So the old coin on the card v the big bubble :?:
Well from my UK experience and most prob a US take on it too, back in the mid 90s when I seriously started collecting the Tri-logo was a cheap crappy option as opposed to the POTF line which was where most of the hype was :!: I always chuckle remembering the 1st issue Tomart's Price Guide To World Wide SW Collectibles and seeing some loose figures with a higher price listing than the same figure mint sealed on a non-mint Tri-logo card :lol: It's worth noting that the general feeling was that most Tri MOCs were sub par condition compared to the standard domestic MOC :!:
Now the Yak, Anakin and other rare foreign POTF MOCs i.e. AT-AT Driver and Nikto were always an outstanding higher price but I rem seeing a Han Carb for over £200 in 96 because of the hype :!:
So as everyone knows the Tri MOC has from then on become more and more liked and respected and from a UK/Euro standpoint the POTF has declined with today's price for a last 17 Tri on many occasions being higher than its POTF equivalent and here r my thoughts on why;
Availability. Like most vintage lines so much more has surfaced because of the internet etc and near perfect condition Tris have become very getable(apart from a couple ie Amanaman etc)@ and finding a mint Tri is a beautiful thing 8)
Variation. Collectors have come to realise the really cool differences between some Tris and their domestic counterparts i.e. Different colours used in the backing card particularly with the last 15, picture variations like the same picture flipped i.e. Jawa or a completely diff picture i.e. Leia Hoth 8) How bout that lovely glowing green on a Tri Rebel Commando cardback compared to the horrible browny stony colour on the domestic cardback :!:
More vintage design. The Tri backing card has most of it taken up with a scene from the film set just like its vintage domestic counterpart apart from the POTF MOC which is much more like the later MOCs i.e. POTF2 :!:
Yellow bubble. Most Tris have clear bubble and u only find a handful with tinged bubbles. On the other hand if u see a clear bubble POTF, initially the alarm bells start ringing :!: In fact lately, legit and graded clear bubble POTF is going for big money in the US which is mad IMO as I don't understand anyone banking on a clear bubble on a card belonging to the most notorious of all vintage lines for yellow bubbles :!:
My last point from a completist view is that today it is much tougher to put a POTF set of last 17 together than Tri-logo because of Anakin and Yak :!:
Me personally regarding the last 17, I started down the POTF path but thankfully quickly changed to Tri-logo particularly when I realised I was going to b able to put a near mint set together 8)
My twopence worth.
