Every hobby

One-of-One

Also written: 1/1 · One of one

A card with a print run of exactly one — the only copy that exists.

Serial numberThe print run is stated on the card

A one-of-one is a card whose print run is exactly one. It is stamped 1/1, and it is the only copy in existence. There is no second one to compare it against, no market of comparable sales in the ordinary sense, and no way to replace it.

The two kinds

Designed one-of-ones

The top rung of a colour ladder — the rarest tier a manufacturer built into the set on purpose. Topps' Superfractor is the best-known example; most modern ladders end in a black or gold tier at a run of one.

By-product one-of-ones

Printing plates — the actual aluminium plates used to print the set, one per ink colour, released into packs. They are unique by physics rather than by design, and they trade at a discount to designed 1/1s because there are four of them per card and they do not look like finished cards.

Waffles.cards sells packs of real singles we physically hold, with the odds published on every pack. Rip a pack or browse the card shop.