No matter your favorite sport, there’s a new release for you over the next couple of weeks. Several new products arrive between now and August 21.
Courtesy of The Break Exchange (formerly Maine Sports Cards), here’s a rundown of some of them.
2018 Donruss Football (8/8)
It may have had its heyday in the 80s but Panini has kept the Donruss name alive through various releases over the years. Donruss football really serves as the ‘flagship’ product each year, with a 500 card set that includes 50 rookies and 50 Rated Rookies.
Each 24 pack box (10 cards per pack) should have one autograph or memorabilia card along with 40 inserts and eight parallels. Among the inserts is a 20-card Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl Champs set. Hits include Rookie Phenom jersey autos numbered to 99 or less and Rookie Threads with low numbered parallels. Boxes are running $75-$85 online.
2018 Topps Clearly Authentic Baseball (8/8)
The latest in a line of Topps single autograph card boxes, Clearly Authentic features cards that have been signed by the player, numbered and encapsulated. Boxes are $55-65 online.
Most will have a 2018 design but look for some 1993 Finest mixed in, giving a fresh feel to the classic design from 25 years ago. The 1/1 Gold parallels for those and the Clearly Legendary autographs will likely be among the product’s top hits (you can see a full checklist in our preview here).
Standard autos from Clearly Authentic will use the base design from 2018 Topps Series 1 and 2 but with different photos of the players. Seven different parallel levels are planned.
2018-19 Upper Deck MVP Hockey (8/8)
Can it really be 20 years for MVP? Yup. The product that annually kicks off the NHL trading card season first launched in 1998-99 and there are buybacks in this year’s issue, all stamped and numbered to 20. There’s also a Silver Script Tribute insert set with Colors and Contours featuring Spectrum Light FX variations of all 100 Tribute cards including Purple parallels numbered to 8.
MVP comes in hobby, retail and blaster configurations. Hobby boxes are currently $50-60 each.
Look for the first Rookie cards of the year via four planned Rookie Redemption cards broken down by division along with the annual 2018 #1 NHL Draft Pick Redemption cards.
Other hits include Silver Script parallels, Super Script parallels (#’d to 25), and Black Super Script parallels (# to 5).
2018 Panini Unparalleled Football (8/15)
Panini’s latest NFL release is one that digs out some impact players from 2017 who didn’t have a rookie card. There are dozens in the base set, which checks in at a robust 300 cards.
Each box has eight packs with eight cards in each. There should be two autographs and one memorabilia card, on average, in each box (currently $90-$95 online), along with seven numbered parallels. In fact, you’ll find a whopping ten different parallels in Unparalleled (yes, it does sound pretty funny). Funky designs abound.
Autograph hits include the Rookie Jersey Autographs and Pioneer Penmanship, which include autographs from some all-time greats.
2018 Topps Archives Baseball (8/15)
The annual summer release returns with 24-pack boxes of eight cards including two autographs at $115-$125.
In addition to legends like Hank Aaron and rookies like Shohei Otani, the product will feature Benny ‘The Jet’ Rodriguez and other stars from the 1990s movie The Sandlot.
There’s a 300-card base set built around designs from the 1959, 1977 and 1981 sets.
Among the autograph hits: Coming Attraction Autographs will feature 2018 rookies including Shohei Otani and include Blue (#’d to 25) and Gold (1/1) parallels. Topps Originals Autographs (#’d to 10) will feature authentic Topps cards from the 1950s through the 1990s signed by retired stars.
2017-18 Panini Crown Royale Basketball (8/18)
While elements have appeared in Panini’s Preferred product since it left the scene in 2009, Crowne Royale returns as a standalone brand.
Boxes (currently $100-$115) will have only 12 cards in each with one auto and one memorabilia card. Crown Royale is all about the die-cuts and there will be plenty of those. New Crystal parallels, numbered as low as 1/1 will be among the highlights.
Also look for Silhouettes and Rookie Silhouettes, which will have large memorabilia pieces and autographs.
Among the rare inserts to look for are Pacific Marquee, Power in the Paint and Regents of Roundball.
Look for top names in the Crown Autographs insert.
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.