Like all hobbies and professions, there’s plenty of jargon and specialized terms used in the sports card industry. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common terms you’ll come across in the hobby.
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- What does ‘Case Hit’ mean – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary
A ‘Case Hit’ is a rare card found once per sealed case of sports cards. A sealed case contains a set number of boxes of cards, usually 12 boxes. So, for a sports card set in which 12 hobby boxes are shipped as part of a case, a case hit is a card that can… Read more: What does ‘Case Hit’ mean – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary - What is a ‘Break’ – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary
One phenomenon that has gained a lot of traction in The Hobby since about 2020 (during The Pandemic) are “breaks”. Breaks are a card buying format where, rather than buying a whole box of cards (or a case of cards), you buy a portion of a box of cards (or case). This is referred to… Read more: What is a ‘Break’ – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary - What does ‘FOTL’ mean – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary
FOTL stands for First Off The Line and refers to the small percentage of Panini cards that are delivered early to collectors when they purchase products directly from the Panini website. What makes FOTL special is that in addition to arriving a few days early into the hands of collectors, these boxes also contain exclusive… Read more: What does ‘FOTL’ mean – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary - What does ‘RPA’ mean – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary
RPA stands for “Rookie – Patch – Auto” and are arguably the most coveted class of modern sports cards in production today. But what exactly are RPA sports cards? RPA’s are rookie cards that also include a patch of a player’s jersey and their autograph. By themselves, rookie cards are already desirable. As are patch… Read more: What does ‘RPA’ mean – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary - What does ‘PWE’ mean – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary
PWE stands for Plain White Envelope. It’s an abbreviation that is used often within the card collecting community on Twitter, Facebook, IG, etc., when referencing how a trading card will be shipped. The cards will be shipped to you in a standard white letter envelope with minimal protection and NO tracking number. (The exception is… Read more: What does ‘PWE’ mean – Definition – The Sports Card Glossary
