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Last Updated On: April 19th, 2023
Imagine a gold trading card featuring a former U.S. President, Donald Trump, on the cover of Playboy standing next to a Playboy Playmate. The Playboy Playmate is Brandi Brandt. The topics of the time include sex, and racism. You can’t make this stuff up.
Released in 1995, the Donald Trump gold card was produced as part of the Playboy Chromium Covers 1st Edition set. The 1st edition base set checklist features around 300 cards depicting vintage Playboy covers over the 40 year history of the magazine at the time. Playboy magazine collectors may remember Donald Trump was featured on the March, 1990 issue.
The Donald Trump gold refractor parallel — a shinier reflective version of the base card — can reach upwards of $1,000 in MINT condition (and possibly even more, keep reading…).
In this post, we’ll discuss what the Donald Trump gold card is in detail, along with the gold refractor parallel, how to tell if it’s a refractor versus the base card, where to buy the Trump gold card, how rare it is, and its current value in the market.
Table of Contents
Playboy Chromium Donald Trump Gold Card Base Version
As mentioned earlier, the Trump gold card was originally included as part of a 300-card set of Playboy Chromium cover cards to commemorate the 40-year history of Playboy. The 1st Edition set was released through Sports Time Inc. and sold via wax boxes/packs as shown. The Trump gold base card — along with the other cards — could be randomly found in a wax pack.
How Rare is the Playboy Chromium Donald Trump Gold Card Base Version?
The base version of the Donald Trump gold card is more widely available than the refractor version, and is a really cool collectible available for purchase on eBay. There are over 50+ available cards when searched on eBay at any given time.
As of the writing of this post, PSA has graded 451 copies (labeled as ‘March 1990’ in the population report) of the Trump base card, with 207 of them designated as PSA 9 MINT condition, and just nine cards in GEM MINT 10 condition. This gives you a general idea of how many of the cards are currently available in the open market.
What is the Playboy Chromium Donald Trump Gold Card Base Worth?
The base version of the Playboy Chromium Cover Donald Trump card is valued at between $25 to $50.
For comparison, a PSA 9 MINT graded version last sold on eBay for $100 in April, 2023.
Playboy Chromium Donald Trump Gold Card Refractor Version
The Trump gold card refractor is a rare collectible that could only be obtained through a mail-in redemption process in the mid 1990’s. Fans had to send in the redemption to receive the Trump refractor along with 11 additional refractor cards featuring other celebrities and names. It’s no surprise mail-in redemptions typically do not receive high participation due to the overhead and inconvenience involved.
Moreover, the number of refractor cards produced for the Trump gold card and the other celebrities was limited, and there were fewer refractors made than the base set available in wax packs. This makes the Trump gold card refractor even more rare and desirable for collectors.
How Rare is the Playboy Chromium Donald Trump Gold Card Refractor Version?
An eBay search reveals only around 10 search results for the Trump gold refractor parallel available for sale at any given time. Also, PSA has graded just 50 total copies of the card which is roughly 10% of the total of base versions of the card graded (see statistics below for a comparison).
PSA assessed eight of the 50 total cards graded as PSA 9 MINT condition, and a single GEM MINT PSA 10 example exists out of the entire population of cards in PSA’s database.
What is the Playboy Chromium Donald Trump Gold Card Refractor Worth?
The Trump gold refractor card ranges between $300 and $1,000 depending on the condition. For example, a PSA 8 graded (NEAR-MINT condition) card sold for $500 in August, 2022. A PSA 9 (MINT condition) last sold for $950 in July, 2022. (via CardLadder statistics).
The single GEM MINT PSA 10 copy last surfaced for sale in May, 2022 at PWCC marketplace. The card sold for a best offer of $10,000! How crazy is that?
How to Identify a Refractor vs. Base Version
Card brands such as Topps and Panini usually provide an easy way to distinguish between a base version and a refractor or prizm card. This is crucial as the refractor version is often rarer and more valuable. That said, at times card producers may not clearly indicate whether a card is a refractor or not, like the 1993 Topps Finest Basketball product (to be fair, it was the first time they released refractor cards).
Fortunately, Playboy (and Sports Time Inc.) put the letter ‘R’ on the lower back of the card right next to the card number to easily identify the difference.
Summary
The Trump presidency was a controversial time in American politics, and his actions and policies sparked a lot of debate and criticism. Whether you are a fan of Trump from his days on The Apprentice or as President, or just a history nut, it’s easy to see why the Playboy Donald Trump gold card could be a desirable collector’s item and a valuable piece for years to come.
While the refractor version of the card is more difficult to find at a reasonable price, the base version and wax packs are much more affordable, as outlined in this post. If you are a serious collector or just starting out, it’s important to consider the rarity and value of the Trump gold card when adding it to your collection.