If you open a box of 2011 Topps Chrome, don't believe everything you see. The company said Wednesday that a redemption card inside packs reads “You have just received a set of 2011 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Autograph Cards”. However, that's not what the company will be sending you. The card is actually good for either a 5 or 6 card pack of USA Autographs-- … [Read more...]
2011 Topps Football Offers Familiar Concepts
by Rich Klein Just as its base product is the one just about every collector looks forward to in terms of keeping the long-term collecting habit going, the "base" 2011 Topps Football product is similar in that this kicks off the collecting season. With the lockout coming to an end, the timing couldn’t have been better for Topps to roll out its long-running set. Topps has … [Read more...]
Topps Adds Hall of Famer Relics to Tier One Baseball
Topps has upgraded the relic cards in its all-new 2011 Tier One Baseball that hits hobby shelves early November. The relic insert (one per pack) has been enhanced with several Hall of Famers and retired stars such as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax and more. The new cards are replacing a list of lower-level active players. The hobby-only Tier One, which includes 2 … [Read more...]
Vintage Sports Card Packs a Challenge on eBay
The recent sale of a 1948 Bowman basketball wax pack proved again how difficult it is to find such improbable relics and how much demand there is when they do come on the market. It stands to reason, of course, that not all that many packs from the pre-1970s era are still out there in unopened form. All it takes is a check of YouTube to see that collectors are ripping more of … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: First Pack, Old Pack, National Impressions, Prime 9
Topps says the #5 redemption card in its PRIME 9 promotion for Series II is Mike Schmidt. The company has released an image of the card that collectors can bring to their participating local card shop and redeem it for an exclusive limited edition Topps Chrome Refractor as part of the weekly program. Redemption cards can be found in Series 2 Hobby packs (1:18) and … [Read more...]
2011 Bowman Sterling Packs 2 Autographs Per Pack
Topps made two big announcements Thursday, showing off the first images of its 2012 baseball cards while revealing a little more about its high-end 2011 Bowman Sterling Baseball product. Modern card collectors will be hoping to see a box or pack under their holiday tree. Sterling is set for release the week before Christmas. Boxes will cost dealers around $200 each with … [Read more...]
2011 Topps Tier One Baseball Will Debut in November
Look for another new baseball product just as the 2011 season wraps up. Topps Tier One Baseball will be added to a lengthy list of new product issues for 2011. The company is touting the mid-to-high level product as the "definitive on card autograph release for 2011". The big drawing card will be 20 active and retired stars and Hall of Famer autographs, packed just one per … [Read more...]
Pack Busting and Flipping with Jimmy Fallon and Bob Costas
Jimmy Fallon and Bob Costas talked baseball and other topics for awhile on a recent episode of Late Night on NBC. The real fun came afterward. Fallon trotted out some 1989 Topps baseball packs (maybe the best publicity '89 Topps has gotten since...oh...1989) for the two to open. After a good-natured ribbing of poor Jim Walewander, they commenced to having some serious … [Read more...]
2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Review
by Rich Klein First, I would like to apologize for the delays in writing these reviews. On a personal note, I got nailed by a minor medical issue, far from life threatening, but one that was sufficient to delay my efforts. It's very difficult to write a review when you can not really see the cards or the computer screen. Although I'm not totally recovered, things … [Read more...]
2011 Topps Tribute Pack Review
by Rich Klein 2011 Topps Tribute is the first of the high-end products released by the company. Originally issued in the years 2001-04 and then brought back into the fold as a Topps product in 2009, this has always been one of the most desired Topps products. The cards being thicker with the big hit in each pack has always made this a popular brand among higher-end … [Read more...]