Six months after the flagship release breaks winter’s grip–at least momentarily–2020 Topps Chrome will put a shiny spin on this year’s set. The long-running product is set to return with two configurations and a release date of August 7.
2020 Topps Chrome Configuration and Checklist
Topps will offer two ways to buy Chrome on the hobby level. Standard issue Hobby boxes will again carry 24 packs of four cards with two autographs per box. Jumbo boxes will have 12 packs per box with 13 cards–five of which will carry autographs.
A full checklist is available for download below.
2020 Topps Chrome Base Set
A complete base set will consist of 200 cards, spread between players who were on the Series 1 and Series 2 checklists. There will be some super short prints, according to Topps. The base set parallels being created are many and include:
Base Set Parallels
• Refractor Parallel – 1:3 Packs
• Prism Refractor Parallel – 1:6 Packs
• Negative Refractor Parallel
• Purple Refractor Parallel – #’d to 299
• Blue Refractor Parallel – #’d to 150
• Green Refractor Parallel – #’d to 99
• Green Wave Refractor Parallel – #’d to 99 – Hobby Only
• Blue Wave Refractor Parallel – #’d to 75 – Hobby Only
• Gold Refractor Parallel – #’d to 50
• Gold Wave Refractor Parallel – #’d to 50 – Hobby Only
• Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25 – Hobby Only
• Orange Wave Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25
• Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
• Red Wave Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5 – Hobby Only
• SuperFractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1
• Printing Plates – #’d 1-of-1
There will be image variations to look for as well and they’ll have parallel versions including:
• Green Refractor Parallel – #’d to 99
• Gold Refractor Parallel – #’d to 50
• Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25
• Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
• SuperFractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1
Inserts
Fans of the 1980s will appreciate the 1985 design on one of the two new insert sets in Chrome. They’ll have five parallels:
• Green Refractor Parallel – #’d to 99
• Gold Refractor Parallel – #’d to 50
• Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25
• Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
• SuperFractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1
The other new insert set is ‘Decade of Dominance.’ which highlights players who, according to Topps, have “dominated stats for an entire decade.” They’ll be four times harder to pull than the 1985-inspired cards and come with these parallels:
• Gold Refractor Parallel – #’d to 50
• Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25
• Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
• SuperFractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1
Future Stars (1: 8 packs) and Freshmen Flash insert cards (1:12) will also have these these:
• Green Refractor Parallel – #’d to 99
• Gold Refractor Parallel – #’d to 50
• Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25
• Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
• SuperFractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1
Autographed Relics
Another new feature are the Retro Rookie Chrome Relic cards, which reproduce some classic Topps rookie cards from the past and include a relic piece. Parallels include:
Green Refractor Parallel – #’d to 99
Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25
Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
SuperFractor Refractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1
Autograph Refractor Parallel – Varied #’ing
Autographs
Rookie Autographs are usually the most sought after cards inside Chrome. This year’s rookie roster will have plenty of parallels including:
• Refractor Parallel – #’d to 499
• Purple Refractor Parallel – #’d to 250
• Blue Refractor Parallel – #’d to 150
• Blue Wave Refractor Parallel – #’d to 150
• Gold Refractor Parallel – #’d to 50
• Gold Wave Refractor Parallel – #’d to 50 – Hobby Only
• Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25 – Hobby Only
• Orange Wave Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25 – Hobby Only
• Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
• Red Wave Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5 – Hobby Only
• SuperFractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1 – Hobby Only
• Printing Plates – #’d 1-of-1
New this year are Topps All-Time Rookie Cup Team Autographs, all numbered with a checklist of players who have been awarded the Topps All-Star Rookie Cup, a tradition that can be found on Topps cards dating back to the late 1950s. Topps promises “an eye-popping checklist.”
• Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25
• Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
• SuperFractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1
• Printing Plates – #’d 1-of-1
Another hit to look for are Dual Rookie Autographs, all of which will be numbered to 25, with Red (# to 5) and 1/1 SuperFractor parallels.
There will be autographed versions of the 1985 Topps Baseball Autographs with varied numbering including:
• Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25
• Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
• SuperFractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1
• Printing Plates – #’d 1-of-1
Freshman Flash and Future Stars will also have numbered autograph versions including these:
• Orange Refractor Parallel – #’d to 25
• Red Refractor Parallel – #’d to 5
• SuperFractor Parallel – #’d 1-of-1
• Printing Plates – #’d 1-of-1
Standard issue Hobby boxes will again carry 24 packs of four cards with two autographs per box. They’re available on eBay for around $250-$275 per box. Jumbo boxes will have 12 packs per box with 13 cards including five autographs. Jumbos are also available online for about $390.