Historically, Baseball hasnt done all that great with super premium products, save a couple success stories. With so much of the hobby focused on set collecting for so many years, it was hard to introduce a new model that collectors would accept. Although recently, Topps has had major success with products like Dynasty, it was going to be interesting to see how things would fare if they decided to go a step above that. The jury is still out on the Mint, but I will say the cards look nicer than ever.

Here is some of the awesome stuff up so far:

2016 Topps the Mint Alex Rodriguez Inscription Auto

2016 Topps the Mint Mike Trout Inscription Auto

2016 Topps the Mint David Ortiz Jumbo Patch Auto 1/1

2016 Topps the Mint Kenta Maeda Debut Date Inscription

2016 Topps the Mint Sandy Koufax Gold Auto Inscription

Funny thing is, on a per card basis, the Mint isnt more expensive than Dynasty. The configuration makes it more of an investment in one sitting, but Dynasty is still the most costly in the lineup if you put them side by side. Both feature great looking content, and with inscriptions plus MLB authenticated patches on a lot of cards, the Mint has its selling points. We are also seeing that non-sport signers like Sylvester Stallone and the cast from Bull Durham have cards too, which is an added bonus.

In terms of the card design, I really love the look of this set. It looks like a luxury car version of a baseball product, which it should. The black and gold plays very well, and the circular lines of the product plays in with a modern approach. There are also some unique booklets that feature some cool relics, and as mentioned above, the added inscriptions are a huge plus.

The Mint isnt devoid of risk that normally plagues high end products, even though the checklist is set up in a way that does promote a more even player distribution. If you buy in for a format that isnt group breaking, you are taking on a significant risk in walking away in the same fashion that recent comparable sets have promoted. More and more it looks like premium configurations are built for group breaking, despite the trends showing that it might not be the best way to build. Mitigating risk of losing your ass is a big deal in the hobby, which is why group breaks are so popular. But at what point should companies focus on changing the pack model and build to support more value, instead of supporting the group breakers who give collectors a way to engage without paying for the full product?

Its a concept that has always made me a bit uneasy. If product value hadnt become such an issue in the hobby, would group breaks be as mainstream as they are? Probably not as much. The Mint has brought things a little closer to center on value in the box, but its something that a collector has to pay a thousand dollars to get. Where is that same concept in a lower price point?