2009 Topps Tribute Box Break & Review

It has been 5 years since I’ve opened a pack of Topps Tribute, and after watching a lot of breaks I decided to try a box of the new ’09 stuff.  It was a very fun 6 packs to open.  Check out what I got.  I think there may be someone over at A Cardboard Problem that might be interested one of my pulls 🙂

Design:

The design of these cards is just amazing!  Each and every card in the set has a refractor like finish.  They don’t have any funky borders that make the card look too busy.  They just have a clean cut look to them.  I think out of all the different versions of Topps Tribute, this design is my personal favorite.  Having such a shiny surface does make every card in this set extremely condition sensitive.  They remind me of the cards from ’07 Bowman’s Best.  When holding the base cards on the side, it looks as if there are two cards stuck together when in fact its only one card.  Be careful not to pull the base cards apart thinking there is another card underneath.

Price:

When I purchased my box from Blowout Cards on Friday it cost $226.99 with free shipping.  As of today the price has risen to $284.99 for a single box.  Its one of the most expensive products on the market, but having a small checklist of stars really helps increase the chance of pulling some great stuff.

Hit Quality:

’09 Topps Tribute has a terrific combination of hits for collectors to pull.  Collectors can really take advantage of the small checklist which is packed with stars.  I like that your’re promised 3 autographed relics in addition to 3 stand alone relics.  Here is a list of the hits I pulled:

• Nolan Ryan Blue Refractor #’ed/219
• Derrek Lee Blue Refractor #’ed/219
• Chase Utley Blue Refractor #’ed/219
• Ryan Braun Black Refractor #’ed/99
• Gary Carter Black Refractor #’ed/99
• Stan Musial Gold Refractor #’ed/50
• Albert Pujols Blue Triple Jersey Auto #’ed/75
• Carl Crawford Gold Bat Auto #’ed/25
• David Wright Black Jersey Auto #’ed/50
• Evan Longoria Bat #’ed/99
• Reggie Jackson Gold Dual Jersey #’ed/25
• Alex Rodriguez Black Dual Bat Jersey #’ed/50

Overall:

Overall I give my box a solid 4 baseballs out of 5 (1=poor & 5=perfect).  This box was so fun to open and I received some great hits.  As far as my box goes, I got what I paid for plus maybe a little more which doesn’t happen a lot in today’s hobby.  If you have the money I would highly suggest trying a box before the price goes up any further.