General Forum

When a relic card states on the back of the card, (Topps tier one Legends baseball) "The relics contained on this card are not from any specific game, event or season" but on the front of the card it has the words "game used memorabilia", what exactly is that telling me.

I know a card producer could use wording to decieve the public and not actually have a relic on the card that is assocated directly with the player, but lets take it that they are honest, because they dont want to lose credibilty and possible huge amount of litigations or class action lawsuits.

I take it that because it is stating game used memorabilia, that the player on the front of the card used that relic during a game, but because of the disclaimer on the back of the card ( highlighted above), the relic cannot be directly tied to a specific game in a specific season or that it took place during a specific event, like an all star game. The relic was simply used by the player on the card in a game.

This hasnt stopped me from buying relic cards, I enjoy the nostalgia of the relic assoicated with the player on the card. Puts a little more enjoyment and meaning into the card, even if I cannot tie the relic directly to a specific game.

What are your thoughts or interpretation on this wording?

Exactly as you stated - Game-used by the player depicted, but which game is the unknown.

I just take it as "even though this is on 2021 Topps, this relic could be from 2017", or "even though this is from an insert about the playoffs, the relic probably wasn't worn during a playoff game." The really questionable ones are the ones that say "event worn", those seem most likely to have been slipped over someone's head while they were signing a sheet of stickers in the office.

Also by using the generic "memorabilia", they aren't tied to a specific piece of clothing either, so it could be a jersey, pants, shorts, shooting shirt, t-shirt, underwear, socks....whatever they feel like putting on there.

This one has always made me laugh. It is part of a seat from Tigers Stadium, but the player on it, Luis Aparicio, was playing for the White Sox.

2009 Topps Heritage - Flashback Stadium Relics #LA Luis Aparicio | Trading Card Database (tcdb.com)

I noticed this wording varied by the player for the 2009-10 UD Game Jersesys set. For example, Cam Neely's card words "used in an Offical NHL game", while Tiger Williams' words "used in an Offical NHL event". Williams could have came from some charity event or someting UD was sponsoring. May even wore the jersey for just a few minutes even, but he wore it.

Rookie players typically mention being event worn. And those jerseys could be from photo shoots, and I've heard of player putting on jersey after jersey or multiple at a time just to be considered "worn".

Even though jersey cards have lost their value over the years, I still prefer those that mention "game-used", multiple colors, and patches. 

I still wish Leaf would tell me what they used for this Jacques Plante card though. I came to the conclusion that its stuffing from one of his goalie pads.

It's basically a cover so they can't be sued again. if it doesn't say it's from a specific player and they make an obvious mistake nobody can sue them for it. 

If you think that sounds crazy, remember some lawyer sued Topps because they issued a correction when they listed the wrong team on a Topps Now card.