Desert Storm trading cards

Desert Storm trading cards are sets of trading cards that feature people and equipment involved in the Persian Gulf War. The cards were published in the United States by various companies and the size of sets varied greatly between companies (such as the nine-card set published by Crown Sports Cards, and the 250 card-set published by Pro Set). The cards were claimed to be educational, with proceeds of the sales benefiting the children of Persian Gulf War veterans, and were produced at a time when the trading card industry was expanding its range well outside of the traditional sports figures.

The Topps set is made up of 88 cards and 22 stickers, and includes images of people and material from all sides of the conflict. They display people such as Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. and Dick Cheney, or military weapons or vehicles. As Commander in Chief, George H. W. Bush was featured as the first card in the series. The weapon and equipment cards give descriptions of each item's features, with information supplied by sources from The Pentagon and weapon suppliers. A package of nine cards and one sticker cost 50¢. Topps commented on the series stating it was "neither frivolous nor opportunistic", and the product did not "glamorize war". Topps insisted the cards provided adults and children educational information in a "non-sensational way".

Topps issued the Desert Storm Collector Cards in three series: Series I: Coalition For Peace, Series II: Victory Series and Series III: Homecoming Edition.

Pro Set entered the field after Topps did and, they claimed, they took their inspiration from the troops themselves, who supposedly asked the company, "Why don't you do a set of cards to tell Americans what we're doing over here." They published a set of 250 cards (including foreign leaders and countries of the middle east), sold in packs of ten, with proceeds going to "charities for the children of Desert Storm veterans", according to the company's president.Pacific Trading Cards published a 110-card set, and a set of nine caricatures was published by Crown Sports Cards.

Desert Storm trading cards were part of a broader movement within the trading card industry, which looked to move away from an "oversaturated and...overpriced" market, and had begun printing cards featuring "cartoon heroes, television personalities, rock stars and even murderers".

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Wikipedia