SCF Official Review: 2011 Topps Heritage

[Enigma]

First and foremost, I'd like to thank our sponsors at Topps for providing us with this box.



24 packs per box
9 cards per pack
Current Retail Price (online): 89.99 - 99.99

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
- One Autograph or Relic Card per Box - all autographs are signed on-card!
- 500 Stars of Today and Yesterday on the 1962 Topps Design!
- New! '62 Minted Coin Cards
- New! Baseball Bucks Box Loader


PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
BASE CARDS (500) - 425 of the game's best players on the 1962 Topps Baseball card design!
- Rookies, Veterans, Legends (425)
- World Series Highlights (6)
- Combos (11)
- League Leaders (4)
- Sporting News All-Stars (24)
- Team cards (18)
- Rookie Parade (8)
- In Action (9)
- Short Prints (75) - high numbered

CHROME PARALLEL CARDS (300 total cards)
- Black-Bordered (100) #'d to 62
- Refractor (100) #'d to 562
- Chrome (100) #'d to 1962

NEW! '62 MINT (20 total cards) - Hobby Exclusive! 1 Per Hobby CASE!
20 money players appear on these cards featuring an event from 1962 along with a coin minted in 1962 in the following variations:
- Silver Dollar - Hall of Fame Induction
- Quarter - Baseball Highlight
- Dime - Personal History
- Nickel - Rookie Debut
- Penny - Happy Birthday

TOPPS STAMPS
- Topps Stamps - Over 180 current players highlighted in a stamp format on framed cards. Each card contains two stamps featuring 2 players and is numbered to 62.
- Buyback Topps Stamps - Original 1962 Topps player stamps, newly framed and randomly inserted into packs. Hobby Exclusive!

INSERT CARDS (45 total cards) 6 PER BOX!
- New Age Performers - 15 players whose performances have surpassed the giants of the past.
- Then and Now - 10 cards featuring statistical comparisons between today's stars with legends from 1962.
- Baseball Flashbacks - 10 memorable baseball highlights from 1962.
- News Flashbacks - 10 cards commemorating major news stories from 1962.

AUTOGRAPHED RELIC CARDS (20) - One Autographed or Relic Card Per Box! All Autographs Signed Directly on Each Card!
- Flashback Stadium Relics - 5 subjects will autograph 25 relic cards commemorating achievements from the 1962 season. Hand numbered to 25!
- Clubhouse Collection Relics - 10 cards showcasing a bat or uniform memento are autographed by active and retired players. Hand numbered to 25!
- Clubhouse Collection Dual - 5 cards showcasing on-card autographs from a retired and active player from the same franchise along with a relic piece. Hand numbered to 10 - Hobby Exclusive!

AUTOGRAPHED CARDS - One Autographed or Relic Card Per Box! All Autographs Signed Directly On Each Card!
- Real One - On card signatures from players who last appeared on a Topps Card in 1962 as well as signatures from additional 1962 stars and current stand-outs.
- Real One Special Edition - The subjects above will on-card sign 62 cards in red ink. Hand numbered to 61-Hobby Exclusive!
- Real One Dual Autographs - 10 cards featuring an active and retired player with their on-card signatures. Hand numbered to 25 - Hobby Exclusive!
- Flashbacks - 5 baseball legends directly sign their name to 25 cards, each featuring a highlight from their 1962 season. Hand numbered to 25
- 1962 Cut Signatures - Cut signatures from Mickey Mantle and other legends. #'d 1 of 1!
- New! 60th Anniversary - Sixty players past and present have signed these cards along with an additional inscription wishing Topps a "Happy 60th!" All autographs and inscriptions are signed directly on each numbered to 60 card. At least three players' cards will be inserted into each baseball product throughout 2011.

RELIC- CARDS - One Relic or Autographed Card per Box!
- Clubhouse Collection - Over 40 active pros and retired stars from 1962 are featured with bat or jersey relic pieces.
- Clubhouse Collection Dual - 5 cards featuring a player from 1962 matched with a current player from the same team each with a relic. Hand numbered to 61
- Flashbacks - 10 cards paying tribute to a player's memorable highlight from 1062, and featuring a relic piece from the venue in which it occurred.
- Dual Flashbacks - 5 cards featuring 2 players from rival teams, their respective highlights from the 1962 season, and 2 stadium relic pieces from which they occurred. Hand numbered to 10

BOX LOADER - HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!
- NEW! Baseball Bucks - 96 outstanding players featured on mock currency of varying denominations. One in Every 3 Boxes - alternates with Advertising Panels and Topps Stamp Album.
- Advertising Panels - Featuring parallel cards as a 3-card strip. One in Every 3 Boxes - alternates with Topps Stamp Album and Baseball Bucks.
- Topps Stamp Album - Each of these 30 over-sized cards mimic a page from the original 1962 Topps Stamp Album and feature reproduction player stamps. One in Every 3 Boxes - alternates with Advertising Panels and Baseball Bucks.
- 1962 Topps Originals - Original cards from 1962 inserted and stamped in 1-card penny packs. 1 in every 2 Boxes!

WHAT WE PULLED



Box Loader (1): Baseball Bucks $10 Trevor Cahill



Base: 199/500 (39.8%)
Dupes: 0



Chrome /1962 (2): Josh Thole, AL Home Run Leaders
Baseball Flashbacks (2)
New Age Performers (2)
News Flashbacks (2)
Then And Now (2)



'62 Mint Gaylord Perry 1962 Nickel



Topps Stamps Joey Votto/Austin Jackson /62



60th Aniversary Bob Gibson Inscribed Auto /60



FINAL RATINGS

Base - 4/5
Design - 4.5/5
Fun - 3.5/5
Value - 4/5
Rebuy - 4/5

Total - 20/25 (80%)

Heritage is back and this year is a look back at 1962. The wooden panel design is in full force and really is a nice look for then and now (no pun intended). Showing off where my generation of collecting lies, I had flashbacks to 1987 in which Topps used a wood panel background on their cards. One small issue I have is with the rookie cards. I know the 62 design had the big star at the top to denote it was a rookie, but do we really need that and the RC logo used prominently today on the same card. Seems like overkill to me.

The Flashback cards are relevant to the year and that is refreshing. It gives collectors an idea what was going on then and serves as a reminder to those who lived during that time. However, the '62 Mint cards really do not serve any purpose. There's absolutely no appeal in getting a card with a nickel encapsulated in it. Numismatists (coin collectors) might possibly have a slight interest, but I would think they would just rather have the coin. Then again, between the two mints (Philadelphia and Denver), there were almost 381 million produced that year so they more than likely have one. And then the cheesiest thing I've seen in a while are the Baseball Bucks Top Loaders. How anyone could think these would be collectible and in demand is beyond me. Why would you find the need to add a fourth possible box loader to the mix?

All in all, Heritage is a wonderful product for collectors. It's easily one you can find yourself busting numerous boxes, whether it's retail or hobby. TTM/IP Collectors will love this release as the base card are perfect for collecting signatures. The set and inserts are collectible and provide enough of a challenge to make the hunt worthwhile.

Once again, I'd like to thank our wonderful sponsors at Topps for giving us the opportunity to open and review this release. For more information on all their products, visit them at www.topps.com.

[TheTGB]

Nice Bob Gibson pull!

I'm not sure how I feel about those cards with embedded coins...and the baseball bucks I don't understand. It's a different type of collectible I guess that will have it's own niche group.

[TurdFerguson]

Nice review Tony. Are the baseball bucks redeemable for anything by Topps ?