Sports cards

Photo Variation

Also written: Variation · Image variation · SP variation

The same card number with a different photograph — usually short-printed, and usually unmarked.

ArtThe picture changes

A photo variation is the same card — same set, same card number, same design — printed with a different photograph. It is the art mechanism at its purest, and it is almost always a short print: produced in far smaller numbers than the ordinary version of that card number.

The problem is that nothing on the card says so. There is usually no serial number, no "variation" wording, and no marking of any kind. The card announces itself only by being a different picture, which means you have to know what the ordinary picture looks like.

How to spot one

1. Compare against the base image. A checklist with images, or any listing of the ordinary card, settles it in seconds.
2. Watch for the usual variation cues — a celebration shot instead of an action shot, a different uniform or an alternate jersey, a throwback design, a cameo by a mascot, a teammate or a retired player.
3. Check the sets known to run them. Variations are concentrated in particular products; if you are sorting a set that is known for them, check every card number against the checklist rather than spot-checking.

Variations also have parallels of their own in some products, so a variation can be both a short print and a coloured parallel at the same time — see the mega guide on stacking.

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