SCF Official Review: 2011 Topps Series 2

[Enigma]

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



36 packs per box
10 cards per pack
Current Retail Price (online): $49.99 - $64.99

Product Description

2011 Topps Baseball Series 2 - The Diamond Anniversary Celebration Continues

2011 Topps Baseball continues its 60th Diamond Anniversary gala with Series 2 - a dazzling celebration of the Major League Baseball cards that have been collected, flipped and traded for the past 60 years!
Topps inaugurates the next 60 years by showcasing the most exciting players of today and tomorrow on thrilling base, insert, relic, sketch, continuity, autograph and parallel cards!

Each pack contains 9 Topps Baseball Series 2 Diamond Anniversary cards Plus 1 Topps Attax Code card.

ALL NEW FOR SERIES 2!
- Diamond Anniversary Base Parallel Variation Cards
- Before There Was Topps
- Diamond Stars
- Hall of Fame Buybacks
- Dual Relic Cards
- Topps Attax Cards

To celebrate the Diamond Anniversary, collectors and fans will have a chance to win rare diamond embedded cards, diamond Topps rings, and much more with Topps Diamond Giveaway.


EVERY HOBBY BOX CONTAINS
1 Autograph or Relic Card!

EVERY JUMBO BOX CONTAINS
1 Autograph & 2 Relic Cards!


Generating buzz and excitement and supported by a massive 2 million dollar PR, television, print, in-stadium and online marketing campaign, Diamond Giveaway Code cards are inserted 1:6 packs of Topps Baseball.

Consumers enter codes at
WWW.DIAMONDTOPPS.COM


TOPPS 60TH ANNIVERSARY DIAMOND GIVEAWAY NEW FOR SERIES 2!

TOPPS DIAMOND DIG
Unlock Codes, And Instantly Win...
- Actual Diamond Ring
- Original Vintage Topps Baseball Packs
- Diamond Embedded Card
- Original Topps Baseball Card
- Exclusive Diamond Die-Cut Cards

Collect Virtual Mlb Diamond Rings And Win...
- Topps Diamond Anniversary Ring
- Topps 60th Anniversary Complete Set
- And More!


CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS

60TH ANNIVERSARY INSERT CARDS
60 Years of Topps - 60 players chronicle the 60-year history of Topps with a reprint of one card from every year. Each card back narrates the story of that year's design as well as other interesting tidbits. Available in an Original Back Parallel version

New! Before There Was Topps - A 10-card review showcasing the world of vintage baseball culminating with the founding of Topps!

New! Diamond Stars - 25 of the greatest players of today fittingly honored on premium cards.

New! Hall of Fame Buybacks - Original Topps cards of Hall of Fame luminaries are randomly inserted into packs.

Diamond Duos - 30 cards pairing 2 players posing on one card.


60TH ANNIVERSARY REPRINT CARDS
- Autograph Relic Cards - Showcasing a reprint card and an autograph and relic. Numbered to 6. Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only.
- Autograph Cards - Famous Topps cards reprinted and highlighted with an autograph. Numbered to 60
- Relic Cards - Collector favorites reprinted with a relic. Numbered to 60


60TH ANNIVERSARY SKETCH CARDS
Original artwork of the most iconic cards in Topps history including: 1952 Mickey Mantle and 1953 Jackie Robinson. Each sketch is an original ONE OF ONE masterpiece and is signed by the artist. Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only.


TOPPS 60 CARDS
- Autograph Cards - 40 legends and current stars with their signatures on cards noting the statistical category in which each places in the top 60 all-time or active leaders.
- Autograph Relic Cards - 20 of the subjects above will be showcased on cards with their signature AND a relic piece. Numbered to 50. Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only! Available as a Platinum Diamond Parallel numbered to 10
- Jumbo Relic Cards - The highpoint of 20 subjects is commemorated with a jumbo relic swatch on cards numbered to 20. Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only.
- New! Dual Relic Cards - 2 players on one card share the glory with 2 relic pieces. Numbered* to 50.
- Relic Cards - The achievement of 60 players, highlighted with a swatch. Available as a Platinum Diamond Parallel numbered to 10
- Insert Cards - 50 cards highlighting 50 accomplishments.


RELIC CARDS
- Glove Leather Cards - Each card features a manufactured glove leather relic stitched with the name and number of a past and present hero of the field. 1 Per Hobby Case. 1 Per Jumbo Box. Hobby Exclusive! Available in Parallel numbered to 99 AND a ONE OF ONE Nickname Version.
- Diamond Duos - 15 cards pairing 2 players with 2 relics. Numbered to 50.
- 1965 Mickey Mantle Relic Reprint - Mantle's 1965 reprint Topps card featuring a piece of a game-worn Yankee jersey. Numbered to 65.


CUT SIGNATURE CARDS
- Baseball Legends - 10 diamond legends from the past and their cut signature. ONE OF ONE!


CONTINUITY PROGRAMS
Kimball Champions - The next 50-card installment featuring current and retired players on elegantly vintage-designed mini cards.

60th Anniversary On-Card Autograph Cards - 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. Five players' cards will be inserted into Topps Baseball Series 2 as well as each baseball product throughout 2011.


NEW! TOPPS ATTAX
TOPPS ATTAX - 50 of today's brightest diamond stars on collectible playable cards. One per pack!


BASE CARDS
Base Cards (330 subjects)
- 280 Veterans
- 30 Rookies
- 15 Teams
- 5 Record-Breakers

Base Card Variations - 25 retired legends share a card number with a current player.

NEW! Variation Parallel Cards
- Platinum Diamond Anniversary - The 50 variations from TOPPS SERIES 1 AND 2 paralleled with a sparkling Diamond Anniversary foil stamp along with "60 Years of Collecting"
- Canary Diamond Anniversary - The above as ONE OF ONE flawless cards.


PARALLEL CARDS
- Platinum - The entire base set is paralleled with each card featuring a "60 Years of Collecting" imprint. ONE OF ONE!
- Black - "60 Years of Collecting." Numbered to 60. Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only.
- Gold - "60 Years of Collecting." Numbered to 2011
- Printing Plates - The 1,320 plates used to make the 330 base card fronts. ONE OF ONE! Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only.
- Topps Silk Collection - 100 subjects from the base set on framed silk cards. Numbered to 50. Hobby & Jumbo Boxes Only.


DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY PARALLEL CARDS
- New! Canary Diamond Anniversary - Flawless sparkling cards. ONE OF ONE!
- New! Platinum Diamond Anniversary - The base set paralleled sparkling with a Diamond Anniversary foil stamp. Inserted 1:4 packs!; 1 per Jumbo Pack


COMBINED INSERTION RATE FOR AUTOGRAPH/RELIC* CARDS - Inserted 1 Per Hobby Box; 3 Per JUMBO Box!

WHAT WE PULLED



Base: 293/330 (88.8%)
Dupes: 0
Diamond Parallel (10)
Gold /2011 (4): Justin Verlander, Adam Jones, Anibal Sanchez, Leo Nunez

*Forgive the scan as Photobucket cropped it instead of resizing and I cannot switch it out as I have tried three times.*


Before There Was Topps (2)
Diamond Duos (9)
Diamond Stars (6)

*Forgive the scan as Photobucket cropped it instead of resizing and I cannot switch it out as I have tried three times.*


Kimball Champions (9)
Topps 60 (9)
Topps Prime 9 Promotion (2)



Eddie Mathews Topps Reprint Original Back (1)
60 Years Of Topps (12)
ToppsTown (6)
Diamond Giveaway Code Cards (6) - not scanned



Topps 60 Marco Scutaro Jersey



FINAL RATINGS

Base - 5/5
Design - 3/5
Fun - 3.5/5
Value - 5/5
Rebuy - 3.5/5

Total - 20/25 (80%)

The second round of Topps' regular set continues where the first left off. Like the first set, it is a 330-card set with the numbering starting at 331. The design is exactly the same and a lot of the inserts are continuations. When you have this many packs and cards in one box, it is really nice to see that you do not get any duplication. Be on the lookout for all the SPs. Some are in the form of retired players in which the card will be the same as a current player and the highly popular Sparkle cards. The Sparkle cards feature the player with a shiny, light mark somewhere on the player. There are also three Double Sparkle cards, cards that have two sparkles. If you get all three, you have a chance to redeem them towards an autographed bat from Topps.

As always, Topps is insert heavy. The base set has its normal parallels of Gold (/2011) and Black (/60), but they also have the Diamond Anniversary parallel. This card is easy to spot as the entire card looks like it is covered in diamond flakes. Be on the lookout for more of the Kimball Champions card as the next batch of 50 are in Series 2. There are also Prime 9 Redemption cards. There are 9 in all and each signifies a specific week that Topps will select their player of the week. You redeem the card by going to your local HTA/Hobby store and showing the redemption card to receive a special card of the Player Of The Week.

Typically, each hobby box yields one autograph or relic. While there are a lot of nice pieces inserted in various subsets, the most common will be centered around the Topps 60 theme. For those questioning what is Topps 60, this is the 60th year of Topps in the sports card industry.

Much like its predecessor, Series 2 is designed with the set collector in mind as well as the kids to an extent. It used to be very kid-oriented, but has since taken on a life of its own in the eyes of collectors. While the stunning SPs draw attention, the biggest attraction is actual something simple and that is the Diamond Giveaway code cards. An offshoot of last year's Million Card Giveaway program, collectors will find a code card in random packs in which they can enter online to unlock a card from any of the base sets Topps has released over the last 60 years. In addition, the code entitles you to a "dig" on a baseball field to unearth rings. Collect all 60 and you earn a ring of your own.

It is hard to call opening 36 packs with 10 cards a lot of fun. However, Topps has given added excitement with the various "new" entries into the packs. While it is a great product for the youngsters, it is now relevant in the eyes of the everyday collector.

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 today at www.topps.com.

[TheTGB]

Tony, did you try changing the file name on your PC? That's the only way it will switch out.

[stewart20rulz]

The Prime 9 redemption #2 is Albert Pujols in case you were wondering. The shop here in Charleston is redeeming them and have the cards on hand.

[SingleDaddyof2]

Great pickups with the Ryan base variation and Koufax diamond parallel cards! How can you not call opening 36 packs a lot of fun? lol I see your hands opening those packs and my hands get jealous! Thanks Topps!