On its own, 2004 Rittenhouse Planet of the Apes: Charlton Heston Collection is a small trading card tribute to a Hollywood icon. But when you look at it from a broader Planet of the Apes trading card perspective, it helps fill in some major gaps.
When Topps went to make a set for the original film in 1969, they ran into a roadblock. Heston was reluctant to be included at first. However, he finally did agree albeit on just nine cards. While better than nothing, having the lead star available in a limited capacity made such a set a challenge. The end result was a smaller checklist of just 44 cards.
Fast forward to 2004 and Rittenhouse’s first set of Planet of the Apes trading cards. It might have only nine cards, but all put the spotlight on the central star. Not only that, but cards take directly from the 1969 Topps design. The layout on the front with a large image, white border and small ribbon is the same.
On the back, there’s the similar green background and apes illustration. However, instead of a write-up, there’s a second image. Heston really is the content for this set.
2004 Rittenhouse Planet of the Apes: Charlton Heston was sold only as mini factory sets. A total of 999 sets were made with the last card in each getting a serial number.
2004 Rittenhouse Planet of the Apes: Charlton Heston Collection Checklist
9 cards.
Release date: April 28, 2004
1 Astronaut George Taylor
2 Exploring the Planet
3 Into the Wild!
4 Captured!
5 Surveying His Captors
6 Behind Bars
7 The Nightmare Continues
8 Trying to Communicate
9 Into the Forbidden Zone! /999
