Former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he would be issuing a new series of digital trading cards called the “America First Collection.”
The collection will be sold as digital cards, priced at $99 each.
A series of scaling rewards are offered for those who purchase large quantities of the digital cards.
The collecttrumpcards website lists at least five separate tiers of rewards for purchases ranging from five digital cards ($495) to the highest-level of 250 cards (a cost of $24,750).
The site selling the cards expressly states it has “nothing to do with any political campaign.” The company behind the collectible sales is CIC Ventures, which licensed Trump’s image and likeness. New York Times reporter Ken Bensinger noted in 2022 the company was founded in 2021 by a former Trump advisor and lawyer and lists a mailing address which is the same as the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
After the launch of the first iteration of Trump digital trading cards, which depicted him as a superhero and a sheriff, among other things, the New York Times reported the sales would benefit Trump directly, rather than go toward his campaign. It’s unclear whether the same arrangement applies in this latest iteration.
Among the rewards are limited-edition “Never Surrender” gold Trump sneakers, VIP dinners with Trump and physical trading cards embedded with an authentic piece of the suit he wore during his debate with President Biden in June, which is being marketed as the “knockout debate suit.”
Of those cards, five will be randomly autographed. Third-party authenticator MEARS, largely known for sports memorabilia, authenticated the suit and is quoted on the website: "THIS SUIT, WORN BY DONALD TRUMP DURING HIS DEBATE REPRESENTS ONE OF THE MOST HISTORIC MOMENTS IN 2024, AND THE IMPACT IT WILL HAVE ON YEARS TO COME."
Typically, authenticators such as MEARS speak to the physical attributes of the memorabilia, rather than its significance. This statement appears to be a departure from the company’s typical letters of authenticity.
This is not the first time Trump has sold fragments of his suit in this manner, having previously offered pieces of the suit worn in his mugshot photo as NFTs, also redeemable for embedded physical cards, last year. Each cost $99, with differing rates available for bulk purchases as well as 25 autographed cards.
The cards, sure to illicit controversy, are likely to be embraced by many of his supporters who purchased the mugshot cards previously, which have sold for thousands on eBay in recent months. The limited-edition sneakers have similarly seen real demand on the secondary market, with sales rising into the thousands.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.