Pack Preview: 2013 Topps Heritage baseball

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Update: The full checklist is available here.

2nd Update: Topps has decided to replace the Astros sp’s with Washington Nationals short prints featuring the Senators uniforms. Read more here.

Topps unveiled first glances into next years, highly-anticipated, 2013 Topps Heritage Friday afternoon to  fans on Twitter. 2013 Topps Heritage will be representing the 1964 Topps design and the formula it has carried continues to impress.  Here are the basics: Each Pack will contain nine cards and every 8th pack will contain a checklist as an extra card. Twenty-four packs in a box and twelve boxes per case.

Now onto the gems:

425 base cards and 75 short-printed cards round out the full set, but there will also be base card variations. Included are error short-prints; which will feature errors from the ’64 set, and Colt .45s variation cards for all Houston Astros players. (Which makes this writer VERY excited). Hobby only variations will include action image variations and, as usual, color variations.

There are going to be parallels in ’13 Heritage including, Venezuelan Parallels, (the card back color will change from orange to black), mini parallels and the always popular chrome parallels. As always, basic chrome, refractors, black border parallel and gold bordered parallels will all be numbered. Black and gold will be numbered to 64 and 5, respectively. And note, the gold border parallels will be hobby only.

INSERT CARDS:

• NEW AGE PERFORMERS
• MEMORABLE MOMENTS
• THEN AND NOW
• BASEBALL FLASHBACKS
• NEWS FLASHBACKS

NEW ADDITIONS TO INSERT CARDS:

• 1964 Topps Complete set redemption
• 1964 topps tattoos buybacks ( original tatoos from ’64 will be framed!)
• 1964 bazooka stamps buybacks (original stamps will be framed)

A lot of the relic cards fans of Heritage are back including: Clubhouse Collection, (gold parallel will be #/99), Clubhouse Collection Dual Relic, #/64, Esteemed Heritage Book Cards; these will include a patch, bat knob or bat plate in a book card. They will be numbered 1/1. Coin relics from 1964, embedded into the card, will be included- numbered to five or less. Also included are 1964 U.S. Postage stamp relics. They will feature a photo of an even or player matched with a stamp from 1964. These will be sequentially numbered.  And finally, the always popular ’64 mint cards are back with a nickel, #/15, dime, #/10, quarter, #/25, and an amazing JFK Silver Half Dollar numbered 1/1. These usually fall one per case and will be only be included in hobby product.

The rarity of autograph cards in Heritage can be frustrating for some, but exciting for others, all depending on much product you open. The rarity of the autographs in Heritage make them much more valuable to the collector and to others on the secondary market. Topps may have heard the cries from collectors as they announced that auto’s will be included at two-times the rate as in previous releases.

2012 Topps Heritage doesn’t stray too far from its tried and true formula. There are Clubhouse collection auto’s and dual auto’s with the dual autographs being numbered to 10 and hobby only. It was also feature flashback auto/relics; these will feature retired subjects and one of their highlights from 1964. All of these will be numbered to 25 or less.

Basic auto’s will consist of real one autos, real one dual autos, real one triple autos and 1964 cut signatures. Special edition real one auto’s will be hand numbered to 64, the dual auto’s will be numbered 25 or less and triple autos will be numbered to five.  With dual and triple being hobby only, they will definitely be tough pulls.  All of the 1964 cut signatures will feature players from the 1964 set and will all be numbered 1/1.

With each release of Heritage collectors can always look forward to the box toppers for a little extra something. 2013 Heritage will have two of the same from the previous year with the 1964 three-card advertising strips and the 1964 Topps originals. What’s exciting for the next installment are the inclusion of 1964 Jumbo Box Loaders. They’re styled after the 1964 Topps over-sized cards and will have two extra-special versions: Cards with relics will be #/25 and autographed versions that will be numbered to ten or less.

Personally, I love Heritage. I love the throwback design, the thickness of the cards and the fun, little additions added like the errors and players from the original set. For collectors that rip and flip, Heritage offers a lot of variety to recoup any funds set. With parallels, errors, short-prints and extra hits, Heritage offers much to be desired.