The Difference Between 1991 Topps and Desert Shield Baseball Cards

Topps Created Special Desert Shield Baseball Cards for Troops in the Middle East
  • January 06, 2025

1991 Topps Desert Shield baseball cards are far from "junk wax", and can be quite valuable! Just Collect will show you the difference between Topps and Desert Shield cards from 1991 with photos to help guide you.

The Gulf War in the Middle East took place between August 2nd, 1990, and January 17th, 1991. The war took place in two phases: Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The "Shield" phase is when the US built up forces and the "Storm" phase was the conflict. Topps created special baseball cards in 1991 to send over to US troops in the Middle East. Each soldier received a free pack, but rather than sending the same Topps cards you remember opening, the troops received the Desert Shield version. 

Desert Shield cards have a gold foil stamp that reads Operation Desert Shield. Here is an example of card #670, Rickey Henderson:

Rickey Henderson

Here is a card you and we opened from packs of 1991 Topps cards. Tony Gywnn, card #180.  As you can see, there is NO gold foil stamp for Operation Desert Storm like the troops received.

Tony Gywnn

The big question: how you can you tell if a sealed pack is a Topps pack or a Topps Desert Shield pack?

Sadly, you cannot. The only way to know if you have a Desert Shield pack is to open the pack and check for the Operation Desert Shield gold stamp. If you have a sealed box, and you open one pack, you'll quickly know whether the remainder of the packs are Topps or Topps Desert Shield. The box and the packs have no indication to tell you if the the cards are Desert Shield or not.

The value of each Desert Shield card is more than that of the regular Topps issue in 1991 based on two factors: quantity and condition.

Only 6,313 Desert Shield sets are estimated to have been created. Comparatively, about 5,000,000 sets of regular Topps sets were created.

Desert Shield cards were mailed to the Middle East at a time when safely storing your cards weren't a top priority. Imagine the journey of a pack: shipped from the United States to to Saudi Arabia. Distributed in a war zone. Carried around a war zone. Carried or mailed back to the United States. How many of the cards survived? How many survived in good condition...

PSA, one of the top grading companies, keeps a population report of how many 1991 Topps Desert Shield cards have been graded that you can find HERE. Using the Rickey Henderson card as an example, only 383 Desert Shield cards have been graded by PSA. Just 34 cards out of the 383 were graded Gem Mint 10. The value of a PSA 10 Desert Shield Rickey Henderson is about $1,000. The value of a Topps, non-Desert Shield graded PSA 10 is about $40 to $60. 

Rickey Henderson is a Hall of Fame player. Henderson stole more bases and scored more runs than any other player in baseball history. The 1990 American League MVP tallied over 3,000 career hits, and won the World Series twice. Those cards above feature the legend in his element: on the base paths. Tony Gwynn was one of the greatest hitters to step onto the field. Gwynn has a career batting average of .338, also tallied over 3,000 hits, and won eight batting titles! Gwynn is at the plate in his 1991 card, probably NOT striking out. Did you know that Gywnn only struck out 19 times in 1991? For comparison, Shoehi Ohtani, a generational player, struck out 162 times in 2024.

Now that you know the difference between 1991 Topps Desert Shield cards and the regular-issue 1991 Topps, make sure to check your cards! Maybe you have a rare card sitting with your "junk wax." Make sure to check those unexpected places to find cards!

If you have Desert Shield high-grade star players or complete sets, Just Collect is always buying! We are also always buying vintage cards and collections, too. See how you can sell your collect to Just Collect any time:

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Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.

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We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!  

Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.

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