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By 2013, NBC’s Parks and Recreation had become appointment television for many fans. Press Pass took a break from their football draft and NASCAR products to release a set highlighting the first four seasons of the hit show.
The Details
The product hit the shelves in June of 2013. The 24 pack hobby boxes contained five cards per pack and promised 2 autographs and 1 costume relic as the hits. In 2016, people were buying 12 box cases of this product for under $400. At this point, most of the print run has dried up but a few boxes pop up from time to time on eBay at a hefty price.
2013 Press Pass Chris Pratt #74
The base set contains 90 cards which is the perfect number for those of us who like to enjoy our cards in binders. The first 68 cards mimick the multi-image design of the TV show’s opening credits and contain images and a recap of each of the 68 episodes. The next 11 cards focus on some of the show’s characters including Chris Pratt’s first trading card #74(ebay link), and the final 11 cards are dedicated to some websites inspired by the show.
Each pack also included one foil parallel card of the base set. There were no insert chase cards in this release.
Autographs
Search eBay for Parks and Rec Autos
The autograph and show worn costume relic cards are my favorite aspect of the set.
Thirteen different signers are part of the autograph checklist with Amy Poehler, Rob Lowe, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Rudd, and Aziz Ansari topping the list. In addition to the “base autos”, several auto parallels add a bit of variety. Gold Parallels are serial numbered between 43 and 99, and Red Parallels are all serial numbered to 25. In addition, all 13 signers made special inscriptions on some of their cards. The inscription cards are not serial numbered but were very limited with different variations ranging from 1 to 49 copies. Last but not least, Red Ink versions were signed in limited numbers for all signers except Parker Posey. For a time, it was believed that Aziz Ansari signed all his autos in Red ink, but since then some blue ink copies have surfaced.
In addition, Amy Poehler has a second auto (AP2) that was given to dealers/collectors who purchased 4 cases of hobby boxes. Rob Lowe also has a second auto (RP2) and Aziz Ansari has a blue ink “Treat Yo Self” inscription that are both believed to be some kind of incentive as well, but they were not included in the original sell sheets or published checklists. You can see both of those cards below in my photo archive.
Check out the full breakdown of the inscriptions HERE at Trader Cracks.
2013 Press Pass Parks and Recreation Season 4 Episode 22 (#68) foil parallel
The list of signers is as follows:
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope
Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate
Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford
Fred Armisen as Raul
Jay Jackson as Perd Hapley
Jim O’Heir as Jerry Gergich
Megan Mullally as Tammy Swanson
Mo Collins as Joan Callamezzo
Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson
Parker Posey as Lindsay Carlisle Shay
Paul Rudd as Bobby Newport
Retta as Donna Meagle
Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger
Costume Relic Cards
Search Parks and Rec costume relics on eBay
Seven actors had shown worn costume relics tucked inside packs, and there were even two different cards for both Amy Poehler and Rob Lowe. Chris Pratt and Adam Scott did not have autographs included in the set, but they did have relic cards.
In addition to the base relics, Gold parallel versions were serial numbered to /99 and Blue parallels were numbered to /25.
Press Pass didn’t stop there! Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott and Aziz Ansari have dual relics which are either gold or blue. The golds are serial numbered to /99 except for Adam Scott which is numbered to /50. The blues are all numbered to /25.
Amy Poehler and Rob Lowe even have triple relics in the gold and blue versions.
Here is the base relic checklist:
R-AA Aziz Ansari
R-AP2 Aubrey Plaza
R-AS Adam Scott
R-CP Chris Pratt
R-NO Nick Offerman
R-RL Rob Lowe
R2-RL Rob Lowe
R1-AP Amy Poehler
R2-AP Amy Poehler
Reference Material
Here are a few Links with some interesting research and reference material.
Blowout Thread with super cheap prices from 2016.
Blowout Case Break Thread with some great information and discussion of prices in 2016.
Cardboard Connection Review of the set including the first mention I’ve found of the Rob Lowe auto case incentive.
Original Blowout Thread announcing the release including mention of a second planned release in 2014 (this never happened probably due to Press Pass shuting down in mid-2014)
Another Blowout Thread with good discussion
My Collection of Autos and Relics
Autographs
Custom Card Autos
These custom cards were created by the original owner to fill in some additional characters who did not have Press Pass issued autos in the product. The Chris Pratt was signed in person at the 2024 New York Comic Con. The Lucy Lawless was signed at the 2025 Creation Entertainment "Salute to Xena" event. Finally, the Heidi Klum was signed at one of her modeling shows.
Relics
