SP cards first started appearing regularly in the early 1990s as manufacturers looked for ways to add more value to their trading card products and make pack searching more exciting for collectors. The basic idea was to create special premium parallels of existing base cards that would be much harder to find. These initial SP cards would feature different photo variants, autographs, serial numbering, or memorabilia patches/swatches. They quickly became highly sought after by collectors.
Some of the earliest mainstream SPs were produced by Fleer and Upper Deck in the early 90s. Fleer’s SPs usually had photo variations or serial numbering while Upper Deck often included relic swatches. Topps soon joined in as well with SP variations featuring autographed players, triple jersey swatches, and 1/1 printing plates. The scarcity and desirable extra inclusions meant these early SP cards could fetch high prices in the fledgling sports card resale market.
As the hobby boomed, other manufacturers entered the SP premium parallel game. Donruss offered SP Sensations parallels starting in 1992 that featured more photo cropping than base designs. Score issued SP Legend parallels later in the decade spotlighting retiring star players. The market became saturated by the late 90s with seemingly every major set release including some type of SP variant cards.
A key characteristic that separates SPs from simple parallel base card designs is that they are inserted at randomized intervals quite different than standard base card odds. While base cards for a particular player might be found at rates around 1 per pack or box on average, an SP of that same player would be exponentially more scarce, coming at ratios like 1 per case instead. This provided extra chase and thrill for pack breakers.
Another thing that made SPs unique was that they were originally enclosed in protective plastic cases or “wrappers” during the early years before moving to unprotected card fronts inserted directly into packs like regular cards. This initially created anticipation and prestige upon finding a wrapped SP hidden among commons in a pack. Later, Topps Chrome introduced the concept of SP parallels featuring refractory technology to dazzling effect.
As the hobby evolved, so too did SP premium treatments. Newer SP variations today incorporate intricate autos, embedded memorabilia, serial numbering, foil treatments, parallels imaging technology, and more complex short prints. Present-day SP cards are exponentially rarer than early 90s versions released at higher odds. Modern parallels can be as scarce as 1 per every 10 cases or rarer. This makes tracking down coveted new SPs quite the collector’s quest.
While SP stands for “sticker premium,” these inserts have developed over the past few decades into true holy grails for sports card collectors due to their randomized scarcity within releases and inclusion of desirable additional autographs, relics, and complex parallel designs beyond basic base cards. The term SP has now become synonymous with some of the most sought-after premium parallel cards across the entire trading card industry.
