# Numbering of rare sports cards **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 4, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numbering-of-rare-sports-cards/711834 "2015-02-04T19:38:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numbering-of-rare-sports-cards/711834/1 "2015-02-04T19:38:27Z")
Why do sports card companies number their rare inserts to 99? Like 10/199, 273/399 and so forth? Why not make it an even 200 or 400 or 600 or what have you? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numbering-of-rare-sports-cards/711834/2 "2015-02-04T19:49:04Z")
Moved to the Game Room. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numbering-of-rare-sports-cards/711834/3 "2015-02-04T19:50:49Z")
Would this have the same answer as why retailers price $.99 instead of $1, $4.99 instead of $5, etc? concerning the perception of the smallness of the numbers… ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numbering-of-rare-sports-cards/711834/4 "2015-02-05T10:40:05Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > Why do sports card companies number their rare inserts to 99? Like 10/199, 273/399 and so forth? Why not make it an even 200 or 400 or 600 or what have you? Having previously collected baseball cards I am at a loss as to what you are trying to get at. Could you be a little more specific? What is 10/199? What rare sports cards are you refering to? What inserts are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![RobotDevilDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@RobotDevilDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobotDevilDog)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numbering-of-rare-sports-cards/711834/5 "2015-02-05T11:13:45Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > Why do sports card companies number their rare inserts to 99? Like 10/199, 273/399 and so forth? Why not make it an even 200 or 400 or 600 or what have you? You can actually find cards numbered both ways – some use the /99 or /999 standard, but I’ve also seen plenty of cards numbered out of 100 or 250 or 1000. I suppose each manufacturer decides which way they want to do it, but I can’t really imagine why one way is better than the other. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numbering-of-rare-sports-cards/711834/6 "2015-02-05T12:52:17Z")
> [@Waterman](#): > > Having previously collected baseball cards I am at a loss as to what you are trying to get at. Could you be a little more specific? What is 10/199? What rare sports cards are you refering to? What inserts are you talking about? > **[Baseball Relic Cards - Jersey and Bat](https://www.homeruncards.com/memorabilia/)** > > Game Worn Jersey and Game Used Bat Memorabilia Relic Cards for sale at Homeruncards.com. Card companies will make a very limited run of a special insert card - such as the ones linked to above. Cards with pieces of jersey on them, cards with dirt from stadiums in them, cards with fancy holographic printing, etc. There are several examples linked where the print run is limited to 199 cards (or 99 cards, etc.). So each individual card in that series is numbered: 001/199, 002/199, 003/199 … 199/199. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numbering-of-rare-sports-cards/711834/7 "2015-02-05T20:07:55Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > [Baseball Relic Cards - Jersey and Bat](http://www.homeruncards.com/memorabilia/) > > Card companies will make a very limited run of a special insert card - such as the ones linked to above. Cards with pieces of jersey on them, cards with dirt from stadiums in them, cards with fancy holographic printing, etc. There are several examples linked where the print run is limited to 199 cards (or 99 cards, etc.). So each individual card in that series is numbered: 001/199, 002/199, 003/199 … 199/199. Thanks for the info - my collecting days were before the insert cards!😃 ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numbering-of-rare-sports-cards/711834/8 "2015-02-06T02:56:03Z")
I’m not sure this is any fixed standard. I have seen many different numbers in a limited edition print run. I think it’s individual to the company, the set, sometimes the subject (eg a 1/66 card run for a Mario Lemieux insert as that was his jersey number) etc.