This is just a small sampling of my trading card collection featuring the greatest trilogy in American Cinema History: Back To The Future.
There have been only a handful of official/licensed Back To The Future cards – mostly produced in conjunction with the release of the 2nd and 3rd movies. In 1989, Topps released Back To The Future II, a full set of 88 (88 mph, get it?) cards plus 11 stickers. Boxes also had an advertising poster included.
For the first movie, in 1985 Kellogg’s produced a small set of 8 cards in a handful of their cereal boxes: Corn Pops, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes and Mashmallow Krispies. It’s likely these were only distributed in Canada, which bilingual backs featuring English and French captions. These are extremely rare, as they were likely distributed in very low print runs to begin with, and very few have likely survived.
Also in 1985, Panini released a set of 180 stickers, along with a sticker album, for the first movie. These aren’t nearly as rare as the Kelloggs cards, but still demand a premium online (many of these appear to have been originally distributed in the UK).
Later on, Leaf inserted a number of BTTF Stars cards and autographs into their Pop Century sets – cards of Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Marc McClure were featured.
As far as my personal collection goes, I’ve been lucky that there are a ton of customs, unlicensed, novelty and ACEO style cards that have been made over the years.
First and Foremost, BTTF themes have been included in a number of Garbage Pail Kids series, which are a ton of fun. We also have some cards from BAM!, Big Beast, Heavy Trading Cards (check out the Nike MAG cards), and more.
Back To The Future Trading Card Checklist
1985 Kelloggs Back To The Future Movie Cards
- 8 card set
- Likely distributed only in Canada, available in cereal box products
- Bi-lingual backs, French and English
1985 Panini Back To The Future Movie Stickers
- 180 sticker set
- Came with Sticker Album
1989 Topps Back To The Future II Movie Cards
- 88 card base set
- 11 sticker cards
- #11 Time Machine Delorean ✓
- Sealed boxes included a poster
1990 Amblin Back To The Future III Stickers
- Similar to the 1985 Kelloggs, these were likely distributed only in Canada and in cereal products
- There are at least 7 cards in this set, possibly an 8-card set as before
- Bi-lingual backs, French and English
- #4 Mad Dog Tannen ✓
- #7 Steam Engine ✓
1990 Spitting Image #10 Michael J. Fox ✓
- Not BTTF themed, but Michael J. Fox specifically
- Spitting Image parody television show in the UK in the late ’80s and early ’90s
2012 Magic The Gathering
- “Inspiration” Wizards of the Coast #42/274 base (artwork clearly inspired by Doc Brown) ✓
- Foil variation ✓
2013 Topps 75th Anniversary #90
- Single card inserted in the Topps 75th Anniversary set, which commemorated all earlier Topps non-sports sets
- Base card #90 ✓
- Rainbow foil variation #90 ✓
2013 Back To The Future Almanac Promo Cards
- 14 card set, inspired by the 1989 Topps set
- Set numbering carries on from where the 1989 Topps set left off
- Primarily handed out at 2015 San Diego Comic-Con
- Many cards feature various collectibles connected with the film
2015 Topps Garbage Pail Kids 30th Anniversary Series
- 1a Tardy Marty ’80s Spoof Sticker base card ✓
- 1b Nick Of Time ’80s Spoof Sticker base card ✓
- 1b Nick Of Time Green border ✓
- Variations include colored borders (Black, Blue, Brown, Gold, Green, Metallic Red, Pink, Sepia, Silver), Character Backs, and printing plates
2015 San Diego Comic-Con Lenticular Card
- Single card promo for Back To The Future: The Ultimate Visual Guide Book
2020 “The Artwork of John DiBiase” Artist Trading Card
- Card no. 5 “Marty’s Out of Time” ✓
2022 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Book Worms
- 78a Big Bucks Biff base card ✓
- Booger green ✓
- Inkwell Black ✓
- 78b Al-Manac base card ✓
- Booger green ✓
- Inkwell Black ✓
- Variations: Booger Green, Inkwell Black, Moby Dick Grey /199, Sleep Drool Blue /99, Red Herring Red /75, Fool’s Gold /50, printing plates
2022 Big Beast #BC-1
- Base version ✓
- Foil version ✓
BAM! GEEK fan art sketch series
- Marty McFly ✓
- Biff Tannen ✓
- Foil variations
Gross Card Con #P3 ✓
- GPK style card featuring Doc Brown on the click tower
- Art by michael Barnard, GPK and Wacky Warehouse
Custom Movie Poster cards for I, II and III ✓
2022 Heavy Trading Cards series 2
- #8 Nike MAG base card /99 ✓
- #8 Nike MAG foil variation /49 ✓
- #8 Nike MAG “Space Time” prism /8
- #8 Nike MAG “Broken Continuum” foil prism /5
- #8 Nike MAG “Fractured Space Time” holo prism 1/1
- #8 Nike MAG “Whoa” foil prism 1/1
2023 Heavy Trading Cards series 3
- #1 Michael J. Fox base card /75 (not Back To The Future related, specifically Michael J. Fox) ✓
- #1 Michael J. Fox SP foil /35 ✓