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Parallel vs variant vs insert
Anybody want to take on this topic? I realized last week that I’ve been using the terms incorrectly a lot of the time. I think I was calling everything a variant when some are actually parallels. Or inserts.
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4 Replies
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Parallel: I different version of the base card. For example, silver, refractor, blue wave, green scope, etc. You could say a parallel is a variation of the base card.
Insert: A sub-set of the base set. Will look totally different from the base card of that player.
Variation: Most commonly an image variation. Sometime can be hard to tell unless you know the set well. Panini will mark the back with a “V” sometimes to indicate its a variation.
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Thanks! I was hoping you’d answer. I’d love a video about this where you show examples with cards you have.
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And I realize I’ve been saying “variant” when I really mean parallel. Since Fanatics took over Topps it seems to me that Topps has gone the way of bunches of parallels. The first year I started collecting was 2022 and there was such a bigger variety of Topps cards (pre-Fanatics). Sets that don’t exist anymore. But I know it’s because it’s cheaper to make a bunch of cards with the same design and different border colors than producing a whole new card with a different design. Makes me think my collection focus might go to 2022 and earlier where there was such a variety of card designs.
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I bet there are fewer inserts now as well since that’s a totally different design…
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