Match Attax, Turbo Attax, Topps Chrome, Bowman: sports and entertainment, in boosters, displays and tins.
Topps, an American manufacturer founded in 1938, is one of the oldest publishers of trading cards in the world. The brand produces official cards for major sports and entertainment licenses: football with the rights to the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, and Bundesliga, and the Match Attax collection (since 2006); baseball with Bowman and Topps Chrome; as well as Star Wars, Marvel, WWE, and UFC. Its signature features include chrome finishes, numbered refractor parallels, autographs, and relic cards. Find each Topps range in its subcategory.
Topps: Official trading cards, ranges, licenses and glossary
A leading brand since 1938
Topps is one of the oldest and most established names in the world of trading cards. Founded in the United States in 1938, the brand released its first baseball cards in the early 1950s, and its 1952 edition, which included Mickey Mantle's rookie card, became a cornerstone of the industry. Topps acquired its rival Bowman in 1956, spent decades developing major sports licenses, launched the Chrome card with Bowman Chrome in 1996, and then joined the Fanatics Group in 2022. This heritage explains Topps' position today: a brand whose cards serve as a benchmark in the collecting market.
Official Topps licenses
The breadth of its licensing agreements is Topps' real strength. Depending on the agreements in place, these include:
Football: UEFA Club Competitions (UCC), i.e., the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, as well as the Premier League and the Bundesliga. These licenses are available in mainstream collections (Match Attax, Merlin) as well as premium series (Chrome, Finest, Stadium Club, Museum Collection, Inception).
Motorsport: Formula 1, via the Turbo Attax consumer range and the premium Topps Chrome Formula 1 series.
Baseball: MLB, with the flagship Topps series, the Bowman range dedicated to young players, and the premium Chrome, Stadium Club and Museum Collection lines.
Combat sports and entertainment: WWE and UFC, as well as historical entertainment licenses such as Star Wars (since 1977), Marvel, Disney and the cult series Garbage Pail Kids (Les Crados in France).
Topps Now: cards produced on demand, a few hours after a significant event, available only during a limited ordering window.
Understanding the major Topps product ranges
The same license is available in several ranges, which are distinguished by their finish, their level of rarity and their price.
Chrome — Topps' signature technology. The cards are printed on chromium-coated cardstock, a metallic card that provides a glossy finish and increased rigidity. Introduced in 1996 with Bowman Chrome, it forms the basis of the Refractors.
Attax (Match Attax and Turbo Attax) — The collectible game. Each card features the stats of a player or driver, with a simple attack versus defense gameplay mechanic. Match Attax has covered football since 2006 and remains the world's best-selling sports card game; Turbo Attax is its Formula 1 counterpart. Match Attax Extra is a mid-season expansion.
Finest — A compact, all-chrome premium range renowned for its density of Refractors and autographs.
Stadium Club — A range focused on photography, with spectacular imagery; it also exists in a Stadium Club Chrome version.
Museum Collection — The very high end: thick cards, relics and premium autographs, often in large (jumbo) formats.
Bowman — The line dedicated to prospects (young players). The "1st Bowman" is a player's first professional card, issued before their official rookie card. Bowman Chrome is the chrome-plated version.
Inception — A premium, limited-edition line known for its autographs signed directly on the card and its patches.
Merlin — A Chrome football range that takes its name from Merlin, a historic publisher of football stickers in Europe.
Topps Collector's Glossary
The vocabulary used in this collection is technical. Here are some useful terms to help you understand what you are buying and what you are looking for.
Product formats
Booster (pack) — The sealed bag containing a defined number of cards (most often from 4 to 16).
Display / box — A sealed container holding several boosters, often 24.
Carton (case) — A sealed container grouping several displays (often 12).
Hobby box — A box intended for specialist shops, with a higher percentage of rare cards.
Blaster — Small retail box (often 4 to 15 boosters), common in supermarkets.
Starter Pack — Starter kit: a few cards plus accessories (binder, guide, mat) to start a collection.
Tin — A collectible metal box, often containing exclusive cards.
Box loader / topper — Special card, usually larger, slipped into a hobby box.
Hero Pack — Premium sleeve guaranteed in certain displays, containing a selection of foil cards.
Types of cards
Base card (base) — The common card that makes up the bulk of a set.
Common — A common card, the least rare.
Insert — A thematic card not included in the base set, with its own design and numbering.
Parallel — A variant of the basic card, with a similar design but distinguished by a color, effect, or numbering.
Numbered — Limited edition card indicated on the card (e.g. 10/99 = 10th copy out of 99).
Short print (SP) / Super short print (SSP) — Card printed in smaller quantities than the rest of the set, therefore rarer.
Die-cut — Card cut into a specific shape; often a rare insert.
Variation (VAR) — Map slightly different from its current version (photo, color, error corrected).
Sticker card — Sticker card, like the Garbage Pail Kids.
Rare cards: chase and hits
Chase card — Any rare and sought-after card from a set (parallel rare, insert, autograph, relic, rookie rare).
Hit — A modern term for a high-value card: autographed, relic, or premium insert. Some products guarantee a certain number of hits per box.
Refractor — A chrome parallel that refracts light like a prism. It exists in several colors, often numbered: the lower the print run, the rarer the card.
Superfractor — The rarest Refractor, numbered 1/1: only one copy in the world.
One of one (1/1) — The rarest card there is: a unique copy.
Autograph — Signed card. An "on-card" autograph is signed directly on the card; a "sticker auto" is signed on a sticker that is then applied. The on-card autograph is generally more popular.
Relic / memorabilia — Card containing an authentic fragment: piece of jersey, patch, or material.
Game-worn / game-used / event-worn / race-worn — Details on the origin of the relic: worn in a match, used in a match, worn during an event, or worn in a race (for F1).
Patch card — Card with a piece of the multicolored jersey patch.
Logoman — Card containing the embroidered logo of the jersey; always 1/1, highly sought after.
Book card — A card that opens like a book, combining several autographs or relics.
Printing plate — Metallic printing plate (cyan, magenta, yellow, black), available in 1/1.
Sketch card — Hand-drawn card by an illustrator, unique (1/1).
Redemption — Card to be exchanged with the publisher to receive a card (often autographed) delivered later.
State, protection and certification
Raw — Ungraded card, as taken from the booster pack.
Grading / slabbing — Sending a card to a third-party service (PSA, BGS…) which assesses its condition and assigns it a score from 1 to 10, then seals it in a shell.
Pop report — A count of the number of graded cards in each rating for a given reference.
Dinged — Damaged card (corner bent, scratched).
Toploader / sleeve — Plastic protectors: the thin sleeve (penny sleeve) then the rigid case (toploader).
The language of the community
Hobby — The hobby of collecting and its community.
Breaking — Opening boxes or cartons live and distributing the cards among participants who have purchased a seat.
Wax / rip — “Wax” refers to an unopened seal; “rip” means to open it.
Chasing the rainbow — Trying to collect all the parallel colors of the same player.
Completist / set collector — A collector who aims to complete an entire set.
Prospecting — Collecting the cards of young players before they break through.
Topps product ranges available at DestockTCG
DestockTCG lists Topps collections as they are released. Each range has its own subcategory, with its products (boosters, displays, tins, starter packs) and details of its rarity.
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