The original Indiana Jones trilogy doesn’t have a lot of love in the hobby. Sure, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Temple of Doom both got sets back in the day. And while still known today, there’s not the same affinity with them as some others like Star Wars. 2008 Topps Indiana Jones Heritage trading cards bridge the past and the present, offering a checklist that combines the original three films alongside modern innovations like autograph and sketch cards. The result is comprehensive albeit tough to land something fancy at the box level.
The 90-card base set has sections dedicated to all three films, including the first Topps cards of The Last Crusade. Each has 27 story cards. There are also eight poster art cards and a checklist. The film cards are based on the design Topps used for Raiders of the Lost Ark with different color schemes differentiating them.
The base set has a Gold parallel set. These are essentially the same as the regular cards except they are serial numbered to 500 on the back.
Autographs and Other Inserts
Hobby boxes are supposed to have either an autograph or a sketch card with original art. However, it was not uncommon for boxes to be missing the promised hit. While Topps was able to replace the missing cards at the time of its release, it’s unlikely they could do anything today.
The 2008 Topps Indiana Jones Heritage Autographs checklist includes just about every major character in the original trilogy not named Sean Connery. That being said, most of the top characters have very few copies. Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are the toughest with less than ten cards each.
Sketch card quality varies greatly. Some artists went to great length to include a lot of detail and even color with their artwork. Others are scribbles, often repeated over and over again. Mention the term “Waterhouse Monkey” to anyone who collected this set and they’re going to know right away what you’re referencing — a Ryan Waterhouse sketch of a monkey that seemed to show up at least once per case.
2008 Topps Indiana Jones Heritage has a very limited amount of retail packs and boxes. These have exclusive magnets done in the style of vintage stickers. Today, these magnets are extremely tough to find in any quantity.
This was the first of three sets of Indiana Jones trading cards released in 2008, the year Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out. All three were heavy on sketch cards, which has kept secondary market prices in check. Boxes, once plentiful, have now dried up for the most part.
2008 Topps Indiana Jones Heritage Checklist
Click on links to shop for cards or check current market values on eBay.
Cards per pack: 5
Packs per box: 24
Boxes per case: 8
Shop for 2008 Topps Indiana Jones Heritage boxes on eBay.
Base Set
90 cards.
#1-27 – Raiders of the Lost Ark, #28-54 – The Temple of Doom, #55-81 – The Last Crusade, #82-89 – Poster Art
1 The Quest of Indiana Jones
2 Danger Everywhere!
3 A Game of Chance
4 The Trap Is Sprung!
5 In the hands of Belloq!
6 Recruiting Dr. Jones
7 Marion’s Victory
8 The Wicked Persuasion of Toht
9 Escaping the Fire
10 Business in Cairo
11 A New Friend?
12 Defending the Fair Marion
13 Behold…The Swordsman!
14 The Taunts of Rene Belloq
15 The Great Map Room
16 A Drink with Belloq?
17 Digging for the Ark
18 Surrounded by Snakes
19 The Ark of the Covenant
20 Trapped Beneath the Desert
21 Fist Fight on the Tarmac
22 Rest on the Bantu Wind
23 Hidden in Plain Sight
24 Belloq’s Challenge to Indy
25 “Close Your Eyes Marion”
26 The Ritual’s Gruesome End
27 The Hands of…Top Men?
28 An Evening at Club Obi Wan
29 Searching for the Antidote
30 Driving By Short Round
31 The Futile Escape
32 Napping to Their Doom
33 The Problem with Flying Lao Che
34 The Village Beseeches
35 A Crooked Card Game
36 Journey through the Jungle
37 The Magnificent Pankot Palace
38 The Great Banquet
39 Five Minutes!
40 A Deadly Intrusion
41 Another Gruesome Trap
42 Covered by Creatures
43 A Sacrifice to kali
44 Possessed by the Priest
45 Short Round Breaks the Spell
46 Indy’s Grueling Fight
47 Freeing the Young Prince
48 Mine Car to Freedom
49 Indy Hangs On for Life
50 Short Round’s Peril
51 Trapped on the Bridge
52 The Only Escape
53 In the Nick of Time
54 A Village Rejoices
55 Straying from the Path
56 The Cross of Coronado
57 Origin of a Snake Fear
58 The Rightful Owners Return
59 The Cross Lost…Again!
60 Summoned by Donovan
61 Passage to the Tombs
62 Face to Face with Sir Richard
63 A Lunchtime Surprise
64 The Pursuit’s Violent End
65 Swinging to the Rescue
66 Capture of the “Jones Boys”
67 The Treachery of Elsa
68 A Burning Prison
69 Detour to Berlin
70 Indy Faces the Fuhrer
71 Escaping the Enemy
72 Across the Countryside
73 A Most Handsome Exchange
74 Race to the Grail
75 Indiana Jones Versus the Tank
76 An Unfair Advantage
77 Indy’s Most Important Mission
78 The Surviving Grail Guardian
79 Donovan Chooses… Poorly
80 The Greatest Temptation
81 Headed into the Sunset
82 Desert Raiders
83 The Truck Chase
84 Slugfest on the Runway
85 The Man Who Hated Snakes
86 The Richard Amsel Touch
87 World of the Lost Ark
88 Inside the Temple of Doom
89 Family Affair
90 Checklist
Gold Parallel
90 cards, 1:18 packs.
/500
Autographs
25 cards, 1:42 packs.
Check out the entire autographs set along with more detailed info.
Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood
Isla Blair as Mrs. Donovan
Michael Byrne as Captain Vogel
Kate Capshaw as Willie Scott
Vernon Dobtcheff as Butler
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
Paul Freeman as Rene Belloq
Julian Glover as Walter Donovan
George Harris as Simon Katanga
Anthony Higgins as Gobler
Wolf Kahler as Colonel Dietrech
Lawrence Kasdan – Writer
Kathleen Kennedy – Producer
George Lucas – Executive Producer
Kevork Malikyan as Kazim
Frank Marshall – Producer
Alfred Molina as Satipo
Ke Huy Quan as Short Round
John Rhys-Davies as Sallah
Roshan Seth as Chattar Lal
Steven Spielberg – Director
Vic Tablian as Monkey Man
Philip Tan as Chief Henchman
David Yip as Wu Han
Ric Young as Kao Kan
Cut Signature Cards
2 cards, each 1:775,296 packs.
Both are one-of-ones.
Denholm Elliot as Dr. Marcus Brody
Pat Roach as Giant Sherpa
Sketch Cards
1:54 packs.
Kyle Babbitt
Len Bellinger
Joseph Booth
Ron Boyd
Spencer Brinkerhoff III
Mark Brooks
Dennis Budd
Alex Buechel
Matt Busch
Joseph E. Cappabianco
Kody Chamberlain
Jeff Chandler
Justin Chung
Katie Cook
Daniel Cooney
Joe Corroney
Doug Cowan
Cynthia Cummens
Ted Dastick Jr.
Otto Dieffenbach
Colleen Doran
Kevin Doyle
Michael Duron
Jan Duursema
Tommy Lee Edwards
Tom Feister
Tess Fowler
Zack Giallongo
Kate Glasheen
Matthew Goodmanson
Grant Gould
Kevin Graham
Trevor Grove
Paul Gutierrez
Ingrid Hardy
Chris Henderson
Jessica Hickman
Tom Hodges
Josh Howard
Adam Hughes
Ben Curtis Jones
Lee Kohse
Brian Kong
Karen Krajenbrink
Erik Maell
Leah Mangue
Randy Martinez
Clay McCormack
Mark McHaley
Jake Minor
Rich Molinelli
William O’Neill
Steve Oatney
Jason Palmer
Shelli Paroline
Dan Parsons
Don Pedicini Jr.
Sean Pence
Killian Plunkett
Jason Potratz and Jack Hai
Amy Pronovost
Mark Propst
Mark Raats
David Rabbitte
Jon Roscetti
Craig Rousseau
Ronald Salas
Patrick Schoenmaker
Brent Schoonover
Howard Shum
Uko Smith
Jason Sobol
Allison Sohn
Cat Staggs
Chris Trevas
Jerry Vanderstelt
Russ Walks
Ryan Waterhouse
John Watkins-Chow
Sarah Wilkinson
Stephanie Yue
Magnets
9 cards, 1:8 retail packs.
Done in style of original stickers.
1 Indiana Jones
2 Marion Ravenwood
3 Melting Toht
4 Indiana Jones
5 Willie Scott
6 Short Round
7 Indiana Jones
8 Dr. Henry Jones Sr.
9 Elsa Schneider
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Promos
3 cards, 1 per sealed hobby box.
Each came in cello wrap.
P1 Continuing the Adventure
P2 The Great Discovery
P3 Indiana Jones
