Collectors guide

• The big idea
• What each catalog field means
• US Kenner cards
• Front revisions
• What the letters stand for
• Palitoy and related UK/EU cards
• Other countries
• A few walkthroughs

Kenner (and its licensees) kept putting the same characters on new cards as the line grew. Collectors needed a shared way to say “this Luke is on an early Star Wars card” versus “this Luke is on a later Empire card with a different offer on the back.”

That shared language is what you see in the Variant field. The codes were never printed in full on the package. They describe things you can actually see: how many figures are on the back, which print of that back it is, which film logo is on the front, and which printing of that front.

Browse the Star Wars Vintage catalog with that in mind: one row equals one packaging look.

A typical US carded figure looks like 20D1E2-3SW in Variant. Read it as four ideas stuck together:

• 20 means twenty figures pictured on the back. Collectors call this a 20-back. Later you also see 12-backs, 41-backs, 48-backs, 65-backs, and the 92-back Power of the Force cards.
• D1E2 names which print of that back. Letters separate backs that look different because of offers, stickers, or layouts. More on that below.
• 3 names which printing of the front within that film era. Collectors call these front revisions.
• SW is the Star Wars film logo on the front. ESB is Empire, ROTJ is Jedi, POTF is Power of the Force.

On the catalog row that becomes: Variant 20D1E2-3SW, Wave 20-back, Subline Star Wars, Manufacturer Kenner.

Power of the Force coin cards are simply 92A-POTF: one 92-back family under POTF branding.

The number before SW, ESB, or ROTJ is about the front of the card, not the back grid.

Kenner reprinted fronts while the same characters stayed on shelves. Collectors number those reprints in order for each film era: first Star Wars front, second Star Wars front, first Empire front, and so on. So 1SW and 3SW are two different Star Wars fronts. 3ESB and 7ESB are two different Empire fronts.

When a later front shows up, you are usually looking at changes like:

• Different photo of the figure (new crop, retouch, or replacement shot)
• Updated copyright line at the bottom of the front
• Tweaked logo or header art while staying in the same film branding
• Different front offer graphics (mail-away bubbles that appear, move, or disappear)
• Small plate changes collectors use as tells, such as name styling or punch details

Important: the letter block (like 21A) is mostly the back. The revision number is mostly the front. That is why you can see 21A-1SW and 21A-2SW as two real cards: same style of back lettering, two different Star Wars fronts.

Palitoy-style codes do not use this number+film ending. A UK code stops at the letter (or subletter), like 45B or 45CG.

Think of the letter as “which version of this N-back.” Early in a film run, A is often first, then B, then C as Kenner updates the back art or offers. Later families get more specific because collectors needed finer splits.

A few patterns you will meet often:

• 12A, 12B, 12C: successive early Star Wars 12-backs.
• 12DA, 12DB, 12DC: three different 12D prints. They are not interchangeable “12D” cards.
• 20D1 / 20D2 / 20E1 / 20E2: sticker and layout tracks on 20-backs (for example round versus sharp sticker corners). Combos like 20D1E2 mean those traits appear together.
• ER1, EC3, ER2: families of offer-extension stickers (common on 21-backs and 45-backs). ER is a rectangular style; EC is a circular style.
• 48A1, 48A2, 48B1…: split printings of 48-backs, including differences in how the “Collect all 48” pitch is set on the back.

You do not need to memorize every letter. Start with the number (how busy the back is), then ask what makes this letter different from the last one: offer, sticker, photo layout, or text placement. That is the logic.

UK Palitoy cards use a simpler looking code: 12A, 45B, 70D. Same idea as US N-backs and letters, but without the -3SW style ending. The film era is carried by Subline instead.

Roughly:

• 12A–12C and 20 sit under Star Wars packaging.
• 30A–45B cover the Empire years.
• 45C through 70A move into Jedi packaging.
• 70B–70D are Jedi-era Tri-Logo style packaging while the manufacturer stays Palitoy.

Extra letters after the parent (subletters) answer factory and country questions collectors care about:

So 45C and 45CG are two cards: the plain 45C parent, and the Hong Kong / Kader subletter version.

Nearby European cousins use their own prefixes:

• GM45A–GM45C: General Mills, Germany (Coalville 45-backs).
• CL45: Clipper, Netherlands.
• KPS…: Kenner card sold in the UK with a Palitoy sticker.

Outside the US/UK letter systems, entries are still named the way collectors talk about them.

• Lili Ledy (Mexico): Spanish card eras known as Imperio 10, Retorno 12, and Regreso 14 / 30 / 50. There are also 12″ large figures, including Sand People.
• Meccano (France): French card families such as 12, 20A–C, 45A, and 65A. Front eras are often nicknamed GDE, ECA, or ROJ.
• Tri-Logo (Europe): the multi-logo European look. Palitoy 70B–70D subletters already carry a lot of the factory and sticker detail for that era.
• Glasslite (Brazil): one basic card style with a nameplate sticker for C-3PO, R2-D2, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Han, Darth Vader, and Stormtrooper.

If Variant has a film suffix like 41A-5ESB, you are on a US Kenner card. International rows do not use that style of code.

Practical habit: glance at Manufacturer first, then read Variant as a short story about the card. Item numbers help you match sealed stock; Variant helps you match the printed front and back.