Topps - US - Star Wars Series 4 (Green Border) (1977)

For the fourth series of Star Wars cards, Topps moved on to the color green. The stickers for this set had a 'movie reel' style border.

Again there were 66 cards and 11 stickers. The most famous or infamous bit of trivia about this set was the accidental inclusion of an image some parents thought was obscene. No, really. It doesn't seem the sort of thing you associate with Star Wars, and maybe that's why the 'obscene' card is still famous even today.

Various stories exist about how the image came to be included in the set, everything from an accidental trick of the light, to a deliberate prank by either a LucasFilm or a Topps employee. However it happened, it made card number 207 one of the most famous vintage Star Wars cards ever produced.

Card number 207, as it was originally printed, appeared to give C-3P0 an added appendage that would not be particularly necessary for a droid. For this reason, the card is often referred to by collectors as the obscene version of the card. In reality, the added appendage (which might indeed be a trick of the light in the photograph) isn't terribly noticeable at first glance, and far from being obscene, is somewhat humorous in appearance.

Parents of course were not amused, and as rumors about the existence of an 'obscene' Star Wars card circulated, complaints began to come in. Topps responded by reprinting card 207 for subsequent print lots.

It is a myth that the obscene 207 is rare. It is not rare. The same number of 207 cards were printed as any other card in the initial print run. In other words, thousands and thousands of these cards were printed. The same is true of the corrected version of the card. Neither card is particularly hard to locate.

It is true that the card is generally over priced when being sold. Most collectors want to own a copy of this unusual card, and generally they want to own both versions. For this reason, because demand for the card is artificially high, prices tend to range from $5-20 for this one card. Collectors should consider carefully what they are willing to pay for the card however, by keeping in mind it is not scarce.