Four words do most of the work on a modern checklist, and three of them are routinely used to mean each other. Here is what each one means on the sheets we parse, with how often it appears across the 426,765 cards we have catalogued.
What is a parallel?
The same card issued in a different finish. Same photograph, same card number, different surface and usually a different print run. A parallel is a separate entry on the checklist, which is why checklists are so much longer than the number of players in them.
Parallels are where almost all serial numbering lives. 128,589 of our entries carry a stated print run, and the great majority of those are parallel finishes rather than base cards.
What is an insert?
A card from a themed subset that sits alongside the base set rather than inside it. An insert has its own name, its own numbering sequence and usually its own odds line. Where a parallel is the same card in a new finish, an insert is a different card altogether.
What is a short print?
A card printed in smaller quantity than the rest of its set without necessarily carrying a serial number. We have 1,212 entries flagged as short prints. The term is slippery because it describes a decision rather than a stated number, and a manufacturer is not obliged to say by how much.
What is a relic or an autograph card?
A relic carries a piece of material, usually fabric. An autograph carries a signature, either signed on the card or on a sticker applied to it. We hold 21,696 autograph entries and 20,054 relic entries. The two overlap: a card can be both.
Which of these actually means scarce?
Only the serial number states a quantity. Parallel, insert, short print and relic describe what a card is, not how many exist. A numbered parallel tells you both; the other three tell you one without the other.
