We received two full cases of the new 2023 Topps Archives Signature Series Retired Player Edition this past week.
Archives Signature is a pretty simple concept, offering generally lower end Topps cards from the past that have now been autographed, stamped and encased.
Each box holds only one card. Many, if not all of these singles have a relatively low serial number. That’s the good thing.
The not so good thing is that the checklist isn’t usually jam packed with all-time greats. You’ll see some names that are memorable–“Fan Favorites’ Topps calls them– and some boxes do surrender the occasional legend, but for the most part it’s a bit of a longshot to pull a card where the autograph is more than the cost of a box.
Against our better judgment, we decided to crack one in store to see what treasure we would find inside.
We ripped open the red box that featured Albert Pujols on the cover to find an autographed buyback in the form of a 1991 Topps Jim Abbott numbered to 21 copies.
Abbott, of course, is one of the more memorable pitchers of his era, making it to the big leagues despite having only one normal arm. He had a long career and even threw a no-hitter for the Yankees.
A Hall of Famer he isn’t though. Abbott cards from Archives Signature have been bringing $25-$50 online.
We racked open a second pack-box only to find a 1984 Topps Bucky Dent buyback autograph numbered to 76.
Yes, Bucky bleeping Dent. We in the shop were saying that phrase for far different reasons than Red Sox fans were back in the late 70s. Most Dent cards from this product have been bringing less than $15.
We have these cards on the shelf for $75 a box. We were two boxes in at a 150 bucks total and it’s pretty clear we would have done better just buying the singles. Such is the gambling life that is today’s box breaking adventure.
You can check out some other cards from 2023 Topps Archive Signature Retired that have been pulled and listed for sale here.
Related Stories:
Brief Box Break: 2023 Chronicles Draft Picks Football Hobby
Brief Box Break: 2022 Select Football Blaster
Brief Box Break: 2023 Panini Three and Two Baseball
Brief Box Break: 2022 Bowman’s Best University Hobby Box
Brief Box Break: 2022 Panini Contenders Football Blaster
Brief Box Break: 2022 Allen and Ginter Retail
Brief Box Break: 2022 Optic Choice Baseball
Brief Box Break: 2022 Panini Three and Two Baseball
