Desert Storm trading cards Desert Storm trading cards are sets of trading card s that feature people and equipment involved in the Persian Gulf War . The cards were published in the United States by various companies and the size of sets varied between greatly between companies ( such as the nine - card set published by Crown Sports Cards , and the 250 card - set published by Pro Set ) . The cards were claimed to be educational , with proceeds of the sales benefiting the children of Persian Gulf War veterans , and were produced at a time when the trading card industry was expanding its range well outside of the traditional sports figures . Topps set . The Topps set is made up of 88 cards and 22 stickers , and includes images of people and material from all sides of the conflict . They display people such as Norman Schwarzkopf , Jr . and Dick Cheney , or military weapons or vehicles . As Commander in Chief , George H . W . Bush was featured as the first card in the series . The weapon and equipment cards give descriptions of each item ' s features , with information supplied by sources from The Pentagon and weapon suppliers . A package of nine cards and one sticker cost 50¢ . Topps commented on the series stating it was " neither frivolous nor opportunistic " , and the product did not " glamorize war " . Topps insisted the cards provided adults and children educational information in a " non - sensational way " . Topps issued the Desert Storm Collector Cards in three series : Series I : Coalition For Peace , Series II : Victory Series and Series III : Homecoming Edition . Other sets . Pro Set entered the field after Topps did and , they claimed , they took their inspiration from the troops themselves , who supposedly asked the company , " Why don ' t you do a set of cards to tell Americans what we ' re doing over here . " They published a set of 250 cards ( including foreign leaders and countries of the middle east ) , sold in packs of ten , with proceeds going to " charities for the children of Desert Storm veterans " , according to the company ' s president . Pacific Trading Cards published a 110 - card set , and a set of nine caricature s was published by Crown Sports Cards . Background and popularity . Economic and political background . Desert Storm trading cards were part of a broader movement within the trading card industry , which looked to move away from an " oversaturated and . . . overpriced " market , and had begun printing cards featuring " cartoon heroes , television personalities , rock stars and even murderers " . According to Steven C . Dubin , they were indicative of a wave of " patriotic fervor " that swept the US at the time of Desert Storm . That the cards are iconic images of the combination of economics and patriotism has been noted by many writers . Popularity and proceeds . The trading cards were popular outside of the typical " card collectors " , and they sold quickly . Some stores sold their stock within hours of delivery , and others selling out within a week . Pro Set pledged to donate ( the higher of ) either $ 1 million or the entire proceeds from their Desert Storm trading card series to children of Desert Storm veterans , while Topps made unspecified donations , including to the United Service Organizations . Their popularity was attested by Colin Powell , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993 , who said that at the time he spent " a good part of [ his ] time " signing cards . Ten years later , Topps revisited the idea by printing a set of similar cards related to Operation Enduring Freedom . Supposedly , the card with Norman Schwarzkopf , Jr . was the inspiration for the title of the Beastie Boys ' 1992 album " Check Your Head " . In the film " Garden State " ( 2004 ) , a scene shows Andrew ( Zach Braff ) looking through a binder containing a near - complete set of the trading cards belonging to his friend , Mark ( Peter Sarsgaard ) , who briefly discusses with him their significance . Criticism . The trading cards have come under attack for at least two reasons , accuracy and cultural impact . The information on some of the Topps cards was criticized as being incorrect ( such as saying NATO had 27 members , when in 1991 it had sixteen ) , redundant ( such as " ground combat infantryman " ) , blatantly obvious ( " Transport ships carry enormous weights " ) , or " simply incomprehensible " ( such as the vague statement " Range and accuracy ( of missiles ) varies from a few feet to several hundred miles ) . Critique of what the cards represent has come from a variety of authors , including Mike Penner , writing for the " Los Angeles Times " , who criticized the cards for trivializing the war . W . D . Ehrhart , a Vietnam veteran and writer , lists the trading cards alongside commercializing and trivializing images of what he called the " partytime " of the Gulf War . Gary Paul Nabhan considered the trading cards indicative of " Arab - bashing " having become " a new spectator sport " , and according to Elias Fries the cards that reached the Middle East " helped fuel the hatred of Americans there today . "