Topps first introduced Allen & Ginter in 2006 during a wave of product releases inspired by vintage sets. The Allen & Ginter sets were originally produced in 1888 (N28) and 1889 (N29) and featured early Hall of Famers such as Cap Anson an Buck Ewing. While other modern sets featuring retro designs lasted only one or two issues, Allen & Ginter has stood the test of time and 2018 will be its thirteenth release.
2018 Topps Allen & Ginter is expected to be released on July 18 at a price likely to land at around $100 per hobby box upon release. Each box will contain three hits consisting of on-card autographs, relics, original 1888-89 Allen & Ginter card buybacks, book cards, cut signatures, and rip cards.
A full checklist is linked below and available for download.
Base Set, Parallels, and Inserts
2018 Topps Allen & Ginter will feature a base set consisting of 300 rookies, current stars, legends, and non-baseball subjects. 50 will be short prints that will be inserted at a ratio of one for every two packs.
A group of 100 framed Allen & Ginter originals each numbered 1/1 will be a hobby exclusive.
There will be two full-sized parallels. The first is a Hot Box parallel that will be found exclusively in hobby Ginter hot boxes. The second is a Glossy parallel printed on high-gloss card stock and numbered 1/1.
Each pack will contain a mini parallel printed in the same dimension as the original nineteenth century Allen & Ginter cards. The minis will have an assortment of parallels including an Allen & Ginter logo back (1:5 packs), black bordered (1:10 packs), no number (#’d to 50), Brooklyn logo back (#’d to 25), hobby exclusive framed cloth cards (#’d to 50), hobby exclusive metal (#’d to 3), hobby exclusive wood (1/1), glossy (1/1), and framed printing plates (1/1).
Each case will contain two rip cards. 100 subjects will be featured on the rip cards, each containing a mini card within. A hobby-exclusive with 50 pairings will contain two mini cards. The mini cards contained within the rip cards include Artist Originals numbered 1/1 that are actual paintings and 50 mini exclusives with metal (#’d to 3) and wood (1/1) parallels.
Full-size insert cards include 50 World Talents with a checklist of MLB global stars, 50 Fantasy Goldmine with modern sabermetric stats of retired legends, ten World’s Greatest Beaches, 30 Baseball Equipment of the Ages showcasing the evolution of baseball equipment, and 10 Magnificent Moons. Mini insert sets start with 25 Indigenous Heroes drawn from the natives of North and South America, 15 World’s Hottest Peppers, 15 Baseball Superstitions listing player’s pre-game and ingame rituals, 15 Postage Required featuring iconic stamps, 25 Flags of Lost Nations with depictions of flags from former nations, and 10 Folio of Fears depicting people’s greatest fears.
Each box will contain a boxloader. The base boxloader has a checklist of fifteen stars and rookies. The autograph boxloader checklist has 20 on-card autographs and is numbered to 15. The N43 boxloader parallel has 20 subjects and is numbered to 500, while the 15-card autograph N43 is numbered to just 15. Completing the boxloader selection is a ten card Natural Wonders set numbered to 500.
Relics and Autographs
2018 Topps Allen & Ginter’s full-size relic cards will showcase 120 subjects and expand the checklist beyond MLB to include athletes from other sports and notable personalities. The framed mini-relic set will only feature MLB stars and rookies and will total 35 players.
A limited hobby-exclusive will be ten variations of framed Sunken Treasure Relics.
Thirty book cards featuring a player autograph and jumbo-size relic piece and 20 book cards featuring two player autographs and relics will be included, each numbered to ten.
A group of 65 MLB greats, champions from other sports, and other personalities signed for 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter’s framed mini autograph set. There will be a black framed parallel (#’d to 25) and a limited hobby-exclusive red ink parallel.
Shohei Ohtani autographed cards will be part of the autograph checklist.
Twenty historical and political cut signatures, each numbered 1/1, will also be included.
Hobby are available online now for a little over $100.