搶先看:2016 Topps The Mint Baseball

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2016 Topps The Mint Baseball swims in super high-end waters




2016 Topps The Mint Baseball jumps deeper into the high-end waters. Mixing elements of Tribute, Tier One and a few other things to make it stand on its own, it’s one of the company’s most expensive baseball releases to date.

Each box comes with five cards, all of which are serial numbered and have on-card autographs signed in metallic ink.

On a per-card basis, 2016 Topps The Mint Baseball won’t quite reach the levels of Dynasty but it’s approaching the same territory. Don’t be surprised if you find boxes come out of the gate in the $900 range.



Autographs



Autographs come in a few different forms. There’s a dark look throughout the product, likely, in part to help showcase the metallic colors used for the signatures. It’s also something that Topps hasn’t done much of in baseball on a widespread scale outside of inserts.

Franchise Autographs highlight some of the top current players in the game.

Gem 10 Autographs feature players that Topps signed deals with more recently. If the original sell sheet holds true, this means an expansion of the Bull Durham autographs in 2016 Topps Archives. The sales material pictures actor Tim Robbins on a Nuke LaLoosh card.

Rookies are represented in Arrivals Autographs while retired legends are the focus of Golden Engravings.

All four of these autograph inserts have Green (/10) and Red (1/1) parallels. All but Golden Engravings also have Blue versions that are numbered to 50.

Select cards in 2016 Topps The Mint Baseball also have limited edition autograph cards with image variations.


Autographed Memorabilia



Similar to 2015 Topps Strata Baseball, all autographed memorabilia cards in 2016 Topps The Mint Baseball have game-used pieces that come with direct MLB authentication. This means that cards have a serial-numbered sticker where you can look up exactly what game it came from.

Authenticated Patch Autographs have a similar layout to Topps Dynasty. Besides basic numbered versions, they have Green (/10) and Red (1/1) parallels.

Franklin Batting Glove book cards are highlighted by a jumbo piece of a game-used batting glove. Topps and MLB worked directly with Franklin to develop the cards. These are the only cards in 2016 Topps The Mint Baseball that aren’t signed. However, they’re also inserted as a bonus sixth card in random boxes in addition to the promised five autographs.

Topps is pledging to have a strong checklist for the product. That said no official list of names has been released to show both who is on it and how deep it is.


2016 Topps The Mint Baseball at a glance:

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 5
Boxes per case: 4
Release date: August 17, 2016

What to expect in a hobby box:

• Autographs – 5