Have you visited our store? Click here.It’s common practice for manufacturers to produce serial numbered cards intended for pack issue and exclusive release formats when applicable. These are the versions that are chronicled in price guides. Here’s an example:
Manufacturers are also known to produce the same cards for the specific intention of accommodating replacement requests. It’s unclear, however, whether or not these examples were produced ahead of time or on a Just In Time basis.1
What’s a replacement card?
Let’s say a customer pulls a serial numbered card from a pack and for some reason, it’s damaged. Once noticed, the customer contacts the manufacturer to issue a formal complaint about the damaged serial numbered card. As a response, the company produces a non-serial numbered example of the card, prints or hand serial numbers it with the same exact serial number as the damaged card associated with the complaint, and sends it to the customer usually along with a letter of courtesy. This is why some cards that normally would be found with stamped serial numbers can sometimes be found with hand-written serial numbers. Regardless of how the replacement serial number was added – printed or hand-written – these cards are called Replacements. Sometimes you’ll find autographed cards without serial numbers printed where they should be; these are called, Unfulfilled Replacements. These are exceedingly rare instances but they do exist. Here’s a replacement version of the same card shown above:
Why do people call a lot of cards without serial numbers that should have them, Proofs?
There’s a very subtle difference between Proofs and Replacements.
- Proofs are made to check for quality and sometimes come with small design differences as a lot of them are made in pre-final stages. Proofs generally aren’t sent to players to be autographed. Proof versions of cards, that upon final approval are intended to be autographed, will be found not only without the serial numbers, but without the autographs as well. Since these aren’t meant for public release, they won’t be sent to players for autographs. A lot of this stuff was meant to be destroyed.
- Replacements are made with the specific intent to fulfill customer replacement requests. Replacement versions of cards intended to be autographed are sent to players to be signed and returned. This is done before the official product release to efficiently fulfill customer replacement requests. Once the replacement is returned, it’s held until a customer replacement request is received. When that happens, a serial number is added (often hand-written) to the replacement and sent to the customer in exchange for the damaged example.
For cards made without the intent of adding autographs, and depending on how far along they are in the approval process, the designs of Proofs and Replacements may be identical. In these cases, Proofs can be used as Replacements as the only thing that’s needed is the serial number.
The perception of replacement cards.
Since these are essentially just swap outs for damaged cards of the same serial number, replacement cards especially those with hand-written serial numbers can be quite valuable and collectible. Even though the serial number is hand written directly onto the card, it still exists. The hand serial numbering just makes it that much more rare and unique, and as a result much more valuable than if the serial number didn’t exist at all. Also consider this, for the replacement card to have entered the market, a customer would have had to pull a damaged card and had the desire to take action by contacting the manufacturer to issue a formal complaint. This action, in and of itself, is an incredibly rare human occurrence.
Manufactures don’t actively market this sort of accommodation and rightly so as it could lead the customer to believe they’re to expect to find damaged cards in packs. This is a very sensitive branding issue and it’s not in the companies best interest to actively broadcast how they’d manage customer complaints surrounding damaged cards. While any company with any degree of stakeholder interest should absolutely manage customer satisfaction, it should be managed carefully behind the scenes. Leaving general contact information is one thing; telling your customers they might get damaged cards is a whole other can of worms.
Why does my card not have a serial number at all but should?
With the exception of whatever was made for replacement request fulfillment, most of the stuff we see in the market that’s not serial numbered but should be is printer scrap. In manufacturing, to check for quality, a run of the product is often produced for review and final approval. The result, in this case, is a version of the card without the serial number that’s otherwise identical to the final pack-issued serial numbered version. Even though these versions are much rarer than the standard pack-issued serial numbered examples, non-serial numbered versions are commonly seen in the marketplace. While they weren’t intended for public release, they’ve made their way into the market in a variety of different ways over the years i.e., employee backdoor, equity liquidation and bankruptcy, company buyouts, etc.
The perception of non-serial numbered cards.
Here’s what we know – we can’t tell the difference between replacements with printed serial numbers and the card they replaced because the serial number on the replacement was printed in the exact same way as on the replaced card. That said and generally speaking, only hand serial numbered examples are identified as replacements.
Most non-serial numbered cards are just results of the quality check process. They’re fun to add at the right price, which is another point. These non-serial numbered versions typically only appeal to a very niche type of collector i.e., player collectors (and not all of them). Many collectors often qualify these as proof cards and much prefer the official pack-issued serial numbered variety. That said, strong returns for non-serial numbered examples are statistical rarities. I’m not saying the non-serial numbered cards don’t have value. I’m just saying they may not hold the same monetary, esteem, or intrinsic value as that of the official pack-issued serial numbered variety, which makes them by design less valuable and as such less collectible.
References:
- Just In Time – JIT. www.investopedia.com ↩︎
Very nice article!
Thanks! 🙂
So I just came across this article and I’m stumbled I got a pack of optic donruss 2018 box set 10 in a box and got a vladimir Guerrero jr rated prosect orange auto graphed it’s got too be worth money right no serial number but I never contacted the company I bought the box set at Walmart
If it’s the 2018 Optic Orange AU Vlad, a serial number to 60 should be stated on the back bottom left corner. If it’s not, it would appear to have been mis-printed. I suppose you could attempt to contact Panini about it, or if interested you could test the market value of the card by listing it auction style on eBay.
Hi , how are you ? I have ichiro Suzuki topps reserve 2001 without serial number , the value of the card us the same of the serial number? Thanks
Hi there,
It’s generally considered common for replacements to sell for less than their pack-issued counterparts. If you’re curious, however, you can always list it on eBay and see how it performs. Good luck and thanks for the comment.
Hi, I just recently discovered that I have all 10 short print cards from 2001 Finest, but none of them have a serial number (they should be numbered to 1999). Have you ever come across these before? There are some great names in the subset, including Jeter, Griffey, ARod, and Bonds. Thanks.
Hi Chuck,
Thanks for the comment. Yea, this article covers this kind of card in detail. What you have are replacements.
Hey. I have a premier mega patch chest logos upper deck game-used card with a hand written serial number for player Rickard Rakell. Is this a common card?
Hi Sash,
Thanks for the comment. There are some pack-issued inserts with hand written serial numbers, which is the only way they were released. If your particular card is typically found with a printed serial number then the one you have would be a replacement. Because customer replacement requests are rare in and of themselves, replacements aren’t common.
What the heck is a foot print non- numbered card? Was looking up Fleer 01-02 Michael Jordan #137 and it’s showing the same looking card but some say non-numbered with much higher prices. I must be blind ai can’t see any difference. Thanks.
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for the comment. The only difference with Replacements is they don’t possess serial numbers; they are otherwise identical to their pack-issued counterparts. Some sellers know about this kind of thing so they price accordingly, which may or may not be within an acceptable market range. Depending on the player market (Jordan’s is monumental), Replacement value may be more or less than the value of the pack-issued example. I hope this helps.
I personally got a replacement card years ago, it is a high end RC too.
In 1999 l bought a box of 1998 SP authentic and got a Randy Moss die cut #D/500 but it was damaged, l called Upper deck and they told me what to do, I mailed in the damaged card and they sent me another card, they explained that it would be hand numbered not machine numbered which it was. They also sent me two packs of 1999 SP and asked me who my favorite player was, l said P. Manning and they sent me a 1999 SP players ink purple of P. Manning. Since the replacement R. Moss card was in a screw down protective case which l never opened l am considering to getting it graded. The replacement card was not put into packs and knocked around like the other cards. I guess it would be worth a shot on getting the hand numbered replacement graded, I’ve looked at it with a jeweler’s loop and it looks great but the grading is much tougher than looking at it but it may be worth a try. If I can get a 9 or even a 10 that would be extremely rare for that year card….
Hi Anton,
Thanks for sharing your story. What great cards to own! Grading cards can certainly enhance presentation values. Either way, those are two excellent cards to have in any collection.
I just discovered some 2000 bowman chrome sp rookies with no serial number
example jamal lewis #170 plaxico burress #174 and 8 more please advise what are these cards
Best i can see they are replacement cards Thanks
Hi Tony,
The replacements conversation only applies to pack-issued cards that were already supposed to have serial numbers printed onto them. If you find one of these cards without the serial number, it’s a replacement. If your pack-issued card didn’t have a serial number to begin with, then you just have the standard base card. I hope this helps. Thanks for the comment.
I have a playmakers theatre fleer tradition not embossed version
Hi Jack,
If your example doesn’t possess a characteristic that’s found on the pack-issued version, your example is likely from one of the pre-final proof stages.
Hi Patrick,
I have a 2003 2004SP game used authentic rookie LeBron James all the cards I find like it are numbered to 999. But the one I have doesn’t have any numbers on it.
I got it out of a pack back in 2003. Since the recent boom in sports cards I’ve been looking to try and find one that is unnumbered and have not been able to.
Reading you article makes me believe it’s common and not rare at all. My question is why aren’t there more out there if it was a common thing.
If you got it out of a pack, it isn’t a replacement. Replacements were only available through the manufacturers themselves.
I just got a becket graded 9.5 Warren moon national treasures off of eBay. On the plate it says missing serial number. It didn’t say that in the auction at all. If I were to repost that do you think it would sell for more with that info included?
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the comment. The best way to identify resale value is to list/re-list the item and see if it sells for more or less. Regardless of resale value, however, it’s always helpful to include all the necessary information about the item in the listing.
hi patrick,
I was looing through my collection of nba basketball cards and found a 1993 michael jordan retirement card signed . the card doesnt not have a serial number as well as a brand name. i beleive it may be an arena sports brand given it has his signatre in gold. does this mean something?
cheers,
Hi Jordan,
Thanks for the comment. As you might already know, not all cards are intended to possess serial numbers. For those that were and were packed-out, if one is found without the intended serial number, there’s a chance it may be in “replacement” territory. If this is the case with your card, it may mean it’s a replacement. If the card was never intended to have a serial number, however, what you have is likely just the standard release. I hope this helps.
Hi,
I recently got a gretzky stat masters card from ebay numbered 1870/2000 in ink.
Do you believe this would be an example of a replacement? Thanks!
Hi Alan,
Thanks for the comment. If the Stat Masters you won has the hand serial number 1870/2000, yep; that’s a replacement. Nice add too!
I’ve been searching for more info on vault cards and this was helpful. A friend of mine has had a Tom Brady autographed Contender #144 rookie card, autographed and was wondering what it might be worth. Especially in light of what they have been selling for at auction.
Hi Pete,
Unfortunately, we cannot tell you what that card’s worth. However, to get an idea of current market value, we encourage you to keep an eye on eBay Completed Sold listings for the associated card. If you need instructions, search the site; we have a helpful guide on how to do that. Thanks for the comment.
Hey Patrick, I have 7 LeBron cards from 2003 upper deck box set, which I know aren’t worth anything, but the #5 card (National Champs) has a signature on it in gold. What i was able to find out is that there were X amount of signed cards were put out randomly in some box sets.My question is, are you familiar with this set and how many of these cards had a signature, and if there is any value to it. Also there is no number on the back stating how many of these were signed. Appreciate any feedback, thanks
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the message. Based on a quick review of the 2003 Upper Deck LeBron James Box Set release, signed examples were randomly inserted into boxes and, based on my research, are supposed to be serial numbered to 23. Since your signed example doesn’t posses a serial number, it’s likely a replacement that was never officially fulfilled. As with pretty much anything, the market dictates the value. I hope this helps.
Thanks for this – good stuff. We were debating the authenticity of some listed 2011 Bowman Sterling parallels with “missing” 1/1 stamps, and it looks like backdoored proofs is the likely explanation. Wasn’t something I was aware existed before your article.
Thanks for reading. I’m glad you found this article helpful.
Hello, we have a card that should have been something of 10,000, but isn’t numbered.
It has been signed by the player and has also been authenticated.
We inherited this in a collection and do not know how it was acquired.
Assume it’s a proof?
Hi Kenneth,
Thanks for the comment. Without seeing a pic and doing a little research, all we can assume is that what you have is either a proof or an unfulfilled replacement.
Hello, I purchased 3 2021 National Treasures Baker Mayfield (Browns) cards off of eBay from a well known large seller on the west coast. They arrive with no numbers. I called Panini, they weren’t that interested and said call the seller, and that Panini is out of the loop. They didn’t even care really. Your forum is the first time I have found out any information about why a card would not be numbered, especially National Treasures cards which I collect almost exclusively. So Thank you for the info, now I at least have a few answers, and high dollar mis-print probably isn’t one of them.
Hi Jack,
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you found this article helpful.
I have an autograph card with no autograph on it what does that mean
Hi Will,
Thanks for the comment. It’s unlikely your card was intended to be a replacement because it’s much harder to have a player sign a card for a replacement request. It’s common for card companies to have the player sign one or some additional copies (depending on what’s being replaced i.e., Superfractor /1, etc.) to fulfill replacement requests by adding the associated serial number, which is often done by hand as indicated in the article. Depending on the release, it could mean your card was made with the intent of having the player sign it but it wasn’t included in the batch the player actually signed, or the whole production process didn’t make it through to completion as is the case with one version of the 1997 Donruss Signature AUs. I hope this helps.
I have a 1995 Upper Deck Michael Jordan Jumbo Limited Edition (45000) rookie baseball card, that does not have an issuance number on it. Next to the 45000 where a number should be is blank. I’ve can’t find anything on the internet about this type of issue/error.
It has not been authenticated or graded.
Is this a rare card? Does it have value?
Thank you for your time.
Hi Bob,
What you have sounds like an unfulfilled replacement. It’s not an error and, unless otherwise desired, doesn’t need to be graded or authenticated. Given how replacements are released, we can confidently assume it’s rarer than the full-serial-number variety, and is worth as much as the market is willing to pay for it; the value of which can be gauged if the card is listed auction-style. I hope this helps.
Awesome stuff Patrick, very informative! I appreciate articles like these. I came across a 99-00 SP Authentic Sign of the Times Gold auto of Dirk Nowitzki that’s missing its serial number. They’re usually hand-numbered to 25. Autograph and UD holo checks out. Do you think this is an unfulfilled replacement? I e-mailed Upper Deck and unfortunately, they don’t have any information about it. Cheers!
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the comment. The missing hand-numbered serial number is an indication of an unfulfilled replacement. I hope this helps.