For those of you that are looking for that special way to spend your leftover holiday dough,
pay particular attention to some of the collectible chocolates reviewed below.
Whether it's football that catches your fancy or you are a die-hard baseball fan waiting anxiously waiting for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training, there is always room for a little cardboard in your life.
2002 Topps Tribute Baseball
Simply put - the best high-end baseball product of the year. Back for an encore, Tribute has an SRP of $50 per pack. Contained in each pack is either a game-used relic or a
certified autograph of some of the games greatest retired players,
such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson.
What Topps did differently with this year's set was that they included a
serial-numbered parallel set randomly in packs.
While this set might not be for everyone because of the price point,
it is certainly not out of the question for even the most basic of collectors to scrounge up a few bucks and purchase their hero's card from the base set. The set's design is second to none and the player selection is as close to perfect as you can get, bearing in mind that certain deceased player's estates have signed exclusive deals with rival card manufacturers.
ANALYSIS - The best set high-end set of 2002 - BAR NONE!
Need I say more?! While the price point may prove to be a little high for the novice collector,
the thrill of opening one of these packs is second to none.
There are so many high-dollar value cards potentially in this product that it
would take me days to list them all.
Surely, if you have $50 to spend, go out an splurge on a pack of 2002 Topps Tribute baseball.
You'll be glad you did.
2003-04
Topps Ten Basketball
Topps Ten basketball returns
for the new year with a BANG!
If you are looking for rookie cards of Yao Ming, Amare Stoudemire, or Dejuan Wagner,
look no further than Ten.
If you are looking for an average of 3 game-jersey cards per box, look no further than Ten.
If you are looking for multiple cards of Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant or Tracy McGrady, look no
further than Ten.
Topps Ten has is stacked to the brim with rookie cards and star cards and it
even has a one per pack parallel.
The theme of the set highlights the Top 10 finishers in
numerous statistical categories during the 2001-02 season and it even includes the
Top 10 draft picks from the 2002 NBA Draft.
ANALYSIS - This product is another one of the great
low-end releases from Topps.
There are no serial numbered rookie cards, so it is very possible to pull a Yao Ming
or any of your favorite rookie cards in any given pack or box.
The price point is right on target and is affordable to any level of collector.
2002 Bowman Draft Picks Baseball
For the first time,
this product is available in pack form. With 2 Bowman Chrome cards and 5 regular Bowman
cards per pack, this is the baseball product of the year.
There are certified autographs randomly inserted at a ratio of at least one per box.
If you are a refractor buff, this product is for you as there are 3 levels of
serial-numbered refractors.
The rookie class in this product is simply awesome.
Look for rookie cards of top prospects like B.J. Upton, Jason Stokes, Wes Bankston,
Khalil Greene and James Loney, just to name a few.
In addition to the chrome and regular Bowman versions, one gold signature parallel is
inserted at a rate of one per pack. These, in my opinion, could be the
sleeper rookie cards of the year. The release also boasts 2 different types of game-used relics,
including one set dedicated solely to those who played in this past summers Futures game.
ANALYSIS - This set boasts over 100 rookie cards that
you simply can't find anywhere else.
In addition, the serial-numbered refractors are severely limited as compared to the
previous 2002 Bowman Chrome release and have been commanding strong premiums in the
secondary market.
With such a strong following and a blue-chip rookie checklist, this
product should be highly sought after for years to come.
Kudos to Topps for putting out such a gem of a set.
For complete checklists on these and other Topps releases, please visit
www.Topps.com.
| 