector think, now that’s cool.
2009 Allen and Ginter Abraham Lincoln Hair Relic
Topps was on another level in 2009 when they decided to make collectors chase of all things, a hair relic from the 16th and arguably most well known president himself. While many, including my young self, thought this was odd, many collectors sought this card specifically as the product card to chase. But topps didn’t stop there when it came to their DNA cards. In this same set they also included relics from George Washington, Edgar Allen Poe, and King George the Third, just to name a few. The same year the product came out, the Abraham Lincoln one of one relic sold for three thousand dollars, making it one of the cooler and more expensive modern yet historic relic cards.
2001 Topps American Pie Berlin Wall Relic
After standing for 38 years, the Berlin Wall became no longer necessary when the East Berlin Communist Party announced that their borders were open. That night many citizens came and started to chip away at the wall themselves. With this being such a culturally significant moment, Topps decided to get in on the action a little over a decade after the fact, putting rubble from the wall straight into a star shaped hole in this uniquely different card. Coming across this card in a local antique shop myself, this card card can be surprisingly affordable and would make a great addition to any collector who is a lover of history.
Allen and Ginter’s Fossil Relics
Over the course of several different years Allen and Ginter hit us again with another strange relic. Manufactured in 2017, 2020, and 2023 Topps took fossilized relics from sharks, wolves, and even dinosaurs. At one point, even Upper Deck got in on the fossil game, creating relic cards from Mammoths, Raptors, and more. Hand numbered to twenty-five or less these relics don’t typically sell for less than one-hundred and fifty dollars. While some of these relics may look a little disappointing, due to looking like a pebble, others actually include teeth or parts of bones.
Pieces of the Past Coin Relic Cards
Pieces of the Past is my favorite historical product that I absolutely love to open. They’ve produced presidential, art, music, and other types of sets. However, one of the downright coolest cards they produced was inlaying coins within their cards. While Topps has been doing this for years with their Heritage set, Pieces of the Past actually uses non-modern coins. Using coins that are hundreds to thousands of years old and setting them in cards gives collectors who love historical cards a chance to get an incredible piece of history.
2019 Goodwin Champions Aviation Relics
Apollo Eleven was the first spacecraft to reach the moon in human history and on board were several important tools and items that the crew needed. One of which was a thermal blanket that ended up going with them to the moon and back. With Upper Deck seizing their chance to make their own historical cards they took the thermal blanket and put it into cards of their own. With astronaut autographs not being the cheapest, this could be a great placeholder for a great card on a budget.
Collecting has truly changed over the years with cards such as these being introduced to the general public. While the ties of most sports being around before our own modern times, it’s hard not to blend history into our modern products. Yet, these sets and manufacturers seem to do it so effortlessly. Whether collectors expect to pull these cards or not, they are a great opportunity to learn about our past and understand the world around us.These pieces of the past can take us back to times before organized sports, before baseball was even created, and before anyone would have had the thought to spend money on cardboard.
