America at War- iCardz Presents Trading Card Tribute to Band of Brothers

The all new, America at War Series 1, trading card set, is a welcome addition to the non-sport genre. Subtitled as the Band of Brothers/D-Day edition, the 192-card set focuses primarily on America’s role in the European theater of WWII and specifically on the Normandy invasion.

The card set chronicles many aspects of the war. From logistics and planning to weapons and equipment, but most importantly to the soldiers on the ground known as Easy Company. This rugged “Band of Brothers” herald from the US Army’s 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 4th Brigade combat team of the 101st Airborne Division, and known as the "Screaming Eagles. Well documented for their heroic campaigns from D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge, America at War takes the collector, educator or historian deeper by providing a unique glimpse at the human side of the cost of warfare. The card backs are meticulous with their descriptions without being lackluster or tedious. In fac,t it took me a while to open the boxes’ 24 packs for the simple fact that I enjoyed reading the card backs so much. I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt that way about a sports card product.

Manufactured by Canadian trading card manufacturer iCardz, the product incorporates elements familiar to most collectors but by utilizing them in a historical set such as this, the company has managed to put a new spin on these trading card set staples; autographs, and sketch cards. More importantly, they’ve made them very difficult to find, dropping, on average, at a rate of 1 in 6 boxes. This will help to insure their value on the secondary marketplace for years to come, a concept often overlooked by traditional manufacturers. In addition to the aforementioned cards, collectors will have the opportunity to pull Instant Win Entry Cards. Winners will be awarded original and authenticate WWII memorabilia including insignia patches and more. The company describes the unique collaboration that made these opportunities possible.

“Creating a relationship with Valor Studios of Montoursville, Pennsylvania, iCardz was able to access not only some of their top-notch original artwork that is featured on four of the cards in this collection, but also actual Band of Brothers members. These veterans, Lynn "Buck" Compton, William "Wild Bill" Guarnere, Edward Heffron, Clancy Lyall, Donald Malarkey, Amos "Buck" Taylor and Earl McClung, have subsequently hand-signed a limited number of America at War cards. And renowned artist Ingrid Hardy has created a limited number of hand-painted Sketch Cards for us as well.”[1]

Each pack of America at War contains (8) cards and boxes are collated to insure that each collector is able to assemble the complete set. The photography used in the product is aged and grainy adding to the aesthetic and patriotic card design. My one complaint about the product is the rough-cut edges which are noticeable, primarily on the back of the card, but certainly don’t do enough damage to detract from the set as a whole. In addition, my one recommendation for the product would be to incorporate a chase element with a couple of insert sets not only for the added value and challenge for the collector but revenue opportunity for the company in repeat purchasers.

The product is available direct through the company’s website in both packs, $3.95, and the complete set, $64.95. As with other non-sport companies, iCardz had the foresight to create a complete collectors binder, also available for purchase. ($19.95)

We currently live in an era where the last remaining members of our country’s population who herald from what we affectionately refer to as “The Greatest Generation”, are dying on a daily basis, their first hand stories to be forever silenced. The website for the product is appropriately titled LestWeForgetCardsUS.com and it is in forgetting our history that will forever pose a threat to world peace. America at War is a testimony to the horrors and heroes of war, neither of which, we should ever forget.

[1] http://lestweforgetcardsus.com/index.php?page=AaWcards