Topps Transcendent baseball cards will return for 2017, with those fortunate enough to have some nice disposable income having an opportunity to meet Hank Aaron a few weeks after opening their box.
The super high-end brand made its debut last year with a run of just 65 metal boxes priced at 
around $25,000. The second edition will have a wood box and be limited to a run of 87. It’ll once again be full of 1/1 cards and other low-numbered creations. A complete checklist is below.
Each box will have over 50 autographs but so far there’s no word on price. Every buyer will also receive an invitation to a special meet-and-greet event with Hall of Famer Hank Aaron in Atlanta early next year.
Each box will contain:
- 1 complete set of Transcendent Icons base cards. Modeled in the 1987 Topps design but on Chrome, the Icons cards will all come in a silver frame with a die-cut wooden border.
- 1 complete set of MLB Moments Sketch Card Reproductions
- 50 Transcendent Collection Autographed cards, all numbered to 25 or less (all on card and in a gold metallic frame). There will be image variation cards in gold frames.
1/1 Aaron Judge Topps History autographed card. Each will be different and show the AL Rookie of the Year on what Topps calls “a historic Topps flagship or insert card design (1952-2017).
- 1-of-1 MVP Cut Signature or MVP Autograph or MVP Dual Autograph
- 1/1 Transcendent Moments Sketch Card or authentic MLB Baseball Sketch
- 1/1 Oversized cut signature card
- 1 Hank Aaron VIP Experience invitation
Parallels for both autograph sets mentioned above will be limited to:
- Silver Parallel: color accents and foil coverage swap to silver. Sequentially numbered to 15.
- Purple Parallel: color accents and foil coverage swap to purple. Sequentially numbered to 10.
- Red Parallel: color accents and foil coverage swap to red. Numbered 1-of-1.
- Gold Parallel: color accents and foil coverage swap to gold. Numbered 1-of-1.
Those “MLB Baseball Sketches” aren’t cards. Mayumi Seto, the artist 
who created cards last year and baseball sketch artist Monty Sheldon have been contracted to pen player portraits on game-used baseballs. Each baseball will feature an MLB Authentication sticker connecting it to its featured player. Regular sketch cards will be created by artist Dan Bergren, paying tribute to great moments of the past.
The Oversized Cut Signature cards will be drawn from this checklist:
- Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees ®
- Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States
- Babe Ruth, New York Yankees ®
- Francis Scott Key, Poet
- George Harrison, Musician
- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
- Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates ®
- Cy Young, Boston Red Sox ®
- Mark Twain, Writer
- Alexander Graham Bell, Inventor of the Telephone
- Charlie Chaplin, Actor
- Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh Pirates ®
- Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers™
- Judy Garland, Actress
- David Bowie, Musician
- Jackie Gleason, Actor
- Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States
- Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army General
- Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Phillies ®
- Nap Lajoie, Cleveland Naps™
- Tris Speaker, Cleveland Indians®
- Whitney Houston, Musician
- Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees ®
- Louis Armstrong, Musician
- Mel Ott, New York Giants™
- Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States
- Groucho Marx, Actor & Comedian
- Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
- Stevie Wonder, Musician
- The Three Stooges, Entertainers
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States
- Orson Welles, Actor/Director
- Joe Louis, Boxer
- Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers™
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, First Lady of the United States
- Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States
- Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States
- Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
- Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
- Roger Maris, New York Yankees ®
- Paul Newman, Actor/Philanthropist
- James Brown, Musician
- Connie Mack, Philadelphia Athletics™
- Fred Astaire, Dancer/Musician/Actor
- Harry Truman, 33rd President of the United States
- Nat King Cole, Musician
- Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States
- Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers™
- Jesse Owens, Track & Field Athlete
- Sadaharu Oh, Baseball Player/Manager
- Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States
- George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
- Lucille Ball, Actress
- Gil Hodges, Brooklyn Dodgers™
- Wilt Chamberlain, Basketball Player
- Bing Crosby, Singer & Actor
- Sugar Ray Robinson, Boxer
- Dizzy Dean, St. Louis Cardinals ®
- George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees ®
- Johnny Cash, Musician
- Arnold Palmer, Golfer
- Nellie Fox, Chicago White Sox®
- Andy Griffith, Actor
- Gene Wilder, Actor
- Satchel Paige, St. Louis Browns™
- Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox®
- Luciano Pavarotti, Operatic Tenor
- John Glenn, Astronaut & U.S. Senator
- George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
- Walter Payton, Football Player
- Hank Greenberg, Detroit Tigers®
- Gene Kelly, Actor
- Gordie Howe, Hockey Player
- Casey Stengel, New York Yankees ®
- Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins®
- Harry Caray, Sports Broadcaster
- Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States
- Bob Hope, Actor & Comedian
- Art Carney, Actor
- Howard Cosell, Sports Broadcaster
- Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals®
- Lefty Grove, Boston Red Sox®
- Red Skelton, Entertainer
- Joe Frazier, Boxer
- Johny Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States
- Dale Earnhardt Sr., Professional Stock Car Driver
Each box will have an invitation to the Aaron gathering which will be held on Tuesday, January 16. Each includes lodging, dinner, a photo with Aaron and an autograph. Giveaways and raffles are part of the event.
2017 Topps Transcendent Baseball Checklist
2016 Topps Transcendent cards on eBay
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