Star Trek A & BC
Release Date: 1969
55 card base set
3 Cards Per Pack
48 Packs Per Box
Checklist
Card Images
England released the first color ST set in 1969. It consists of 55 cards all from ONE episode, What are Little Girls Made of? Alternating cards have either a ‘space fact’ on the back or a scene synopsis. If we work under the assumption that paying royalties to use the story lines forced the Leaf set creators to be unique in their backs, perhaps A & BC avoided extra expense by only paying for one episode? They appear to share similar issues with the back of the cards. Kirk is listed as Roger and Spock as a Martian!
Prices vary according to quality. Collectors must watch out for gum and wax stains. A pack has 3 cards and one is usually ruined by being next to the piece of gim.
Again, due to the tendency to use rubber bands to store the sets, Cards #1 and #55 command a higher price in better conditions. Cards are slightly smaller then standard issue at 2 1/4 x 3/14.
Desilu vs. Paramount Copyright
The majority of all cards have a Paramount 1969 copyright date. There also seems to be a small supply of cards with a Desilu, 1968 copyright. Though the owner of the first known 4 cards has gone to great length, he has not been able to find out any information about this variation. The numbers are both low numbers and high numbers and seem to imply a complete set. The only known wrappers, interestingly enough, have a Desilu 1968 copyright date. The questions left unanswered are was this a test print or did they produce the set initially as a 1968 set and then later on change over to a 1969 set when Desilu sold ST to Paramount. One UK card store wondered if there was going to be a US release that never happened and these are related to that. What makes this even more interesting is that Star Trek did not premiere on British TV until June of 1969. Assuming a certain lead time for production (and it being released to the public in 1969), work on this set would have begun before Star Trek was even known in England yet.
One collector reports being offered a complete Desilu set for $25,000!. The collector didn’t actually see the set, however.
Inserts
None
Promos
None
Misc. Items
- Because of their scarcity, wrappers, packs and boxes (both opened and unopened command a good price.
- There is an A & BC generic album/binder, but it isn’t specifically for Star Trek.