Black Card

Like some other people here, I pulled a special edition card that was completely black. What is this? Is it worth anything? Anyone want it ?

 

KEEP IT!!! You had the fortune of pulling a SE Blank card which are highly prized among collectors as much as the Ltd. Hoth blanks are.

Take good care of it.

 

Are we tlaking about blank cards or black cards?

 

It's the same thing.

 

I would get rid of it, as it has no play value. Trade it for something that you can actually use in the game.

 

Oh, so the picture and text is all black?

I agree with Bib²

 

Depends if your a collectore or not, for play value you could use it as a placeholder until you get the right card, but i'd sell it or swap it for some other card you need

 

Black or Blank cards are somewhat popular amonst some collectors. However, not all collectors, collect them. So the market for these types of items is somewhat limited.

Of course, as you know, there is absolutely no play value, but I suppose, if you had a 59 card deck that you just couldn't find a card to fill that 60th slot... You could use it.. I never have that problem tho.

What a Blank/Black card is, it is the odd card on the sheet. For example, one of the standard sheet sizes is 11x11. that sheet yeilds 121 cards. If you had a 60 rare set, you would have 2 copies of each rare card printed on that sheet, and 1 extra spot. So Decipher has the choice of one of 3 things. Make one of the cards easier to get by filling it with a 3rd printing of a particular card. Make an ultra-rare by putting a 61st card only in that one slot. or leave it 'empty' thus creating an 'all black bordered card'. (meaning the whole card is nothing but border or solid black.) Now for ease of printing, they print the card backs uniformly across the entire sheet, leaving a nice printed back on the black faced card.

These cards are supposed to be collated out, and most of them are. However, quite a few make it into packs. This means that these cards are actually rarer than any Ultra Rare, but since they have absolutely ZERO play value, they are often not hunted out.

Typically the Blank/Black cards sell for anywhere from $5 to $20. (the Hoth ones being the more expensive ones) I just recently purchased 3 Black/Blank cards for $22 Total (all 3) off ebay. 2 were from Hoth (which were the very hardest ones to get) and 1 was from SE. I was quite pleased with my purchase. So, I would say that the current value of your card lies in the $5 to $10 range.

You can also find White Border Blank cards (all white). That come out of Premiere, Reflections, and other reprinted WB sets.

As always, I'm eager to trade for Black/Blank cards. I have quite a lot of trades available. e-mail me at Jimcolso@ix.netcom.com with a want list and we'll make a deal.

Jim Colson
Gold 5

 

Okay, maybe this is a silly question, but how in the world can you tell a HOTH "blank" from a SE "blank"???

If I had some SE blank cards, I could tell you they were HOTH blanks and get 4x as much $$ for them, couldn't I?

 

One way you can easily tell what set it's from is by looking at the card's "glossiness". Cards from Hoth had a more "matte" look and feel. Starting with Dagobah, the cards got a gloss finish (which has thankfully lessened somewhat through the expansions). Personally I wish the cards had stayed with the matte finish of either Premiere or Hoth.

 

Red is correct.

The "Gloss vs Matte" finish is one key way to tell, it is the one I look for first. However, that is sometimes difficult to do unless you have the 2 next to each other.

Another way, is to look at the black. The Hoth is a lighter black than the SE. Almost like a dark charcoal. If that makes sense...

In the SE cards the black is blacker than the Hoth ones.

Usually your astute collector can identify them quite easily, but even I have to look VERY closely at times. (and then sometimes, look again and again.)

Jim Colson
Gold 5

 

I don't really like the gloss finish on the newer cards. Cards like that tend to slide off each other when stacked.

 

Use those deck protector sleeves.

I like the glossy finish, helps when yer sorting them out.

 

I do use Deck Protectors on my playing decks, but my overall collection tends to slide every which way. I don't have enough binders or boxes to store all my cards in, so I simply stack all my extras on my shelf. Those stacks are kinda hard to keep upright.

 

Get those cardboard boxes that hold 800 cards. I find them to be very efficient in organizing my collection, rares, extras, and so on. Best of all, they're dirt cheap.