2013 Topps Heritage Hobby 5 Box Review

Today I was able to track down some Topps Heritage hobby boxes. These are scheduled to hit tomorrow, but many hobby shops will be getting them in today. I opened 5 boxes total.

I must start by saying the condition of these cards were much better than those I pulled from retail packs. There was almost no damage on any of the cards. The hit was almost always the 3rd card from the back. One of the boxes was a purple refractor hot box. It is really a pleasure opening these bonus boxes as the refractors do not take away from the hit, but instead are an added bonus and take the place of a base card. That means many of the packs have multiple hits in them. If you remember back a few years topps did the same thing with green refractors. The only difference is that back then topps gave us a watered down checklist. I am happy to announce that I pulled many super stars in my 24 purples...Pujols, Howard and even a Bryce! Even if you don't think these shiny cards belong in a retro set, you will find yourself gazing upon these much, as they are very beautiful.

I received about the right amount of inserts per box. I only average 1 refractor a box and only 1-2 chromes. The base chrome set is going to be very hard to complete this year. My two big hits were a red ink David Freese autograph numbered to 64 and a Josh Reddick mini numbered to just 100. Reddick is a top prospect right now. Topps did a great job mixing in hot prospets among the sets, even though they couldn't land any true rookies in the set. Bundy, Profar and Reddick will lead that list of hot cards. There are also box toppers like last year. Real 1964 cards which will average about one per two boxes. Boxes that don't have the 64 topper will have long ad panels.

I also pulled a few variations. These cards were turned around in my packs, so they were pretty easy to find. I pulled a Yadier Molina variation that isn't listed on any list. Don't you love surprises? I will again mention that the small number on the bottom of the card will change for SP's, SSP's and variations.

I was very impressed with these hobby boxes. There seems to be much more value in them than in past years. Topps has listened to collectors and put all the top players and prospects into the chrome sets. I still have yet to confirm if the purple chrome set is a parallel set or a skip numbered set, I tend to think it is the latter as most of the ones I pulled were stars.

I will try to post some more pictures and answer any questions. There is much to like this year in topps heritage. Go get some at your local hobby shop.

Full 2013 Topps Heritage Review

It is here folks! 2013 heritage has hit certain retail locations. I was able to find some at my local walmart. I hit two different locations and found the same number of packs and blasters. It looks like the initial allotment is one 24 single pack box, 6-8 blasters and maybe 15 rack packs. I purchased a few of each.

There is a lot to take in at first. Topps has increased the inserts and hits now. You will find a few of the staples of heritage, new age and flashbacks, but there are some new cards. I pulled a nice Hunter Pence mini. Topps has numbered these to only 100. The hand numbering adds to the value. I also pulled a black back card of Mariano Rivera, I think that this is a Venezuela parallel. These will be very hard to track down with these falling 1:47 packs and 1:21 rack packs. I pulled two game used cards, these look about the same and feature a home base window. Both my jersey cards were one color.

The base cards are once again really nice. The colors on the front are very vivid, perhaps too much as compared to the 1964 offering. The photos are ok, mostly portrait. There are action variations and those should really be apparent. It also looks like you can tell the inserts and SSPs by the code # on the back. Base cards had the # ending in 80. SP's were 81. I found the backs of the cards to be very nice. Sporting a pale orange color the print really pops. There is even a spot for the trivia rub, but of course there is no game....perhaps some will have a trivia rub variation?

Condition seems to be a big problem. Many of the cards were dinged. I must say that I am amazed that any of the cards are mint after the rough journey from topps to the stores in those huge boxes. The racks are just thrown in and the blaster packs are now stuffed into smaller boxes. I can report that SRP is down from last year. 2.98 for single backs and 5.98 for racks. The rack packs seem to be the best bargain. Autograph odds are only 1:120 in the rack packs. I found a few blue fronts, these seem to be walmart exclusives. I did pull a few chromes and a few refractors. The chromes are bland, but the refractors really are nice. My two bigger hits were a Profar RC refractor and a Pujols refractor. Both numbered to 564. Chromes fall 1:24 packs and 1:11 racks, with refractors falling 1:42 packs and 1:19 racks. Blacks will fall 1:368 packs or 1:166 racks. Good Luck hitting those, you will hit ink before you hit one of those!

If you have any specific questions please write them below. I will answer any question I can about retail. These should be hitting your walmart in the next few days. Good Luck!

2013 Topps Heritage is LIVE

Retail topps heritage is live at walmart. I busted racks, blasters and single packs. Look for my review tonight.