4 Sleeper Cards of Elvis, Michael Jackson, and Other Musicians
It's well known by anyone paying attention to our hobby that sports cards are having a historical run. Everyone knows that TCG cards are also on fire - just join any break for One Piece or Pokémon cards. The most expensive card ever sold is a Pokémon card! It's more true than ever that sports cards aren't the only cards that motivate fans and collectors. For decades, cards have been made of many musicians and artists. More recently have been included in packs of sports cards as an extra chase.
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VICTORIA VEDETTEN PARADE 1969 MICHAEL JACKSON
While it might seem strange to call a non-sports card a "rookie" card, that's exactly what this Michael Jackson card is. Released as an insert in packs of Belgian chocolate, the card features a young Jackson as a member of the Jackson Five, before his days as the "King of Pop".
TOPPS ARCHIVES HEAVY METAL AUTOGRAPH 2013 AXL ROSE
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Whether you're a fan of Guns N Roses or not, there's no denying that Axl Rose has become a pop culture icon over the last decades. Topps' Heavy Metal autograph sub-set, released as part of their Topps Archives baseball product back in 2013, included a redemption card for an autograph card of the singer. Apparently holders of the redemption card had to wait a long time to receive the auto card, but it was worth the wait - it's a striking on-card autograph of Rose, signed over a great photo of the front man in concert.
PANINI PRIZM ROLLING STONES COLOR BLAST 2025 KEITH RICHARDS
Panini Prizm's Rolling Stones product, which came out last year, didn't include any autographs of the band members but did have well-loved inserts like Color Blast which delighted fans and collectors of the legendary band. Keith Richards, Rock's favorite and original bad boy, gets the Color Blast treatment above to great effect.
TOPPS BUBBLE INC. 1956 ELVIS PRESLEY
Topps issued an Elvis only set in 1956 under its Bubble, Inc. brand, the first card product to focus on only one artist. For Elvis collectors, there's a lot to like - a great shot of the singer doing what he did best, with the added feature of the caption inside of a red guitar at the bottom of the card.
Brian Hough became a fan of the hobby by opening packs of 1986 Donruss and 1987 Topps baseball with his dad and little brother. He has been writing about the collectibles industry for years, initially as a price guide editor for Tuff Stuff Magazine, which was a monthly sports magazine focused on sports cards and collectibles, particularly known for its price guides and checklists, that initially launched in April 1984.