Topps Finest baseball has been around since 1993, when it debuted at the National that July in Chicago with a three-card promo set and followed up with a 199-card offering that included multicolor metallization. Refractors, foil cards and chromium technology made this a colorful, bold-looking set.
The 2021 version stays true to its chrome ancestry and bold designs.
2021 Topps Finest Configuration and Base Set
Expected to hit the shelves the week of June 2, hobby boxes are actually a pair of mini-boxes, with six packs to a mini-box and five cards to a pack. Topps is promising two autographs per hobby box.
The base set will include 125 cards — 100 of them are considered commons, while the final 25 will be short prints.
The card design portrays players against a backdrop of parallel lines and many colors.
Refractors make up the parallels to the base set. And there are plenty to chase, with eight new offerings.
- Refractors
- Sky Blue Refractors – #’d to 300 (new)
- Purple Refractors – #’d to 250
- Purple/Aqua Vapor Refractors – #’d to 250 (new)
- Aqua Refractors – #’d to 199 (new)
- Aqua Shimmer Refractors – #’d to 175 (new)
- Blue Refractors – #’d to 150
- Green Speckle Refractors – #’d to 125 (new)
- Green Refractors – #’d to 99
- Rose Gold Refractors – #’d to 75 (new)
- Rose Gold Mini-Diamond Refractors – #’d to 50 (new)
- Gold Refractors – #’d to 50
- Orange Refractors – #’d to 25
- Red Refractors – #’d to 5
- Purple/Pink Vapor Refractors – #’d to 3 (new)
- SuperFractors – 1/1
As for the short prints, there are refractors but the selection is much more limited. There are Gold, numbered to 50; Red, numbered to 5, and SuperFractors, which are 1/1.
Some of the first-year players will have design variation cards. These cards will fall once in every 12 packs. They will also have parallels in Gold (#’d to 50), Red (#’d to 5) and a SuperFractor (1/1).
Inserts
Topps Finest inserts will have three debut subsets. The 1997 Topps Finest Masters will fall once in every three packs. The design mirrors that of the inserts in the 1997 product and will include superstars and legendary players.
Finest Legacies showcases a current star with former legends from the same team. current greats with the former legends from the same franchise…..
Finest Career Die-Cut inserts herald the achievements of Angels star Mike Trout.
All three inserts will have Gold Refractor parallels, numbered to 50; Red Refractor parallels, numbered to 5; and a 1/1 SuperFractor parallel.
Autograph cards will have on-card signatures. Finest Autographs and Finest Rookie Design Variations make up the bulk of signature cards, and both subsets have parallels with the same configurations:
- Blue Refractors – #’d to150
- Green Refractors – #’d to 99
- Green Wave Refractors – #’d to 99
- Gold Refractors – #’d to 50
- Orange Refractors – #’d to 25
- Orange Wave Refractors – #’d to 25
- Red Refractors – #’d to 5
- Red Wave Refractors – #’d to 5
- SuperFractors – 1/1
Finest Moments Autographs plays off a player’s achievement and contains base and parallel versions. The parallels can be found in Gold, numbered to 50; Orange (#’d to 25); Red (#’d to 5) and 1/1 SuperFractors.
Die-Cut Autographs will be numbered to 10, and there are also Finest Originals Buyback Autographs. The latter contains Finest cards from earlier sets that have been signed and numbered.
Finally, Mystery Redemption Autograph cards are numbered to 99 and are randomly inserted into packs.
Boxes are currently available on eBay in the $230-$250 range.
2021 Topps Finest Baseball – Checklist
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