This years edition of Topps Heritage is the latest to follow the tradition of reviving a past design from a classic Topps Product. This year channels the 1962 Topps set with the distinctive woodgrain borders. The SP’s in the set mirror the original set with incorrect birth dates, wrong positions, and reverse negatives. The following below are some of the scans that we got in our break that we had live on UStream.tv.

Our box had one of the SP Green Tints of Luke Scott included, as well as a Clubhouse Collection Relic of Mark Reynolds. We didn’t hit any of the monster hits like a Koufax, Aaron or one of the dual patches, but we got our SP’s and everything that was promised. This is a set that year in and year out has been popular with set builders and there are a number of Topps designs that can follow suit to continue the product success.

It should be interesting to see how well this continues to do, or will it hamper upcoming releases like 2011 Topps Lineage but as popular as Heritage has been there should be room in the market for both.

E3) 2011 Topps Chrome BRENT MOREL Heritage RC 1588/1962 *Chicago White Sox US $1.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 2:01:10 PST   | Watch this Item

E3) 2011 Topps Chrome JUSTIN MORNEAU Heritage 1207/1962 *Minnesota Twins US $1.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 2:03:13 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 Topps Heritage Minors Joc Pederson Auto RC /861 Los Angeles Dodgers US $7.50 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 3:37:30 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 Topps Heritage Minors Davis Stoneburner Auto RC /861 Texas Rangers US $6.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 3:38:11 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 Topps Heritage Danny Valencia #283 US $1.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 4:02:52 PST   | Watch this Item

Cecil was on the 18U team in 2008, he had cards featured in 2008 SP Authentic, and the 2008 Team USA Box set that included Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper’s first cards. Cecil was a former Braves Draft pick in the 36th round in 2008. He was ranked 27th among prep prospects in 2008 by Baseball America.

He has one of the most live arms that I have seen in person, although much like Rick Vaughn, sometimes he didn’t know where it was going to go. I’ve always believed in his arm, and that he could be a dominant pitcher down the road. He just needs to calm down on the mound and have fun.

He had two great performances in the Cape League in 2010. He was the Falmouth Commodores Opening Day Starter and dominated the defending Champion Bourne Braves. He also was the pitcher on Falmouth who squared off with Anthony Renaudo in Brewster, he took the loss that day, but was solid through out.

But you can see the card posted above that was signed by Cecil. Well at least one of them was. The card on the left was signed by Cecil, the card on the right however was not. What I can gather is that the players all sat around and did their signing duty for their time with Team USA. You put a group of 18 and under year olds in a room for hours and players are going to end up goofing off over time. Well, it looks like a player on the team may have grabbed at least one of Cecil’s cards, faked Cecil’s name and Upper Deck missed this before inserting it in to the box sets.

I bought it on eBay for 1.30 plus shipping. I won’t be looking to sell it or anything. I have a nice collection of Cecil’s cards, and whether he is a hit at the pro level or not, I consider him a good friend and enjoy having this card that is a little bit off.

TOPPS REVEALS DIAMOND SAPRKLE VARIATIONS

The Diamond Anniversary of Topps Baseball is off to a feverish start and collectors are uncovering rare Diamond Sparkle Variation cards in 2011 Topps Baseball Series 1. (image attached)

Following is the list of 60 players who have a “sparkle” on a few of their cards.

10 years ago, Albert Pujols burst onto the hobby scene with Topps’ iconic Autographed Rookie Cards. 10 years later, he’s considered one of the game’s greats and his 2001 Autographed Rookie Cards are considered some of the most valuable and treasured in this collecting generation. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of these iconic cards, Topps pays TRIBUTE with a special buyback program.

The company is inserting 30 redemption cards for Albert Pujols’ 2001 Autographed Rookie Card. Each redemption card is good for an original buyback of one of the following cards:

*2001 Bowman Chrome Autograph
*2001 Topps Finest Autograph
*2001 Topps Reserve Autograph

Collectors will be notified of which card they will be receiving once they’ve entered the redemption code’s pin number at Topps.com.

ALBERT PUJOLS BGS 9.5 GEM MINT 2001 BOWMAN CHROME REFRACTOR AUTOGRAPH CENTERED US $12,999.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 18:02:36 PST   | Watch this Item

2001 Bowman autograph ALBERT PUJOLS rookie beckett 9.5 gem mint! US $1,399.00 Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 4:02:57 PST   | Watch this Item

ALBERT PUJOLS AUTO 2001 BOWMAN CHROME #340 AUTOGRAPH RC BLUE ANGELS WORLD SERIES US $14.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 12:18:30 PST   | Watch this Item

ALBERT PUJOLS BOWMAN CHROME 2001 ROOKIE AUTO RC MINT SP 2011 RARE US $0.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 19:03:16 PST   | Watch this Item

Leaf does not have ties to other sports at this point, so does not have quite as much to lose as Upper Deck did if they fight it. So this should be interesting to see how it developes. Brian Gray hinted in the thread that there will be an announcement on this in two to three weeks.

Why couldn’t these rumors have come up last weekend when I had Brian Gray on camera?

Topps has done a lot of crazy photoshops over time including the Derek Jeter with President Bush and Mickey Mantle, and Rudy Giuliani celebrating with the Red Sox, but this could potentially be the craziest photoshop ever. Brian Wilson, closer of the World Champion San Francisco Giants and in the background we have internet phenom and Brian Wilson’s neighbor, The Machine. Was he at the ball game looking to borrow some sugar? Was Brian not returning his phone messages? We don’t know, but either way this is AWESOME.

2011 Topps Chrome Atomic Refractor Brian Wilson #62 US $3.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 6:36:04 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 Topps Heritage BRIAN WILSON * BUSTER POSEY Fear The Beard #423 US $0.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 7:22:42 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen mini SP Red GQ #107 Brian Wilson San Fransisco Giants US $2.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 8:28:21 PST   | Watch this Item

BRIAN WILSON 2011 TOPPS CHROME X-FRACTOR #62 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS Combined Ship! US $1.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 9:40:38 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 Topps Chrome #62 Brian Wilson Giants US $0.99 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 11:15:08 PST   | Watch this Item

TOPPS GIVES 10 LUCKY COUPLES THE CHANCE TO WIN A DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING ON VALENTINE’S DAY

TOPPS TO CELEBRATE COMPANY’S
60th DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY AT
GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL ON
VALENTINE’S DAY FEBRUARY 14TH

Valentine’s Day will be more memorable this year for one lucky couple. Today The Topps Company, the leading creator and marketer of sports cards and the official baseball card company of Major League Baseball®, announced that the company will celebrate its 60th diamond anniversary on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, by giving ten lucky couples the opportunity to search for one diamond engagement ring.

From January 17 through February 3 fans will have the chance to go to http://www.facebook.com/ToppsSports and upload a 90 second video telling their story and showing the world why they should be one of the 10 finalists to search for the diamond.

The Topps Valentine’s Day Diamond Dig will be held at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal where a diamond engagement ring, worth approximately $10,000, will be buried underneath a 30 foot diamond ball pit. At the same time, the bachelors, dressed in tuxedos, will dive into the pit in effort to be the first to find the engagement ring. The lucky bachelor who finds the ring will propose on the spot to their significant other, also dressed in evening attire, in front of the world on the most romantic day of the year.

“This is a great way for Topps to celebrate our diamond anniversary and give one lucky couple an opportunity to make this Valentine’s Day even more special for them,” said Warren Friss, Topps V.P. –General Manager. “The Topps Valentine’s Day Diamond Dig will certainly provide our fans with some memorable moments, something that we continue to pride ourselves on and have for the past 60 years.”

For more details about the promotion or to upload your own 90 second video, visit http://www.facebook.com/ToppsSports. Topps will announce the finalists online during the first week of February and will continue a year-long diamond giveaway promotion in their 2011 Topps products.

2011 WWE Topps Classics GOLD Lot Oyunga,Watson,Piper,Anderson,Reks,McGillicutty US $5.01 (4 Bids) Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 1:30:17 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 Topps Tier One #69 JOSE BAUTISTA #d'/799 US $1.50 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 1:34:11 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 Topps Series 2 Diamond Giveaway USED 10 Card Set US $9.97 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 1:34:40 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 WWE Topps Classics Autograph Auto R-Truth US $15.51 (11 Bids) Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 1:35:53 PST   | Watch this Item

2011 Topps Tier One #66 RYAN HOWARD #d'/799 US $2.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 1:35:54 PST   | Watch this Item

Last year 2010 Bowman was the hit product of the year, the first MLB cards of Stephen Strasburg as well as the inclusion of Bryce Harper in the Team USA inserts. Well this year we have inserts of Anthony Rendon, and autographs of Bryce Harper.

Topps Introduces All-New Gypsy Queen Baseball

With 4 guaranteed hits per box (2 autographs & 2 relics), a gorgeous design and Sandy Koufax on-card autographs…the all-new 2011 Gypsy Queen Baseball is sure to be a winner! The product, which hits shelves in late April, pays homage to the 1887 Original with a colorful twist and an array of autograph (image attached), insert and memorabilia cards…including a first-ever concept.

Here’s a look at the details…

BASE CARDS
· Veterans, Retired Players & Rookies (400 subjects)

· Short-Printed Variation Cards (50 subjects)

PARALLEL CARDS
· State Stamp Parallel (450 subjects): Relic card featuring a state stamp from the city/country of where the player was born sequentially numbered to 10
· Framed Parallel (450 subjects): sequentially numbered. 1 per Hobby box
· Gypsy Queen Gold Parallel Relic (100 subjects) are coated with UV and foil stamped “Gypsy Queen”. 1 per pack
· Framed Printing Plates (450 subjects) Hobby Only

MINI PARALLEL CARDS
· Base Minis (400 subjects) 1 per pack
· Short-Printed (50 subjects) 1:24
· Mini Variations (100 subjects) found only in the mini box! Hobby Only
· Gypsy Queen Back (450 subjects) 1:6
· Black Bordered (450 subjects) 1:12
· Sepia Tone (450 subjects) sequentially numbered to 99.
· Leather (450 subjects) sequentially numbered to 10. Hobby Only
· Printing Plates (550 subjects) Hobby Only

AUTOGRAPH and RELIC CARDS
· Relic Cards (30 subjects)
· Framed Mini Relic Cards (30 subjects)
· Autograph Cards (30 subjects): On-card autographs!!
· Framed Autographed Mini Relic Cards (20 subjects) sequentially numbered to 25.
· Autographed Relic Cards (20 subjects) sequentially numbered to 25.
· Dual Autographed Relic Cards (10 subjects)sequentially numbered to 15.
· Triple Autographed Relic Cards (10 subjects)sequentially numbered to 10.
· Original Art Patch Cards (50 subjects) Originla art cards featuring a piece of game-used patch numbered 1/1. Hobby Only

INSERT CARDS
· The Great Ones (30 subjects) 1:4
Ø Mini version will appear 1 per mini box
· Homerun Heroes (25 subjects) 1:4
Ø Mini version will appear 1 per mini box
· Future Stars (20 subjects): Young players who are destined for greatness. 1:4
Ø Mini version will appear 1 per mini box
· Gypsy Queens (20 subjects): One per box…look for tarot card, autograph and gemstone versions!

· Insert Card Printing Plates Hobby Only

· 60th Anniversary Autographed Cards Hobby Only

MINI-BOX Boxloader
· Mini version of the master box containing:
Ø 6 mini parallels, 3 mini inserts and 1 exclusive mini variation.

HALL OF FAMER HANK AARON TO SIGN AUTOGRAPHS FOR TOPPS IN 2011

On the heels of announcing that Sandy Koufax would be signing autographs for 2011 Topps products, the company is pleased to announce that another legend will be joining its list of autograph signers…HANK AARON.

The first 2011 products to find Aaron’s autograph will be:

· 2011 Topps Heritage: Hank will be signing for the “Real One Autographs” program. (image attached)

· 2011 Topps Tribute: With the addition of Aaron, this checklist keeps getting better and better. Look for Hank’s autographed Relics!

· 2011 Gypsy Queen: Aaron will be joining Sandy Koufax on the list of signers for these stunning on-card autographs.