With the absolute rousing success of products like Dynasty in Baseball and Definitive Collection in Football
, Topps has turned one of the weaker genres of their brand into a tremendous strength. The ultra premium landscape in Baseball is one that has gone generally uncharted for the last few years, and I have to believe its for good reason. With Dynasty proving that Ultra Premium products can have success
, the Mint is the next iteration of that adventure.
If the Mint turns out anything like this, it could get nuts:
2015 Topps Dynasty Kris Bryant Tag Patch Auto /10
2015 Topps Dynasty Mike Piazza Mets Logo Auto /5
2014 Topps Dynasty Chipper Jones Braves Logo Auto /10
2015 Topps Dynasty Mike Trout Angels Logo Auto 1/1
Although I am not a fan of any product name that starts with “The”, I think that the concept of what it represents should play very well into the content of the set. This is going to be high end to the nines, and for someone like me who collects this stuff almost exclusively, Im very intrigued.
The question remains of whether or not this is the real direction Baseball cards should go, especially considering how many set and low end collectors still remain in the sport. Releasing a slate of products like this is music to my ears, but it could serve to disenfranchise more collectors in the long run.
When you add in that game used memorabilia is steadily increasing in cost to acquire, mainly because quantity available is steadily decreasing, products like this might not be sustainable long term. Dynasty literally had some of the best patches I have ever seen in a baseball set, and I am not sure that Topps has the inventory to continue churning out the insane content for multiple products year after year.
Similarly, signers like Trout, Ichiro, Koufax, Aaron, and others of that caliber are slowly being devalued by the quantity of signatures on the market. Though new stars like Bryant and Correa could get there too, it seems like super premium baseball autographs just dont have the same draw like they would in Basketball or even Hockey.
As for design, I love the look. The presentation of the cards looks luxurious with blacks and golds, and the auto patches look pretty incredible. Im curious if the Seager card means they are going to do inscriptions, which I would go nuts for. Additionally, the Tim Robbins Bull Durham card might signal that Kevin Costner could also make an appearance in this set, which will continue that program through 2016.
Im sure there will be more content revealed as we get closer to the launch, and I would guess that we havent even seen close to what Topps is capable of. My sustainability concerns aside, the Mint is on my list. I cant wait to see the finished product, as I am confident its going to deliver.
I have my doubts about whether the companies will continue to acquire game-used jerseys or eventually ease in so many event-worn items, that nobody knows the difference. The loose language they use about jerseys not being from any specific game, season etc. leaves a mountain of wiggle room.
In baseball I like that Topps is including the MLB stickers on patches. However, in football Definitive leaves me doubting the authenticity of patches. Have they really been holding back pristine, game used letter patches of Dan Marino, Phil Simms, Jerome Bettis, Jim Kelly, and Barry Sanders for their last year producing football? Or just now found an amazing legit supplier? There are some amazing patches in that product that I seriously question ever saw a football field.
I have nothing more than skepticism and how brand new the letter patches look to back up my suspicions . However, I’d love for the companies to prove me wrong, tighten up the guarantee language and provide more transparency. Maybe other customers don’t really care as long as they get “sick mojo”. As for me, I want to know a patch was actually worn in a game.