Civil War Trading Cards

For some of my older readers this post may bring back some fond memories of childhood and the Civil War Centennial.  Below is a small selection of Civil War cards that was released in 1962 by Topps.  Two additional collections of Civil War cards were also released which you can read about here.  Of course, I remember collecting baseball cards, but I am pretty sure that this series had been retired long before I took the weekly allowance down to the local candy store.  What I find so striking is the scale of violence depicted on some of these cards.  I have no doubt that they are responsible for fueling many a young boy’s imagination.  Click here for a much larger collection of cards as well as a price list.  Enjoy!

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8 comments… add one
  • Ian Oliver Dec 18, 2013 @ 11:20

    I have a partial set of these cards, they are exactly the same but were printed in England. Does anybody know if they are worth anything? most of them are in good condition

  • Roger Green Aug 18, 2013 @ 17:26

    I was nine when they came out and they STILL creep me out!

  • Mark Payne Apr 23, 2013 @ 10:51

    These cards bring back graet memories. I had a set from age 8-11. It started a life long interest in the Cival War for me. What fantastic illustrations that made the whole set exciting as a young man, and the brief expanations on the back of the cards kept me mezmorized. I wish I still had them.

  • Ray O'Hara Sep 2, 2011 @ 9:45

    I guess I come under the heading of older reader as I collected those cards.

  • Chris Evans Feb 24, 2010 @ 17:05

    Thanks for posting this. I have not seen these Civil War cards before. Very fascinating and interesting!
    Chris

  • Charles Lovejoy Feb 23, 2010 @ 14:07

    I brought home a set of these when I was about 6 or 7 and I also remember Topps or someone else making a set of WW 2 cards like these I had also . My father who was a ww2 combat vet turned 60's peacenic thought they were evil but he let me keep them along with my Marx Civil war set.

  • jfe Feb 23, 2010 @ 12:36

    I remember having these!

  • Tom Feb 23, 2010 @ 3:59

    Yes, those Topps cards are pretty awesome. I was too young when they first came out, but bought a few back in the 1980’s. They were $3 to $5 then, which was a lot for a trading card. An interesting window into the marketing of the centennial. A lot of the non-sports Topps card from this period have been reprinted: Mars Attacks, Batman, etc. I wish someone would reissue these for the 150th.

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