High-end baseball and basketball join new NFL and NHL products as the trading card manufacturers try to keep everyone happy with their latest releases.
Courtesy of The Break Exchange, here’s a roundup of six fresh releases scheduled to hit the market in the second half of May.
2018-19 Panini Spectra Basketball (5/17)
If you think this is a rerun, you’re right (sort of). Spectra was originally due out earlier this month but wound up being pushed back a couple of weeks. It offers four autographs and one memorabilia card in each eight-card box. This is a higher end product at around $275 per box.
Look for on-card Rookie Jersey Autographs with six different parallels, all numbered under 100. There are also several low-numbered base parallels, too.
New in 2018-19 are short-printed Head Liners inserts.
2019 Panini Legacy Football (5/22)
Legacy is a new low to mid-range product in Panini’s NFL stable and among the earliest of the 2019 football releases.
Each box will hold two autographs, 32 rookies (two per pack), ten inserts and ten parallels, on average. Hot Boxes will include additional inserts and parallels.
Preliminary information from Panini indicated autographs on stickers.
2019 Topps Pro Debut Baseball (5/22)
Pro Debut is back for a tenth season and celebrates it with 10-Year Anniversary Reprints of some current MLB stars’ first Pro Debut cards. There are autograph versions as well.
There will be 24 packs per box and eight cards per pack. Each box will have two autographs with each 12-box case containing a new Future Cornerstones autograph featuring some of baseball’s top prospects across all levels. Each will be numbered to 99 or less.
Topps is promising more low-numbered parallel cards and a new Jumbo Patch Relic subset featuring game-worn jersey swatches. The base set is 200 cards.
2019 Topps Definitive Baseball (5/29)
Packing eight cards per single-pack box that costs around $1,100, Definitive offers six on-card autographs or cut signatures along with two relic cards. Each case will include three boxes.
Every card in the product is numbered to no more than 50.
New this year are Defining Moments Autograph Collection cards, which “highlight significant career events of legendary players,” according to Topps. Cut Signature cards return, including numerous icons and all numbered 1/1.
2018-19 Panini Noir Basketball (5/29)
Another one pack per box product, Noir offers ten cards per pack (around $550 online right now), seven of which are autograph or memorabilia cards.
This year’s rookie class will be among the focal points of Noir. Look for both Black and White and Color versions of the Rookie Patch Autographs. Each features either a prime swatch of jersey or a jersey tag with each numbered to 99 or less.
2018-19 Upper Deck Engrained Hockey (5/31)
Engrained offers six cards per one pack box. Each pack should contain three autograph or memorabilia card including one Signature Shots auto, one insert and two base cards.
Each Signature Shots card features either a trapped piece of carbon fiber or actual varnished wood as a signing area. There will be up to 50 rookies, all numbered to 249 or less; up to 20 active stars and legends, all numbered to 100 or less in a checklist that will include Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Patrick Roy, Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby.
There’s quite a bit to unpack with Engrained and you can get more info in our preview from earlier this year.
Also set for release: Topps WWE Undisputed (5/22); Topps UEFA Champions League Chrome Soccer (5/22); Panini Leather and Lumber Baseball (5/29) and Leaf Flash Football (5/31).
The Break Exchange will be breaking some of these products in the coming days. The company offers daily breaks of current and past products you can participate in and watch online. You can learn more about how to get involved in their box and case breaks and even sell your cards through their website by clicking here.
