T206 Honus Wagner Gets the Metallic Shine

Topps' online arm eTopps has released their T206 Tribute set. Available only for the week and initially as a complete set, it's a convergence of the old school hobby and new school technology. While I'm already pretty bored of the T206 design (I prefer the gold border T205 design), if these are anything like the eTopps Allen & Ginter cards as far as asthetics, they will be very nice.

The eTopps T206 Tribute set consists of 10 retired players. The photo selection is nice and the rainbow spin on the Wagner should be interesting. Sets are being offered for $69.99 and are limited to a maximum of 749 copies (I think it's a safe prediction that they're going to sell out). Cards are then placed in buyers' eTopps portfolios with an initial value of $7.00 each. If you just want a couple of singles you'll have to fight for them on eBay.

My guess is that a few of these will really take off. The T206 design is new to eTopps and the print run is quite low. The combination should keep most of these above their initial price offering (IPO). How much? I'm not sure. I do know I'm not willing to take the risk and will probably look for the Babe Ruth and the Nolan Ryan somewhere down the line on the secondary market.

Here's pictures of the complete set:

Here's the checklist:

1. Ernie Banks
2. Jackie Robinson
3. Babe Ruth
4. Lou Gehrig
5. Cy Young
6. Stan Musial
7. Mickey Mantle (who would have guessed he'd be #7)
8. Cal Ripken Jr.
9. Honus Wagner
10. Nolan Ryan