2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes Edition

Video Box Break and Review

1 retail blaster of 2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes Edition
8 packs per box, 8 cards per pack (Paid $19.99 plus tax)

The Video



The Pulls

Base set: 46/125 (37%)

Short Prints: 2/25 (8%)

Parallels
1 Base Card Chrome (1:8 packs, 125 cards) Mother Jones (927/1776)

Inserts

4 Medal of Honor Winners (1:4 packs, 50 cards)
Thompson, Kelly, Madison, Day

2 Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners (1:4 packs, 25 cards)
Mother Teresa, Arnie

2 Heroes of Sport (1:4 packs, 25 cards)
Mathewson, Magic

2 Heroes of Spaceflight (1:6 packs, 28 cards)
Liberty Bell 7, Gemini V

1 A Hero's Journey (1:8 packs, 15 cards)
Rising Star Emerges in Debates

Hits
1 American Heroism Relic Group B (1:140 packs) World War II Captain's Uniform

The Review
First off, I gotta say that I think the folks at Topps struck gold with the American Heritage concept and it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. The only problem I can see is if Topps starts using the same designs over and over (1961) or overexposing the same subjects (Abraham Lincoln). As many have already noted, these cards are perfect for young students or anyone who is a history buff. Now for a few quibbles. The one thing I find maddening about this set, and really any Heritage product, is that sorting these cards by number is excruciatingly painful. Not just because of the different backs but because many of the backs are upside down from the card fronts. Considering this is a set-builder's product, that's a big problem. However, as set-building sets go these days, this one is nearly a dream come true. The set is small and easy to complete (a blaster yields over a third of a set!) The inserts are relevant, well done, small in number and collectible. Thankfully we get only a chrome parallel for people who are into those. The relics are actually enticing and meaningful (I was quite pleased with the WWII uniform I pulled). The only complaints I have is the over redundancy of Lincoln cards. Do we really need or want a short print subset of 25 Lincoln/Obama cards that are virtually identical? Or, for that matter, 15 Hero's Journey Lincoln insert cards that are also all extremely similar? But those are small problems in a set that otherwise is fun and easy to collect. I have to give Topps an A for this effort and I look forward to the next American Heritage issue.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball

Video Box Break and Review

One retail blaster of 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball
8 packs per box, six cards per pack (Paid $19.99 plus tax)

The Video


The Pulls

Base set: 24/300 (8%)

Short Prints: 4/50 (8%)

Parallels
3 Base Minis (one per pack, 300 cards) T.Glaus, S.Kazmir, I.Snell
1 A&G Ad Back Base Mini (1:5 packs, 300 cards) R.Halladay
1 A&G Ad Back Short Print Mini (1:65 packs, 50 cards) C.Gomez
1 Black Bordered Base Mini (1:10 packs, 300 cards) M.Phelps

Inserts
8 National Pride (one per pack, 75 cards)
1 Baseball Highlights Sketches (1:6 packs, 25 cards) M.Rivera
1 National Heroes (1:12 packs, 40 cards) W.Tell
1 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks & Bamboozles (1:12 packs, 20 cards) The Turk

Autogamers
1 Framed Relic Group C (1:108 packs) F.Lewis Bat

The Review
What more can you about A&G that hasn't already been said. It's a collector's favorite and for good reasons. The cards are beautiful as usual although I wonder at what point Topps will have to drastically alter the basic design as every A&G set is starting to look the same. While we're on the subject of design, why does Topps insist on typing out everyone's stats on the back in letters? For example Batting Average Three hundred twenty-one. Does anybody read these? It just makes the backs useless. If they are not going to print stats why not just a short write up? The base set is relatively easy and inexpensive to collect. Good luck if you are going after the short prints or a master set of all the inserts, minis, variations which, to me, have been overdone.

Card Junkie celebrates its one year anniversary

To celebrate my blog's one year anniversary, here's a humorous complilation of some of my best hits and misses.