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

Another Week, Another Obama Card, This Time From eTopps

Last week there was the announcement that there'd be a Barack Obama Cut Signature in Sport Kings Series C. This week it looks as though there'll be another card featuring the President coming from eTopps. I logged in this morning to see if I was allocated the first three UFC cards the program offered (I was) and proceeded to check the message boards for this week's offerings. There I was directed to the following:

That'd be a card showing the first pitch from the All-Star Game. It's not a very exciting looking card but one that is likely to generate a lot of interest. Last year eTopps had four cards of Presidential candidates done in a shiny Allen & Ginter style. While the other three can now be found cheap, the Obama continues to trade for more than $85.

This week's other eTopps cards include Joe Mauer, Brett Anderson and Prince Fielder in his Home Run Derby garb.

Really?

We all know Obama is still the man, but his own Beckett? Actually, I'm not really all that surprised. I do find it interesting that the cover makes "the U.S. Presidents" seem like a bit of an afterthought.

He does have his own set, cards in several sports sets, a $100 eTopps card and some Spider-man comic that kicked butt in sales over the "death" of Batman (sorry, comic fans, but someone dying in a comic has lost 99% of its impact seeing as how 99.9% of deaths are negated by aliens, clones and really bad writing).


Here's the link if you're an Obamaniac.

The Pope Get Gintered eTopps Style

Although I'm not a Catholic, there's something cool about seeing the Pope on a baseball card - and a shiny one at that. Pope Benedict will be one of the ten cards featured in the eTopps Allen & Ginter Yankee Stadium Tribute set, which will be offered for sale next week.



The ten-card set will be done in the holographic Allen & Ginter design that has been used in past eTopps sets. Topps will also be including a manufactured patch card. Initially cards will only be offered as a complete set costing $99. Once allocated, cards will only be available individually through eBay.



I'm not sure if I'm going to take the plunge and get one of the sets, although the Lou Gehrig is one of the nicest cards I've seen and the Ruth and Jackie Robinsons (it's a Yankee STADIUM set, not just Yankees) also look sweet.



Is it just me or is it already Yankee Stadium overkill? The park's not even closed yet and you've got the 6600-card monster from Upper Deck, this set and likely countless others on the way. By the end of next year my guess is anyone who wants one or twenty Yankee Stadium seat "relic cards" will be able to have them. The rest of us will still hate the Yankees.



If you're not familiar with the way eTopps works, you may want to check out their site. Basically you buy the cards and can choose to have them held on their site and trade them like stocks or you can have them delivered and they're just like regular cards (that's the route I normally take).



eTopps will also be offering a discounted shipping special for the first two weeks after allocation. For $9.99 you get the set shipped as a box set and all the cards get the same serial numbers.

Shiny Cigarette Cards

Who said Topps was driving the Allen & Ginter brand into the ground? Well they're back at it with some shiny new eTopps offerings featuring some of the NFL's greatest Super Bowl champs (meaning, if you're looking for Dan Marino go watch Ace Ventura again). The first trio of cards in the set were put online today and will be available for a week.

Topps promises to include Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, John Elway and "Boradway" Joe in the Allen & Ginter Superbowl Champions set.

The Baseball Card Blog has images posted of the entire set.

eTopps to Offer WWE Cards

Topps is poised to offer its first WWE wrestling cards through its online eTopps site. Between March 19 and March 26 the website will offer six cards. All four of the main event superstars for Wrestlemania 23 are present: John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Batista and the Undertaker. Legends "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and The Rock will also be offered.

Collectors who buy and are allocated all six cards will also receive a free exclusive autographed card from Torrie Wilson.

Mickey Mantle Showcased in New eTopps Collection

Topps has announced a limited edition set of Mickey Mantle cards that will only be available on their eTopps site.

The 18-card set will feature shiny versions of Mantle's Topps collection from 1952 through 1969. The truly saavy collector may know that there were no Topps Mantle cards in 1954 and 1955. Well, they've gone and fixed that.

The set will only be offered through online sales between November 20 and December 4 - that's two weeks for those counting the days. The set is also limited to 999 numbered copies.

Once purchased collectors can either have the sets shipped to them or they can keep the cards in their online portfolios and trade cards individually if they so choose. Those taking delivery by the end of the year will also receive a certificate of authenticity signed by Mantle's sons ('cause they've done so much for the game).

The set runs $198.