Mike Trout and Derek Jeter have been the two biggest sellers on the Topps Project 2020 platform. Print runs from the first few weeks of the ongoing project show approximately 250,000 cards will have been purchased by collectors and baseball fans by the end of this week.
More than 20 commissioned artists from around the world are each putting their style to 20 popular cards issued by Topps over the last 70 years.
Three different Trout and three different Jeter cards rank among the top seven sellers so far. The top nine selling cards are from nine different artists.
Leading the way are three Trout entries, with Ben Baller‘s eclectic interpretation of the superstar’s 2011 rookie card selling 34,950 copies, more than double any other card in the set of the 70 issued to date. The artist Fucci‘s Trout posted 16,430 sales while Baller’s recently released Rickey Henderson netted 15,741.
My latest card (71) with @topps for #Project2020 has just dropped. This is my favorite card out of the 4 so far and mostly because of who Rickey was to me growing up and going to high school in The Bay and my ties to The Bay Area. Thanks for all your support guys 🔥👌🏼⚾️ pic.twitter.com/VaWsa9GvEp
— BEN BALLER™ (@BENBALLER) May 13, 2020
Baller’s Trout is number one but Andrew Thiele’s Trout effort had a very respectable 13,199 purchases.
The Derek Jeter 1992 work by King Saladeen is the fifth-highest at 9,873, with Jacob Rochester‘s 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. checking in at 9,356 units.
In the spirit of its “Topps Now” program, two Topps “Project 2020” cards are released late each Monday-Friday morning.. The cards are only available for a 48-hour period from the time each is introduced. Interest in the program and the cards has been on the upswing, as most of the top 20 sellers have been issued in the past three weeks.
Baller’s Trout design, which features a charcoal background with a hint of angel wings in the background, a metallic Angels classic interlocking C-A logo and bejeweled “trout” name in lowercase across the bottom, is one of four cards of the three-time MVP issued to date. The four have accounted for a total of 67,510 sales to date.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the reaction by collectors, artists, players and baseball fans in general to the first cards that these world-class creators have produced,” said Jeff Heckman, Global Director of Ecommerce. “What is most exciting is that, of our top 16 sellers, 14 are from different artists. And every single card has had at least 1,000 cards sold, a tribute to their great work across the board.”
The cards are priced at $19.99 or both for $34.99 only via this page on the Topps website (you can also find them listed via this eBay search from dealers who buy in quantity if you missed any or just want a slightly cheaper price and are willing to wait a few extra days). Hand-numbered artist proof copies are limited and more expensive.
You can check out a live list of the current ‘most watched’ Topps Project 2020 card auctions on eBay here.