Quick Peek: 2015 Topps Star Wars Masterwork

*EDIT- A "Thank you" to Sooz, from Cardboard Problem and Topps, she left a comment with a link to Topps Star Wars Facebook which includes the checklist for Masterwork along with some very cool preview images. Here is the Topps Star Wars link

Once again Topps is turning to Star Wars, the first of 5 Star Wars releases this year, but this time going high-end with their 2015 Star Wars Masterwork release scheduled for a mid-February release. Each $250-275 box will include 4 packs for a total of 20 cards. Each box will include an on-card autograph, a sketch card and two other “Premium” inserts (read this as manufactured relics).

There are some positives like autographs of the main characters including Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, multi-signature autograph booklets, limited sketch cards and movie prop and costume relics. But like your typical Topps release there are plenty of parallels (4 per base card while inserts have 6 parallels each.) and no matter how “Groundbreaking” Clay Luraschi claims it to be manufactured relics are not “taking collectability to new heights”. Some of the manufactured relics include stamps and weapon medallions plus for some reason they decided to create autograph cards that contains a fragment of the pen used to sign the cards. I don’t know why anyone would want a cool autograph with the nib of a pen attached.

In the end this is the type of product where you leave others to pay the upfront price of the box and instead hunt down the singles that interest you when they begin to flood the secondary market. I love Star Wars releases and I am sure that even at such a high price point people will still purchase boxes I think companies are definitely going about creating value the wrong way when they insert fake relics and autographs of Background Stormtrooper #2 in to a product like this.

Base:

Inserts:
Defining Moments base, Rainbow Foil parallel #/299, Metal parallel #/10 & Gold parallel #1/1

Inserts

Hits
Manufactured relics

Hits

Tyson- Peck & Snyder Style

In 2012 Leaf filed for a trademark for two names “Peck & Snyder” and “Maxx”. Leading collectors in to the belief that Leaf would be producing baseball cards under the Peck & Snyder name and racing cards under the Maxx name.

 

Following the Civil War the Peck & Snyder Sporting Goods was founded (1866), at the time Base Ball was considered part of the country’s healing process and Peck & Snyder did what they could to ensure that the athletes were equipped properly.

 

In order to get the company name out to the public in 1869 they began producing advertisement cards with Base Ball team pictures on the back, teams like Cincinnati Red Stockings, New York Mutuals, Chicago White Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics. These became the first baseball cards as we know them today. Later tobacco companies like Old Judge and Allen & Ginter followed suit in the late 1800s. By 1895 the Peck & Snyder Sporting Goods company was purchased by their friend A.G. Spaulding and became a part of collecting lore.

 

This is what the original 1869 Peck & Snyder Cincinnati Red Stockings front and back looks like.

Now in 2014 Leaf is working on a modern Peck & Snyder set, which will be a multi-sport set. To get things going they have released a 45-card preview set which are being sent to dealers and there are only 250 preview sets being printed, though the cards are not numbered. The cards are based on the original 1869 advertisement cards, they are 3 5/16 x 2 3/8 in size, with an advertisement on the back (Seen below). The images are sepia in color and the images have been “antiqued” to appear old. Some of the athletes includes on the checklist; Johnny Manziel, Andrew Wiggins, Blake Bortles, Hulk Hogan, Shaq, Gordie Howe, Larry Bird, Frank Thomas and Kris Bryant.

 

I picked up the Mike Tyson card for $3.08, most cards run $2.50 to $5.00 each. The cards are really cool and I may eventually pick up the Hulk Hogan card but there are no other players that I collect. This is the back of the Tyson card.

A Quick Peek: 2014 Topps Star Wars Wacky Packages

If you are a child of the 1970s or 1980s than Topps has the set for us and the time has arrived with it's release tomorrow. The set, 2014 Star Wars Wacky Packages, combine two of our favorite childhood things with Star Wars and Wacky Packages. Boxes should be selling in the $55-60 range and will contain 24 packs.

 

 

Along with the funny package stickers like “Use The Floss” and “Leia’s Sticky Buns” there will be parallels, Reality Television parody cards, Travel Posters, Coloring Cards and Fold-Out Comic Book Ads.

Like other Star Wars and Wacky Package sets that have been released recently there will also be sketch cards, printing plates and artist autographs. Sets like this are appealing because of their humor but with the addition of Star Wars there is a double dose of nostalgia and I plan on opening at least a couple of packs.

A Quick Peek At 2014 Goodwin Champions

In 2009 Upper Deck introduced their new Goodwin Champions Baseball set. The product was designed around the 1888 Goodwin Champions baseball set and while the product was a baseball set it contained some interesting additions like the popular Entomology cards (who doesn’t love bugs?) as well as Landmarks (cards containing pieces of well-known landmarks like a piece of the Golden Gate Bridge and sand from Omaha Beach) and DNA Hair Cut cards of famous Thoroughbred horses.

 

In 2010 Upper Deck lost their MLB license and a 2010 set was not released. The 2011 release went through growing pains as the product changed from a sports product to a historical/oddities type product. By the time that the 2012 release hit the shelves Upper Deck had complete the transition to a mixture of historical, sports and interesting elements. There were hand-painted art cards, museum collection pieces, manufactured patches and even pieces of meteorites. The theme for 2012 was the Civil War. The 2013 set followed suit with a Wild West theme and now in 2014 it will be World War I, one my favorite historical era.

 

This year there will be some big named athletes on the checklist like Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey Jr, Lindsey Vonn and Joe Montana. There will be base cards, minis, parallels, relics and autographs. That is just the meat and potatoes of what to expect. There are plenty of side-dishes for collectors of all sorts.

 

There will be Origin of Species manufactured patches, Monster 3D cards, Art of the Ages painted cards and World War I Museum Collection cards.

 

I have been a fan of the Goodwin Champion releases, going back to the original baseball sets. Upper Deck took a tough punch when they lost their baseball license but they have done what they can with what they have. I know that there are plenty of collectors who are not big fans of non-sports cards in what originally was a sports card release but what they may not realize is that many of these old sets from the late 1800s were actually mixed releases.

 

Think about it this way, when the product comes out July 2^nd each box will run around $75 and you will pull 3 hits (auto, relic, manufactured patch, Museum Collection or painted cards), 10 mini cards and a fun break. According to Upper Deck’s Chris Carlin the autographs are all live there will not be any redemptions, a nice addition.

 

I look forward to the release, hopefully I can open a box this year.

Quick Peek At 2014 Topps UFC Knockout

In roughly a month Topps will be releasing the next round of UFC cards with 2014 Topps UFC Knockout. Each box will run @$130-140 and will contain 8 packs (5 cards per pack). You will pull at least 8 hits (2 Autos, 2 Auto-Relics and 4 Relics) and 8 parallels.

 

The UFC is an ever-evolving entity and Topps does a nice job keeping up with the fighters. The set consists of 100 fighters, which will be broken up among young fighters, vets and champions. Each base card will have 5 parallels; Gold, Green and Red plus two different 1/1 parallels: Mat parallels (printed on a simulated mat) and Printing Plates.

 

Like previous Knockout releases this set is focused on hits, which come one per pack. There will be plenty of autographs, including some on-card autographs. There are actually 10 different autograph sets, which will include multiple autographs, Twitter handles and nicknames. Like before there will also be redemptions for autographed gloves. Relics will be pretty standard like mats, shirts and shorts and replica championship belts. Triple Threads will also be part of the autograph and relic sets and Fist-o-Graph Box Toppers#/10 will be randomly inserted. 

 

My thoughts, I love UFC and I think that Topps has done a wonderful job. I am not a high end buyer and sadly my favorite fighter, Ryan Bader, is not on the checklist I still plan on hunting down some of Benson Henderson and Alistair Overeem’s cards.