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 35th 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 ca
reer 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. That checklist is below.
You can see 2018 Topps Transcendent (and cards from the Japanese edition) by clicking here.
2018 Topps Transcendent Cut Signature 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
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 -28th President
The release date for 2018 Topps Transcendent is Friday, December 14.
2018 Topps Transcendent Baseball Checklist