I've run into some folks who very determinedly use one particular term for the specials of one set - and then into others who equally determinedly use a different term for the specials of the same set - or for a different set from which the specials appear to be the same type, to me. I've seen people who refer to anything with a silvery sheen as a foil, and others who refer to the same type card as a prism. And 'chase cards' as specials or as ultra-rare specials, or as promotional cards. *ack* Can anyone give me a good definition (examples from common sets would not hurt either) of the following terms? And where they intersect or exclude each other? If we can agree on good common terms, I'd like to post it on my trading page, for reference for other clueless people like me. Chase cards foils platina holofoil prism 'soft' vs 'hard' metallic inserts embossed 'hidden prisms' (are these ones not on the card list? Like the specials for Those Who Hunt Elves II which aren't on the card list and are numbered the same as the regular cards but have a little apostrophe after the number? ... although those are rather metallic foily-looking, so I have no idea which term applies to them) What is the term for a sparkly card that has a visual texture like colored confetti? I.E. the Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne specials that are very shiny but not prismatic nor metallic? These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head - what other terms are there for specials, and how are those terms defined? Any info agreed on will be helpful!

Spirit Mother says: Becca, don't know if my site will help you on some of these, but there are a few items that I do cover on it. There is a section covering the differences between hard and soft prisms linked to the PP card page. The US/Amada sets have scans of all the clear "chase" cards from each set linked to them. The Hero Collection series has scans of some of the Platina cards. The Super Battle collection has a scan of the "hidden" and "double" prism bottom layers and an explanation as well. I realize this doesn't cover all your terms, but may be of some help. Even though my stuff is Dragonball and Dragonball Z, most of the mfg are the same and the styles are alike. If it helps, feel free to link to it. The sparkly cards are often called "parallels", pearls, or semi-prisms. The prism cards with different looking patterns are called prism variants. Those can also be found linked to the PP card page. Hope this helps! Thanks, spiritMother

Chibi_Mako says: -And a little one - are clear cards called clears or crystals? I'm not an expert on the card names either... but I've seen clear cards called both clears and crystals. I know that (for example) the Ah My Goddess Perfect Collection cards that are clear are called "crystal" if you read the description of the cards on the back of each pack, but I have no idea if, say, the Record of Lodoss War PP cards that are clear are called the same thing. I would assume so, but I'm not positive. Usually if someone says "clear" or "crystal" I just assume they mean the same thing, and if I'm buying something like that on eBay I don't bid on it unless it has a picture or else I'm positive what it is. Oh yeah, and as for "platina", I'm pretty sure Katherine is right--I've never seen anything but Sailormoon Hero Collection cards referred to as platina (doesn't "PC" in the card name mean "platina card"?). Just adding my two (hopefully helpful) cents.

* KT Goodman and - MVMina had a good discussion too: *This does apply to the whole list, doesn't it? I thought I'd reply to all and see if we have any sort of agreement on this. *Chase cards - anything that's not a common card - I think this encompasses prisms, foils, clears, etc. EX: Carddass Masters SP cards, PP prisms, Amada foil/clear/metallic/etc. They would be "chase" because you have to chase after them...? * Foils - I've usually seen these defined as the kind of card that's like the Card Captor Sakura PP cards. * Platina - Aren't these those foil-framed cards that come in the Sailor Moon/Rayearth Hero Collection sets? I always thought that those were the only ones called "platina". - The term "foil" is sometimes used as a general term for any metallic or sparkly chase card, though it is most commonly used as a term for metallic cards with a mirror-like finish, like the Sailor Moon PP foils, Hero Collection Platinas, Bromides, or DBZ Artbox gold cards. Sometimes they are also called "etchings," because of the etched designs or borders (the katakana on the SM PP 14 envelopes use that term to refer to foils). * Holofoil - Pokemon foil cards. I think it's a popular thing to slap on your auction on eBay because some people search for "holofoil". - Sakura Taisen Trading Collection 1 & 2 holos (the cards numbered H-1, H-2, etc.) probably fall into this category, since they are printed on patternless holographic stock. * Prism - Well, since actual prisms reflect rainbows, I'd say it's any of the cards that do that. EX: Sailor Moon prisms, Utena PP prisms, KareKano PP prisms, Graffiti prisms, etc. I think those KKJ sparkly cards could also be called prisms, since they do pretty much the same thing. Prisms only come with PP cards, or so I've seen, with the exception of those KKJ cards. * 'soft' vs 'hard' - Soft are the sticker prisms, hard are the non-sticker prisms. Isn't it true that the hard prisms came with the card sets when you bought them as sets, and as stickers in the pull packs? I have some MKR soft prisms, but the majority are hard prisms, and I've also never received a hard prism in a pull pack. - Hard prisms are also found in Hero Collection, Trading Collection, and DX Bromide card sets. - I have gotten hard prisms in 34-card pull packs--Sailor Moon PP 7, Sailor Moon PP 12, and either Dragon Ball Z PP 27 or PP 28. Soft prisms are usually exclusive to 34-card pull packs, and a couple of PP sets (MKR PP 2 and DBZ PP 29) only seem to have soft prisms. * metallic - I usually use this to describe the cards like Carddass Masters SP cards (except for Kenshin Carddass 2, I think those are more foil) but the terms really should be switched since the CCS and RK cards feel like they're made of metal, whereas the other ones are just shiny and don't really feel like metal at all. * inserts - no idea, someone else take this one - Inserts are pieces of paper or non-metallic stickers included in some foil pack sets. In Bandai Carddass Masters sets, there's usually only one type. Occasionally, they can be mailed away for other items; there was a offer in Card Captor Sakura CDM2 in which box buyers could mail 15 pack inserts, and receive a special metallic card in return. Inserts in Hero Collection or Trading Collection sets often had product advertisements or card checklists, and could often be collected as a subset. HC and TC sets sometimes included mail-away inserts; those inserts had spaces for the finder's name, address, and phone number. The Sailor Moon Trading Collection gold card would have been obtained by sending in a mail-away insert. * embossed - the CCS PP SP are examples of this - they have text or a graphic pressed into the card. * 'hidden prisms' (are these ones not on the card list? Like the specials for Those Who Hunt Elves II which aren't on the card list and are numbered the same as the regular cards but have a little apostrophe after the number? ... although those are rather metallic foily-looking, so I have no idea which term applies to them). Again, I don't know about this one. - With Bandai Super Battle (sometimes called "Power Level") vending cards like Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, or Rurouni Kenshin, hidden prisms are cards that look like regular cards, but the top layer can be peeled off to reveal a prism underneath. Banpresto Twin mini cards are another example of this. - Special cards that also have regular versions with the same card number would be parallel specials. - And a related question--how would the Pokemon Team Rocket NA holofoil #83 of 82 (the Dark Raichu card) be classified, since the card is outside the numbering range? * And a little one - are clear cards called clears or crystals? - I've seen both terms used, though "clear" is the more common term. SM Charamide clear cards are usually called sericels or cel cards, though.

Himura Kenshin no Marmalade Boy weighed in too: I bet this question comes up partially since you probably saw all of the different card names that I have on my trading card list. I typically just use whatever name the set gives the cards. For example, Card Captor Sakura PP Part 1 called the special cards "Character" on the back of the envelope. However the specials from Card Captor Sakura PP Part 2 are the same type of card as those in PP Part 1. But, on the back of the PP Part 2 envelopes, they are listed as "Metallic." So, on my list, I list the PP Part 1 specials as "Character" and the ones from PP Part 2 as "Metallic." Although they are the same type of card, I prefer to go by the name the producer gave them, even if they are different from set to set. Another example are the clear cards from... Trigun Trading Collection and Slayers Next Perfect Collection. Although they are the same type of card, Amada will call them "Crystal" and Movic will call them "Special." Still, if people call them "Clear" or "Cel" cards, you will still know what they are. Still yet another example are the Sailor Moon PP Part 14 and Magic Knight Rayearth Hero Collection cards. They both have similar silver type special cards in them. However, Amada have the cards in Sailor Moon PP Part 14 the name "Etching" and the Magic Knight Rayearth Hero Collection ones "Platina" (which is Japanese-way to say Platinum, in a sense ^_^×). So, even though they are the same thing, the only reason why I make a difference in names between the two is to stay consistent with the packaging. Himura Kenshin no Marmalade Boy http://members.tripod.com/~HimuraKenshinMB/cardlist.html

My own definitions, after seven years in trading and a few years after I asked that question, are as follows: Chase cards - I agree, any rare or special card you have to chase after Platina - Cards with specifically silver platinum metal border to them - these can be found in the Hero collections for Rayearth, Sailor Moon and Marmalade Boy Prism - A card which sparkles - whether with a patterned texture, confetti sparkles, or other luminous quality 'Soft' vs 'Hard' - soft prisms can be peeled and used as stickers, hard prisms are a single card. Metallic - cards with a metallic quality to them and hard surface Inserts - slips included with trading card packs, may be advertisement cards or prize sendaway slips Embossed - having a raised area or an area impressed with print of another color which feels different when you rub your finger over it 'Hidden prisms' are actually prism PP card which are hidden underneath a sticker which looks like the other pp cards in the set Crystal Cards - also called clear cards, sericel or cel cards in Sailor Moon Charamide, these cards have the image in a clear plastic card, visible from both sides although usually more clearly from the front side Cel Overlay Cards - this is a new type with the Ah My Goddess K Character sets, in which there is a background card with a top layer of cel material and a character painted/printed on it Foils - cards with a highly shiny and sometimes metallic quality to them Holo - short for holographic, refers to card with a rainbow effect as you turn them. Holofoil - A card with a sparkling foil quality at the same time as it has a holographic sheen to it Holographic - Has an image within the card that may change as you turn it. Only sample I've found is in the Rayearth Tomy Perfect Collection Etching - may have an image emboss/inlaid in line-type, which will feel different as your rub your finger across it Gold cards - these are actually made of metal with a gold color to it Washi - cards printed on special Japanese rice paper, these have a different texture and a silky look to the image Parallel cards - cards that match the image of a regular card but have additional special effects such as foil type, washi paper, or embossing, for instance Promo cards - cards which are released individually separate from the set to promote the series, for instance cards released with toys, with binders, sent to comic shops in advance to promote a new set, given away at conventions, or mailed away for using mail-in inserts and given away in a magazine Zennin - promo cards specifically mailed away for using mail-in inserts Furoku - promo cards which came specifically as a freebie with a magazine Box cards - promo cards which came attached to a trading card series at a rate of 1/box or 1/case (also case card) What is the term for a sparkly card that has a visual texture like colored confetti? I.E. the Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne specials that are very shiny but not prismatic nor metallic? - a confetti prism or just a prism. No one has ever definitely answered my original question regarding cards which are not listed on the card lists - I personally now refer to these as 'secret' cards. There is one each in the Vampire Miyu and Narumi Kakinouchi sets at 1/case, one in the Ideon set at about 1/5 boxes, six in the Those Who Hunt Elves II set at either 2 or 3 per box, and the 83 Raichu card in the 1-82 North American pokemon sets. Cards can be a combination of these types! You can have a gold-embossed sp on washi paper, a zennin holofoil, or a hidden metallic card. Hopefully this list will