Wax pack wrappers were flying at hobby shops around North America on Wednesday as 2013 Topps Baseball Series One–the kickoff of the company’s flagship brand that’s been around since 1952–arrived.
Those who don’t live near a baseball card store or couldn’t get there were busy buying and selling online. Dealers who ordered cases were madly breaking them down in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle with a few inserts they could move on eBay before prices settled down.
Those with the patience to wait until the case breaking began rather than pre-ordering will save money. With hundreds of cases broken over the last two days, base sets can be had online for less than $20 and that number will continue to fall. Sad to say, base cards quickly become a near giveaway on the major releases from Topps, which prints millions of them.
Insert Sets
The toughest insert set to find? Seems there’s not much doubt about that according to the Twitter post of a big case breaker:
wow, good friend of mine busted 12 jumbo cases….he only made ONE, yep ONE, The Greats 30-card insert sets, wow wow wow
— Brent Williams (@brentandbecca) January 31, 2013
@brentandbecca 72 jumbo boxes to make a 30-card insert set? OWW!!
— David Wright (@LongFlyBall) January 31, 2013
Other semi-hard to find sets were moving. One case buster sold a 330-card set of Emerald Green parallels for $249.99.
Ultimate Chase Card Redemptions
Both retail and hobby collectors will can find special Ultimate Chase Card Redemptions randomly inserted in this year’s packs. What Topps calls an “extremely exclusive set” consists of of thirty 1 of 1s featuring baseball’s best current starts retried greats.
Each card in the set is individually designed and constructed making each one unique .
Every card in the set features a relic like a bat knob, name plate or a jumbo patch and either an autograph or a cut signature. Collectors can look for the following Ultimate Chase Cards in 2013 Topps Series One:
The Ultimate Chase autographed bat knob cards include:
• Tony Gwynn
• Reggie Jackson
• Al Kaline
• Stan Musial
• Johnny Bench
• Mike Schmidt
Autographed Jumbo patch:
• Don Sutton
• Ken Griffey Jr.
• Mike Schmidt
• Nolan Ryan
• Tony Gwynn
• Al Kaline
• Sandy Koufax
• Jim Palmer
• Cal Ripken Jr.
• Tony Gwynn
Autographed Bat Nameplates
• Ernie Banks
• Bob Gibson
• Reggie Jackson
• Al Kaline
Autographed Relic
• Willie Mays
Ultimate Chase cut signature bat nameplate
• Roberto Clemente
Ultimate Chase cut signature relics
• Babe Ruth
• Roberto Clemente
• Jackie Robinson
Ultimate chase autographed jersey laundry tag
• Nolan Ryan
@bdj610 The Cut to the Chase inserts #1 & #24 are missing. Likely a production error but Topps says they will find their way into series 2.
— C & D Sportscards (@parker94ttu) January 31, 2013
Special Spring Fever Redemption cards are randomly inserted into packs of Topps Series One.
Finders of these cards can redeem them at a hobby store during the first week of Spring Training (February 20th-February 27th ) to receive an exclusive 5-card pack of Topps Spring Fever baseball cards.
The Spring Fever set features current superstars and retired legends. Collectors can also find exclusive autographed cards in these packs.
No #7, Yes #331
Topps retired the #7 from its card sets several years ago and this year there is a card #331 but unlike last year, it’s not a super short print.
Jose Reyes is pictured with his new team, the Blue Jays on card #331. Topps worked a little graphics magic to get Reyes into a Toronto road uniform even though he’s yet to play a game with the Jays.
Unlike the recent past, there do not appear to be any SSPs in 2013 Topps. No squirrels.
SPs
Topps did short print 25 “Out of Bounds” photo variations that show players leaping to make catches or going into the stands after batted balls. Reports indicate there are no more than three of those per case.
Finally…an up to the minute list of the most watched 2013 Topps Baseball listings on eBay.
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