Transcendent to Return with Big Bucks Box; Trout Party

Topps has released details for 2018 Transcendent Baseball, the ultra-limited annual release that comes with a party invitation and a colossal price tag.  

2018 Topps Transcendent Basics

Launched three years ago, Transcendent returns with a print run of just 83 boxed sets and a price that’s usually around $25,000.  The number 83 is a shout out to the 35^th anniversary of the 1983 Topps set and that design will get several tips of the cap in 2018 Transcendent.

What do you get for your money?  Well, at least 54 autographs, a bunch of 1/1 cards and once again, an invitation to a party where a big name player appears for a chat and some autographs. Two years ago, it was Kris Bryant. Last year, Hank Aaron was the guest in Atlanta.

This time, Topps says Mike Trout will appear at the event, which will be held in Arizona on February 22.  You’ll have to pay your own way there, but the party is free for those with the invitation that comes in every Transcendent box.  More freebies are handed out at the event.

As for the product itself, here’s the breakdown of what’s inside the very large box:

• 1 Complete Set of 50 Transcendent Icons Base Cards (all cards come inside a silver frame in the 1983 Topps style and are numbered to 83)
• 1 Complete Set of Origins Sketch Reproductions (featuring early career moments for 83 different players. All will be 1/1 original drawings by a sports artist).
• 50 Transcendent Collection Autograph Cards (every autograph in the product is numbered to 25 or less)
• At least two 1-of-1 autograph cards
• 1 1-of-1 Mike Trout Through the Years Autograph Card (his photo and an autograph on Topps flagship card designs from 1952-2018).
• 1 1-of-1 Auto Patch or Cut Signature Jumbo Relic Book Card (The autographed patch cards will get the 1983 treatment with an autograph and a swatch of memorabilia and be housed in a gold frame. All are numbered 1/1).
• 1 1-of-1 Transcendent Moments Sketch
• 1 1-of-1 Oversized Cut Signature (see below).
• 1 1-of-1 Autographed 1952 Topps-style SuperFractor

Transcendent Collection Autographs are the “base autographs”. Each card will be hard-signed and encased in a metallic gold frame. Each will be numbered to 25 or less with  Emerald (# to 15), Purple (# to 10); Red (1/1) and Platinum (1/1) parallels along for the ride.

Another twist:  All of the players from the Transcendent Collection Autographs checklist will have an image variation on a different design with the same parallels for each.  

Oversized Cut Signatures

Each box will have one and the roster is quite a mix—from James Buchanan to John Belushi; Joey Ramone to Teddy Roosevelt.

Here’s that checklist:

Abbott and Costello – Entertainers

Albert Einstein – Physicist

Alfred Hitchcock – Film Director

Amelia Earhart – Aviator

Andrew Johnson – 17th President

B.B. King – Musician

Babe Didrikson Zaharias – Athlete

Babe Ruth – Outfielder

Barack Obama – 44th President

Bill Clinton – 42nd President

Buffalo Bill Cody – Showman

Calvin Coolidge – 30th President

Charles Lindbergh – Aviator

Charlton Heston – Actor

Chester A. Arthur – 21st President

Chuck Berry – Musician

Cy Young – Pitcher

Dean Martin – Entertainer

Dwight D. Eisenhower – 34th President

Elizabeth Taylor – Actress

Ernest Hemingway – Novelist

Evel Knievel – Stunt Performer

Franklin D. Roosevelt – 32nd President

George H.W. Bush – 41st President

George W. Bush – 43rd President

Gerald Ford – 38th President

Gil Hodges – 1st Baseman

Grover Cleveland – 22nd and 24th President

Harry Houdini – Illusionist/Stunt Performer

Harry Truman – 33rd President

Herb Pennock – Pitcher

Herbert Hoover – 31st President

Honus Wagner – Shortstop

Hugh Hefner – Publisher

Humphrey Bogart – Actor

1. Edgar Hoover – FBI Director

Jack Dempsey – Professional Boxer

Jackie Robinson – 2nd Baseman

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis – First Lady

James Buchanan – 15th President

James Gandolfini – Actor

James Monroe – 5th President

Jim Brown – Football Player

Jim Henson – Puppeteer

Jim Thorpe – Outfielder

Jim Valvano – College Basketball Coach

Jimmie Foxx – 1st Baseman

Joe DiMaggio – Outfielder

Joey Ramone – Musician

John Belushi – Actor

John F. Kennedy – 35th President

Knute Rockne – Football Coach

Lauren Bacall – Actress

Leo Durocher – Manager

Lou Gehrig – 1st Baseman

Lyndon B. Johnson – 36th President of the U.S.

Martin Van Buren – 8th President of the U.S.

Maurice Richard – Hockey Player

Mel Ott – Outfielder

Millard Fillmore – 13th President of the U.S.

Mother Teresa – Nun/Missionary

Nap Lajoie – Second Baseman

Nelson Mandela – Political Leader

Orville Wright – Aviator

Roberto Clemente – Outfielder

Roger Maris – Outfielder

Rogers Hornsby – Second Baseman

Ronald Reagan – 40th President of the U.S.

Sadaharu Oh – Baseball Player/Manager

Sammy Davis Jr. – Entertainer

Satchel Paige – Pitcher

Spencer Tracy – Actor

Steve Irwin – Zookeeper

Ted Williams – Outfielder

Theodore Roosevelt – 26th President

Thomas Edison – Inventor

Thurman Munson – Catcher

Tom Petty – Musician

Tris Speaker – Outfielder

William Henry Harrison – 9th President

William McKinley – 25th President.

William Howard Taft – 27th President  

Woodrow Wilson  -28^th President

A specific release date hasn’t been set but expect 2018 Topps Transcendent to appear in the late fall or early winter.

About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for more than 30 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]