2022 Topps Archives Signature Series Baseball Active Player Edition Hobby Box Break & Review

Collector Type: Autograph

“Wouldn’t this card look great with an on-card autograph?”

That phrase is something many collectors say when opening various products. Thanks to buyback products like Archives Signature Series now you can have authentic Topps autographs on those great looking cards.

Packaged inside each box of 2022 Topps Archives Signature Series is (1) on-card autographed buyback card. Every card is encased in a holder, and serial numbered. Autographs can come on older base cards and relics. Finding dual autographs is also possible. This is the Active Player Edition which means all autograph subjects are currently still playing.

Over the years I’ve had my share of good luck with this product. I’ve pulled a few 1/1’s including a Mike Trout autograph. Having one card per box is quite the gamble.

One of these years it would be great to see Topps use some Living Set cards. I believe they would look great with on-card autographs.

Checklist

Here is what I pulled:

Auto:

• Sixto Sanchez 2019 Bowman Chrome Prospect Buyback Auto #’ed/65

Autograph is signed over a darker portion of the card.

Card of the Day: Rob Manfred 2017 Topps Archives Fan Favorites MLB Commissioner Auto

Card of the Day: Mike Schmidt 2021 Topps Archives #33

2021 Topps Archives Baseball Hobby Box Break & Review

Collector Type: Set/Autograph/Retro Design Fans

The base set consists of (300) cards. Designs from 1957, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1991, 2001, 2011, and futuristic 2091 Topps baseball sets have been used. Parallels include Rainbow Foil #’ed/150, Green #’ed/125, Silver #’ed/99, Red #’ed/75, Red Hot Foil #’ed/50, Blue Foil #’ed/25 (Hobby), Orange Hot Foil #’ed/15 (Hobby), and FoilFractor #’ed 1/1.

A hobby box should yield (2) on-card autographs. In addition to those autographs there are a TON of short prints and variations to watch for. I like using the CMP codes.

• Base – #267/287
• Greason – #040
• 1983 Mantle (#7) – #041
• 1991 Mantle (#107) – #042
• 2011 Mantle (#207) – #043
• 1962 Green Tint – #297
• 1973 Icon – #297
• 1983 Father/Son – #297
• 1991 Image Variations – #297
• Buffalo Blue Jays – #298
• Emblem (1991, 2001, 2011, 2091) – #298

Autographs include Fan Favorites Autographs, Fan Favorites Premium Autographs, 1963 Topps Peel-Off Autographs, 1989 Topps Big Minis Autographs, 1989 Topps Big Foil Autographs, 1991 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars Autographs, 1994 Topps Draft Pick Autographs, and Topps Originals Buyback Autographs.

Inserts include 1963 Topps Peel-Offs, 1989 Topps Big Minis, 1989 Topps Big Foil, 1991 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars, 1994 Topps Draft Picks, Topps Archives Movie Poster, and Movie Poster Mini-Posters Box Toppers.

Please be on alert that all 1989 Topps Big Minis come with autograph authentication messages printed on them. Whether they’re autographed or not, they’ve got the COAs on there. This was an accident addressed by Topps which I wrote about.

Archives continues to be a key place for on-card autographs and retro designs. In addition to current stars and Hall of Famers, Archives is still the place to go for those autographs of obscure players who don’t have many autographed cards. Some of them haven’t had autographs made for a really long time.

As a Phillies fan, it would be great to see former pitcher Larry Andersen and current broadcaster Tom McCarthy have autographs in Archives. Scott Rolen too.

Here is what I pulled:

Autos:

• Ken Griffey Fan Favorites Purple Auto #’ed/150
• Ron Washington Fan Favorites Auto

Parallels:

• Victor Robles Blue Foil #’ed/25

Inserts:

• Matt Olson 1989 Topps Big Minis
• Nick Madrigal 1994 Topps Draft Picks
• Alex Kirilloff 1991 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars
• Ke-Bryan Hayes 1991 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars
• Cristian Pache 1991 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars
• Jake Cronenworth 1991 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars
• Ryan Mountcastle 1991 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars
• Mike Trout 1963 Topps Peel-Offs
• Francisco Lindor 1963 Topps Peel-Offs
• Bryce Harper 1963 Topps Peel-Offs
• Juan Soto 1963 Topps Peel-Offs
• Mookie Betts 1963 Topps Peel-Offs
• Like Father Like Son Topps Archives Movie Poster
• Murders’ Row Topps Archives Movie Poster
• The Big Red Machine Topps Archives Movie Poster
• The Big Three Topps Archives Movie Poster
• The Big Red Machine Movie Poster Mini-Posters Box Topper

ALERT: Watch Out When Buying These 2021 Topps Archives Baseball Autographs

Archives Baseball means retro designs and on-card autographs.

Collectors picking up singles on the secondary market need to carefully watch what they are buying.

Due to a printing error, every 2021 Topps Archives Baseball 1989 Topps Big Minis insert comes with the “Topps Certified Autograph Issue” message printed on the front. The COA which states “The signing of all Topps autograph cards is witnessed by Topps representatives to guarantee authenticity.” also appears on the back.

The 2021 Topps Archives Baseball 1989 Topps Big Minis come in two different formats – autographed and non-autographed. Only the autographed cards are suppose to have the COAs. Unfortunately the non-autographed inserts also have the COAs printed on them, and made their way into the product.

As you can imagine, printing COAs onto cards that weren’t meant to be autographed opens the door for a lot of scammers. Nothing is stopping someone from forging the player’s signature, and passing it off as a pack-pulled autographed card.

The following list of players have legitimate 2021 Topps Archives Baseball 1989 Topps Big Minis autographs:

• Byron Buxton
• Bryce Harper
• Barry Larkin
• Christian Yelich
• Dylan Carlson
• Darryl Strawberry
• Freddie Freeman
• Frank Thomas
• Ichiro
• Joe Carter
• Joe Mauer
• Juan Soto
• Ke’Bryan Hayes
• Kyle Lewis
• Luis Robert
• Mariano Rivera
• Mike Trout
• Pete Alonso
• Paul Goldschmidt
• Rod Carew
• Rickey Henderson
• Yordan Alvarez

That same list of (22) players in addition to (28) others also have non-autographed 2021 Topps Archives Baseball 1989 Topps Big Minis. Those non-autographed cards with the accidental COAs printed on them are what scammers will take advantage of.

Legitimate 2021 Topps Archives Baseball 1989 Topps Big Minis autographs are hand-numbered to (20) copies. It wouldn’t take much for a scammer to hand-number a card they forged a signature on.

Unless you pull the card directly from the pack and/or are an autograph expert, purchasing any of the (22) 2021 Topps Archives Baseball 1989 Topps Big Minis autographs on the secondary market could be an authenticity gamble. You just can’t tell if it came from Topps autographed or was signed by a scammer. Obviously, if you find an autograph out in the wild of someone who isn’t on the above list it most definitely is a fake.

Topps did alert collectors about this mistake.

A similar situation happened with 2018 Panini Illusions Football.

Card of the Day: Will Ferrell 2015 Topps Archives #9

(3) 2020 Topps Archives Snapshots Baseball Box Break

One of the best benefits of being a member of the Topps 582 Montgomery Club is having the ability to pre-order certain online-exclusive products. This past week 2020 Topps Chrome Sapphire Baseball popped-up for pre-order and I missed out on it. Topps usually sends out an e-mail 24 hours ahead of the sale, but this time it only went out 4 hours prior. By the time I saw the e-mail the pre-order window had closed. Flipping these exclusive products on the secondary market is really fun. At $300/box 2020 Topps Chrome Sapphire Baseball to me was a bit expensive. As of right now, boxes are currently selling for $425 on the secondary market. That’s a flip, but nothing big after the fees. Its possible prices could go up. But I’m not that upset that I missed out.

As I mentioned before, flipping these products is what I usually do. But I decided to go the other route when it came to 2020 Topps Archives Snapshots Baseball. With the ability to buy three boxes at $25/box I chose to rip them open. Selling them sealed wouldn’t have been a major flip anyway.

Take a look at what I pulled. This was a cheap fun rip with a lot of on-card autograph goodness.

Here is what I pulled:

Autos:

• Ed Kranepool
• Matt Beaty
• Yordan Alvarez RC

Parallels:

• Kyle Lewis RC Black & White
• Hunter Harvey RC Black & White
• Shohei Ohtani Black & White
• Willie Mays Walkoff Wires Color Image #’ed/25

Inserts:

• Jose Canseco Walkoff Wires
• Bo Bichette RC Walkoff Wires

Notable Base:

• (2) Dustin May RC
• Luis Robert RC
• Bryce Harper
• (2) Fernando Tatis Jr.
• Bo Bichette RC
• Mike Trout
• Mike Schmidt
• Gavin Lux RC

Card of the Day: Lou Brock 2001 Topps Archives Auto

Card of the Day: Charlie Manuel 2020 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Auto

Card of the Day: Placido Polanco 2020 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Auto