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Parallel

A parallel is a version of a base card with a different color, finish or pattern. Parallels are printed in smaller numbers than the base card, and many are numbered.

Also called Parallel card.

Sports cards
Parallels among a product's cards Three generic sports cards: a base card, an insert with a design of its own, and a parallel with a coating. Base set: The main numbered run, from 1 upward; Inserts: Subsets outside the base set, with a name and look of their own; Parallels: Base cards again in another color or finish, often numbered. The tile for Parallels is outlined. Base set The main numbered run, from 1 upward Inserts Subsets outside the base set, with a name and look of their own Parallels Base cards again in another color or finish, often numbered

In more detail

Most products start with a base set of common cards. A parallel then repeats one of those cards with a different look: another color scheme, a pattern or a finish. The player, the photo and the design usually stay the same, and the card keeps its number.

A parallel is printed in a smaller run than its base card, and makers often stamp each copy with its own number. Upper Deck's glossary describes a parallel as the serial numbered version of a card that is not numbered, so a base card would be unnumbered and its parallel would carry a number. Makers name parallels by color or finish, as with the Green and Blue Refractors.

A parallel is not an insert. An insert belongs to a subset with its own name and look, while a parallel copies a base card. When you buy, name the exact parallel, because a Blue and a Green version of one card are different cards to a buyer.

Related terms

Where Rip.fan covers it

More in Sports cards.

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