Sports stars, celebrities, and even cryptocurrencies have rookie cards…but does Santa Claus? This is a question you might be asking yourself after eating too much nutmeg. Since the season of giving is officially upon us, I wanted to spread some holiday cheer by highlighting Christmas-themed trading cards, which is a bigger niche than you might think.
So, let’s dive into an interesting corner of the trading card world that’s dominated by the GOAT of gift-giving himself: Old Saint Nick.
A brief history of Santa trading cards
1891 Woolson Spice card. (Photo: eBay)
There is no specific story about the origin of Santa trading cards, but some of the earliest Santa trading cards in the United States date back to the late 1800s. The Ohio-based company Woolson Spice has produced several artistic Christmas trading cards that feature Santa Claus sitting with children around a Christmas tree or in a sleigh. Woolson Spice uses the back of cards to promote its products, such as Lion Coffee.
Technically, there isn’t a 19th-century card in the collecting world that’s been called a “real” rookie card of Santa Claus, but one of his most famous cards from the time can be found in the 1890 Duke Holiday Set. The popular tobacco company produced a set of 50 cards that included three Christmas cards, but only the American version included Santa Claus. According to the Professional Sports Appraisal Agency’s (PSA) population classification report, the company has certified fewer than 15 titles. An example of this card is even in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
1890 Duke Holiday Christmas, American greeting card. (Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art)
It’s interesting to see the evolution of Santa Claus from how he was depicted back then compared to today. Many early picture cards show a slimmer-looking version, sometimes wearing a green or brown suit. It was Coca-Cola’s advertising from the early 1930s that cemented the image of Santa Claus we have today (even though it was pioneered by political cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 1860s). Yes, there are trading cards featuring old Coca-Cola ads from the 1990s.
In the late 1980s, the sports card industry exploded in popularity and began producing more and more sets. The first Santa card to catch the attention of modern collectors was the iconic 1989 Pro Set Football card. The promotional card is issued to card store owners and dealers during the holiday season and cannot be removed from the packaging, which increases demand for it.
1989 Pro Set Promotional Card. (Photo: eBay)
The front of the card lists Santa Claus as a “player-coach” and depicts him wearing a baseball cap with his name and a red satin jacket emblazoned with the NFL logo. Inexplicably, he was holding the same trading card he was on, creating a puzzling loop of card perception. Behind Santa, through a snow-covered window, are two Pro Set executives dressed as elves (Leaf recreated the card in 2021, choosing famous figures from Donald Trump to Pele, This may complicate the search for more valuable original cards). The back of the card features important Santa information and a scouting report.
It was so popular that Pro Set began putting Santa cards in its sets in 1990. , “Gemmint” PSA 10 graded copies sell for about $500 to $750.
As the sports card industry continued to innovate in the 1990s, it opened up new opportunities to celebrate the holidays with autographed and memorabilia cards. The first Santa Claus autographed card can be found in the 1991 Pro Line Portraits, with the rarest editions limited to 200 copies.
In 1998, Upper Deck produced an oversized Kris Kringle promotional card featuring a velvety red “holiday-worn jersey” that was exclusive to members of the company’s Collector’s Club. The card can be found on eBay for about $20.
In 2007, Topps created its most comprehensive offering to date with the launch of a special Santa Claus Holiday Set that included 18 cards, all featuring Topps’ most popular designs ever, including a Kris Kringle relic card , an autographed card, and a rookie card that pays homage to Mickey Mantle’s famous 1952 Topps card. The signed card in the set is not a “Topps Certified Autograph,” but a “Topps Santafied Autograph,” and the back of the card insists that “Santa Claus himself signed this card with the pen he uses to list all of his items.” Naughty yet kind children from all over the world. The back of the relic card features a Santa suit and reads: “Tops received this suit from Santa Claus himself, who asked that it be distributed as widely as possible so that everyone could have his Holiday spirit to cherish and treasure.
2007 Topps Holiday Pack. (Photo: eBay)
In recent years, Topps has produced more Santa autographed and relic cards for its holiday baseball sets (more on that later), but the reveals are decidedly less whimsical. “The relic on this card doesn’t come from anything at all,” reads the back of the 2019 product.
Over the past decade or so, the hobby’s annual holiday sets have produced more Santa trading cards than ever before. In the latest Topps holiday set, collectors can draw rare chase cards of other classic Arctic characters such as Mrs. Claus, Frosty the Snowman, Gingerbread Man and more.
Holiday themed tracksuit
The sports card industry offers a number of holiday-themed sets that bring a seasonal feel to collections through unique player-worn holiday sweater cards and holiday short print variations.
The main baseball card issued during this holiday time of year is Topps Holiday. First produced in 2016, the set features holiday-inspired designs featuring MLB rookies and stars, and you’ll find hidden elves, snowflakes, and Christmas lights on the cards. Collectors can draw signed cards, player-worn Santa hat artifacts, and rare artifact/car cards of the aforementioned Santa Claus. Topps Holiday Bundles are exclusive retail bundles available online and in stores like Target and Walmart.
2024 Topps Holiday Bobby Witt, Jr. image variations. (Photo: eBay)
A few years after the release of the first Topps Holiday, Panini, which produces NFL and NBA licensed trading cards, began offering Hoops basketball and Donruss football holiday-themed sets, which also became popular with collectors. For Donruss Football 2022, Panini releases a visually stunning Santa Claus downtown insert. This ultra-rare bestseller (traditionally only one downtown insert comes in every few hundred packs) remains in high demand, with PSA copies of 10 selling for over $1,500. In June, a Clearly Donruss Holo card similar to this one sold for $3,234.71, setting an all-time high for a Santa card, according to the CardLadder database, which tracks card sales in major online marketplaces.
I think these products are more collectible-focused and have a lower average monetary value than many others, but they offer a large selection of chase cards and autographed relics of top prospects and stars that can still fetch hundreds of dollars. PSA 10 Topps Holiday base rookie cards of superstars like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani sell for over $100.
Classic Holiday Movie Trading Cards
This “A Christmas Story” card, autographed by Peter Billingsley, sells for $750. (Photo: eBay)
One of my favorite holiday traditions is sitting down with a glass of eggnog and watching Christmas movies—a genre that has now found its way into trading card form as well. This year, actor Chevy Chase launched a Christmas Vacation 35th anniversary set that includes signed cards from the Griswold family and Chevy Chase’s personal relic cards. The limited edition of 300 boxes sold out quickly, but a few are being sold on eBay.
Cryptozoic Entertainment and Marquee Trading Cards recently launched a similar set based on the beloved holiday film A Christmas Story to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary. Collectors have the opportunity to obtain single and double autograph cards, hand-drawn sketch cards and serialized chase cards signed by the cast. The sealed box is selling for about $130 on eBay, along with a 1/1 Peter Billingsley (Ralphie) autographed card that says “I want a Red Ryder!” has been removed from the packaging and sold for less than For sale for $1,000.
Billingsley also signed cards for Leaf, some of which were engraved with “Oh fudge,” and sold for $99 each — which is exactly what people are saying after loved ones find out they paid $99 for Ralphie’s autograph Things you might say after the card.
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(Top photo: Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
