2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

[Taliasen]

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen MLB

Per Box Items:
24 packs per box
10 cards per pack
1 10 mini card mini-box
1 mini card per pack

Topps Sell Sheet

The standard sized base cards are a little thicker than other issues. the front are bordered in beige and feature color 'art-card' style pictures of the player. The set name is along the top of the front and player's last name, team name and company name are at the bottom. Both the card fronts and backs are vertical in layout. The card backs are photo-less. The card backs have a plain white background with black print. The team logo, set name, player and moderate career highlights are all listed on the card backs.

What I Pulled:
191/350 base cards = 54.57 of the base set
19 sub-set insert cards
6 serial numbered framed bronze cards
24 regular minis
4 red back minis
2 black border minis
3 sub-set minis
1 'canvas' serial numbered mini
1 autograph
1 relic
1 mini framed relic

Base card front and back:


The inserts: (not all scanned)
Gypsy Queens 10
The Great Ones3, 12, 13, 18, 19, 25
Future Stars 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9
Home Run Heroes 4, 5, 6, 10, 14
Framed Bronze #/999 4, 17, 21, 24, 31, 37
Red Back minis 65 (Ruth) 39, 258, 316
Black Border minis 166, 181
Canvas mini Jimmie Foxx #4/10


The Hits:
DeJesus Auto
Molina Relic
Kemp framed mini relic

************************************************** *********************************************

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen is another nostalgic throw-back offering form Topps. Designed after the 1877 N174 Gypsy Queen set, Topps introduced color and other modern card touches. The card design itself is simple and clean. The quality is very good with only one duplicate insert card and no cards off-centered. The inserts are well design, look cool and will provide lots of material to chase. I was almost more excited to pull the framed bronze and mini serial numbered parallels than I was the hits. I really like the player mix of RCs, current stars, retired players, and legends of the game. The autograph is on-card and the relic hits look sharp. For as much as the inserts look cool, I still feel that there are to many and take away from getting more base set cards. For all of the positive attributes 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen has, in my opinion, for as hard as Topps tried to make it different from Allen and Ginter, it still reminds me of Allen and Ginter.

The Bottom Line:
I give 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen a buy rating rating. Count on needing pretty much two whole boxes to complete the base set. The hits look cool, but you probably not make your money back by flipping them. The set is also light on RCs which may not appeal to prospectors. If you like Topps Allen and Ginter though, Gypsy Queen will strike the same feeling.

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

Overall: 32/40 (80% = B)

As always I am offering base and insert cards to members here for a SASE.

Thanks to Topps for making this review possible!

Tal

[W_Raoul2]

I'd really be interested in some of the minis! Any chance I could get a list of which you pulled?