Topps - US - Star Wars Chrome Archives (1999)

This set has an interesting claim to fame in that it is the last classic Star Wars set to be released by Topps prior to the arrival of the prequels on film. It is perhaps fitting then that this set revives the best of the classic Topps cards with some of the best new card technology available. The Chrome Archives set was released May 10, 1999. The set contains 90 common cards and 13 chase cards. Saying this, I just have to add that there is nothing common about these common cards. For card fans who enjoyed the Star Wars Finest set, this set is twice as good. If you are a card collector, you need to have the Chrome Archives set as part of your collection.

The Star Wars Chrome Archives set revisits the original Star Wars cards that were released between 1977 and 1983. The vintage cards remain fan favorites for good reason. For older fans, the cards are a reminder of our childhood enjoyment of the Star Wars films, and of collecting the cards for those films. The vintage cards featured great images, fun captions (with lots of exclamation points), and stickers and gum in every pack. You couldn't get anything better; until now.

The Chrome Archives set applies Chrome technology to 90 original card images (30 from each classic film). Images have been re-mastered for these cards, and they look incredible. I can't emphasize that enough, these cards look great. They are heavy stock, with a glossy finish to the back, high quality images that have been embossed, and have a high level of detail. Did I mention they look great? Every common card for this set is equal to almost any chase card from another set. Topps might just be spoiling card collectors.

The chase cards for this set are also great. They include two types, clear chrome cards (1:18), and double-sided chrome cards (1:12). The double-sided chrome cards recreate images from original stickers on the front, while their backs show an image of the original movie poster. The clear chrome cards bring back the clear chrome technology that was first seen in the Star Wars Galaxy 3 card set. Essentially these 'cards' are printed on clear plastic, so that the image is visible from either side, and the image is enhanced by the ability of light to shine through. Featuring four major characters, the clear chrome cards are really spectacular.

If there is a problem with this set, it is the difficulty the average collector is going to have completing the full set. At an average retail price of $3 per pack (for a 5 card pack), this set is not cheap to complete even if you just attempt to make the common cards. Collecting all 13 chase cards as well will prove difficult for most collectors. This set is really intended for the avid Star Wars card collector. Having said that, a patient collector will find that these cards do still come up for sale on eBay, and unopened boxes of the cards can still be purchased.

I owe thanks to the following people for assistance with this page: Andy Dukes, David Polis, Daniel Skowronski, Rick Bors, Keith Jakubowski, and Jeff Tedder, among others.