2010 Topps Chrome MLB

[Taliasen]

2010 Topps Chrome MLB

Per Box Items: (Hobby Box)
24 pack per box
Four cards per pack
Two Rookie Autographs per box

The standard sized cards look much the same as other Topps products for this year. Except of course, all being chrome. Topps Series One and Series Two, and Topps NFL base set also all have a simple clean design to the card fronts. The white bordered cards have a splash of color on the left side of the front. The color varies according to the team's primary colors. The player name and team logo are on the bottom of the card fronts. The card backs are all in horizontal format. There is a small photo on the left side of the card backs. Moderate biographical information, moderate career highlights, and complete Major League statistics are featured. Again the side of the card is trimmed in the teams primary color. Both the card fronts and backs are extremely glossy.

What I Pulled:
88 unique cards plus both checklist cards.
80/220 base set cards = 36% of the base set
Eight duplicates
Four refractors
One Topps Chrome Heritage
One Topps Chrome T206 Refractor
One Rookie Auto
One Rooikie Auto Refractor

Base Card Front and Back:


The Inserts:
Refractors - Morales, Hamilton, Wells, Ross (RC)
Heritage Chrome - Hunter #/1961
Tops T206 Chrome Refractor - Kelp #/499


The Hits:
RC Auto Eric Young Jr
RC Auto Refractor Esmil Rogers #/499

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One of the most highly anticipated releases year after year is Topps Chrome. For all of the hype that this product generates, the innovators of the refractor technology might leave collectors scratching their heads this year. The positives include a simple clean design that matches other products this year, great RC selection including the two biggest names (Strasberg and Heyward), ON-CARD AUTOS, and serial numbered inserts of Heritage, T206 and Chicle. Drawbacks include inconsistent photograph quality, a surprising number of duplicates for a hobby box, an alarming number of quality control issues, and the infamous "chrome curl." The cross product set design actually looks good and does a lot to portray uniformity in the Topps family. One of the duplicates is a Heyward RC so that is a little consolation. The on-card autos look really nice and are positioned to fit the card. Some of the photograph is amazing with the action shots almost jumping out with HD quality. One the other hand, some of the shots appear to be low resolution and blend in with the background and borders. One or two duplicates can be expected but eight is a little much, especially for a hobby box. What really surprised me though was the quality control issues. Several of the cards, like 50% of them are off-center. A lot of these are only 60/40, but there are some 80/20, and even a couple that are 90/10! There is also the imprint or billet outline around the players. It is very shallow on some cards and VERY heavy on others. On some cards the imprint itself is also off center form around the player as much as 1/4 of an inch.

The Bottom Line:
I give 2010 Topps chrome a "shop around" rating. You will need all of three boxes to complete the base set. The serial numbered inserts and autos are nice and easily trade-able, but it might be worth it to see if Topps corrects some opportunities in Topps Chrome Series Two or even later releases of Series One.

The Final Score:
Final Ratings (Out of 5):
Base set collect-ability: 3/5
Big-hit Hunter: 3/5
Prospector Hunter:4/5
Overall Design: 4/5
Fun: 5/5
Value: 4/5
Re-buy: 4/5
Overall Quality: 3/5

Overall: 30/40 (75% = C)


Tal

[Merl]

Always enjoy your reviews, once again. Nice job, bud.

[krowsnest]

r u lookin to trade the mantle

[mikesilvia]

CC Paid!

[htwheelz01]

Nice review man.