2008 Topps Design…Not there best.

They could have done a better job…Hope this is a rumor only.  lol

New! 2008 Topps Series 1 Baseball
(Regular and HTA Jumbo Boxes)

Releasing Wednesday February 6th, 2008

Regular Boxes
Configuration: 12 boxes/36 packs/9 cards*
*Each pack contains 9 Topps Baseball cards

SRP: $1.99

Jumbo Boxes –
Configuration: 6 boxes/10 packs/46 cards*
*Each pack contains 40 Topps Baseball cards, 1 Own the Game Card, 1 Year in
Review Card, 1 Topps All Rookie 50th Anniversary Card, 1 Topps All Rookie
Promo Card, 1 Mickey Mantle Home Run History Card and 1 Gold Foil Parallel
Card!

SRP: $10.00

2008 Topps Baseball Series 1 is the ultimate baseball card set for fans and
collectors alike, honoring America’s most treasured pastime. Boasting an
outstanding player selection, complete career statistics and classic
photography, Topps Baseball is the most comprehensive and greatly
anticipated set of the year. This year, 2008 Topps Baseball is paying
tribute to U.S. presidential candidates with its Campaign 2008 card series.
In addition, Series 1 introduces All-Rookie Team Anniversary Cards giving
fans a chance to win a replica trophy from the Golden Anniversary All-Rookie
Team! Topps Baseball also honors legend Mickey Mantle and celebrates the
record-breaking 756th home run of Barry Bonds!

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:
* NEW! Campaign 2008 Cut Signature Cards!
* NEW! Topps All-Star Rookie Team 50th Anniversary Cards!
* NEW! Year in Review Continuity Program
* NEW! Replica Mini Jersey Cards
* NEW! Baseball Card Historys!

SCHEDULED DELIVERY DATE: Week of February 4, 2008

Topps does not, in any manner make any representation as to whether it cards
will attain any future value. * Although these players have agreed to
provide these cards to Topps, we cannot guarantee that all autographs and/or
game-used pieces will be received in time for inclusion in this product. In
the event of unavailability, Topps reserves the right to substitute an
alternative autograph and/or game-used card. ^ Topps has authorized only
the packaging and distribution of the number of sequentially/hand numbered
cards stated on the card, but cannot guarantee that counterfeit of other
unauthorized cards will not exist.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Insertion rates are based on estimated production levels, which may vary
from the actual insertion rates to be published on product packaging.
HTA insertion rates are shown in bold.

BASE CARDS
255 Veterans, 15 Managers, 30 Rookies, 10 League Leaders, 8 Post Season
Highlights, the 2 Cy Young Award winners, the 2 League MVP’s, the 2 Rookies
of the Year, Home Run King Barry Bonds and 5 Classic Combo cards 330
cards

PARALLEL CARDS – 2640 total cards
* Gold-Bordered * 330 subjects * Sequentially Numbered^ to 2008!
* Black – Hobby Box Only! * 330 subjects * Sequentially Numbered^ to 57!
* Platinum * 330 subjects * Numbered^ 1 of 1!
* Gold Foil – Hobby & HTA Boxes Only! * 330 subjects * Inserted 1:2 packs; 1 per pack
* Printing Plates – Hobby & HTA Boxes Only! * 330 subjects, 1320 plates * Numbered^ 1 of 1!

INSERT CARDS – 111 subjects
* Year in Review * 60 subjects Inserted 1:6 packs; 1 per pack
* NEW! Baseball Card History – Hobby & HTA Exclusive! * 25 subjects Inserted 1:6 packs; 1:2 packs
* Own The Game * 25 subjects Inserted 1:6 packs; 1 per pack

* Barry Bonds Home Run History * 1 subject, 32 cards Inserted 1:12 packs; 1:6 packs

AUTOGRAPHED* CARDS – 58 subjects
* 2007 Highlights * 48 subjects 1 Per HTA Box!
* World Champion Autographed Relics * 10 subjects * Sequentially Numbered^ to 50!

CAMPAIGN 2008 – 32 subjects
* Campaign 2008 * 12 subjects * Inserted 1:9 packs; 1:5 packs
* New! Campaign 2008 Cut Signatures * 5 subjects
* Presidential Stamp Collection * 15 subjects * Sequentially Numbered^ to 15!

NEW! TOPPS ALL-ROOKIE TEAM 50th ANNIVERSARY CARDS – 170 subjects
* All Rookie Team 50th Anniversary * 55 subjects * Inserted 1:5 packs; 1 per pack
* All Rookie Team 50th Anniversary Gold Foil Parallel * 55 subjects * Sequentially Numbered^ to 99!
* All Rookie Team 50th Anniversary Autographs * 40 subjects * Sequentially Numbered^ to 25!
* All Rookie Team 50th Anniversary Relics * 20 subjects * Sequentially Numbered^ to 50!
* All Rookie Team Promo * Inserted 1:6 packs; 1 per pack

RELIC* CARDS – 116 subjects
* New! Replica Mini Jersey Cards * 35 subjects * Sequentially Numbered^ to 499!

* Barry Bonds Home Run Triple Relic Cards * 1 subject * Sequentially Numbered^ to 250!

* In the Name – Hobby & HTA Exclusive! * 52 subjects, 312 cards * Numbered^ 1 of 1!
* World Champions * 15 subjects * Sequentially Numbered^ to 100!
* 2007 Highlights * 13 subjects 1 Per HTA Box!

MICKEY MANTLE CARDS – 81 total cards
* Mantle Home Run History * 1 subject, 35 cards Inserted 1:9 packs; 1 per pack
* The Mickey Mantle Story * 1 subject, 10 cards Inserted 1:18 packs; 1:3 packs

* Mantle Home Run History Relics * 1 subject, 35 cards * Sequentially Numbered^ to 7!
* 1955 Mickey Mantle Reprint * 1 subject, 1 card * Sequentially Numbered^ to 55!

COMBINED INSERTION RATE FOR AUTOGRAPHED/RELIC* CARDS Inserted
1:TBD Hobby Box; 1 Auto and 1 Relic Card Per HTA Box! 

Sports Card Fakes 

2 1952 topps Mickey mantles PSA graded.

Gotta check these out for sure.  Not only have I found one listed today but another one both graded by psa.  One is a psa5 and the other is a psa6.  click the links to see them live.

1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle PSA 5

1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle PSA 6

UD Offices Safe from Fires for Now; Closed for Second Straight Day

Upper Deck on Tuesday closed its offices for the second straight day because of wild fires, which have been burning in San Diego County since Sunday.

Sources at UD’s Carlsbad, Calif., headquarters report that UD’s offices are not in peril at this time, but that many employees are unable to make the drive to work because of the emergency situation in the area. Carlsbad is about 25 miles north of downtown San Diego.

Sports Card Fakes 

World Series in a Box

The opening of the 103rd World Series on Wednesday night in Fenway Park means that celebration-minded collectors are one day closer to enjoying what has become something of an annual hobby tradition: The Upper Deck commemorative boxed set.

Once again this season, UD, in conjunction with MLB, will capture the greatest moments of the ’07 World Series Champions in an exclusive 50-card set honoring either the Boston Red Sox or Colorado Rockies.

And this year, Upper Deck is the only company producing such a boxed set.

Commemorating the winning team’s march to the crown, the box set will include 25 regular-season cards, 15 Season Highlight cards from the ’07 campaign, nine postseason Memorable Moments cards from the ’07 World Series and one World Series MVP card. In addition, a 3.5 x 5 Commemorative Card showing the World Series champions celebrating will top off the set.

The sets, which retail for $19.99 apiece, will be available for shipping on Nov. 30, or less than a month after a potential Game 7. Pre-order your Boston Red Sox or Colorado Rockies set today.

Sports Card Fakes 

Europe to Host 6th Annual Yu-Gi-Oh Championship

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KDE) and Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) today announced that the 6th Annual Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships for both the trading card game and the video game will be held in Europe for the first time in 2008. The date and location for the tournaments will be announced at a later date.

Representing countries from around the globe, the world’s best Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and video game players will meet face-to-face to battle for the coveted titles of “Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game World Champion” and “Yu-Gi-Oh! Video Game World Champion.”

“Konami Digital Entertainment is excited about bringing the 6th Annual Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship to Europe,” said Kazumi Kitaue, Chairman of Konami Digital Entertainment. This year’s video game champion came from Germany and last year’s trading card game champion came from Italy, which clearly indicates that Yu-Gi-Oh! is a global phenomenon.” Top Duelists from Regional and online tournaments will be awarded invitations to the TCG and video game National Championship events held in their own country, and the winners from these National Championship tournaments will receive a seat at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship event in 2008.

Regional tournaments for the TCG are currently being held around the world to qualify players to participate in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG National Championship Tournament. Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008 for the Nintendo DS will be the video game used in a series of regional tournaments held worldwide to select the finalists for the world championship.

“Since 2003, the World Championship Tournament event has been held in Japan or the U.S.,” said Nico Blauw, President of Upper Deck Europe. “Due to a steady and broad increase of sales and popularity worldwide, we are very excited to offer the European players a chance to witness the world’s best Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and video game contenders duke it out to be named the #1 player in the world.”

Information on dates and locations for Regional Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournament events can be found at http://www.wannaduel.com. Information on dates and locations for the online Yu-Gi-Oh! video game tournament events can be found at http://www.YuGiOhUSChampionships.com.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is a game of strategy, where players create individual decks of cards collected from Structure Decks and Booster Packs. Two players engage in a Duel while using cards that represent powerful Monsters, magical Spells and surprising Traps. Duelists with well-constructed decks, dominating monsters, solid strategy and good fortune are the victors in the game. The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is manufactured by Konami, and is distributed worldwide (with the exception of Asia) by Upper Deck.

As the official software of the 2008 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Tournament, World Championship 2008 features two exciting game modes – World Championship and Duel World mode, where players can venture through events, meet duel spirits and purchase new cards to strengthen their decks and card strategies. World Championship 2008 also features three exclusive trading cards, and players can duel online via the Nintendo DS Wi-Fi Connection.

Sports Card Fakes 

Brady’s Best Enjoying Crazy Climbs

Guys with Tom Brady’s lofty credentials aren’t supposed to have football cards that do what Brady’s are doing right now. Then again, no quarterback has ever done what Brady is doing right now.

With 27 touchdown passes in the Patriots’ first seven games, Brady is, as Bob Costas said last night, chasing Maris. That is, he’s on pace to heave an astonishing 61 touchdowns this season, which would absolutely obliterate Peyton Manning’s three-year-old single-season mark of 49.

And as a result, Brady’s two most coveted Rookie Cards are on the receiving end of some absurdly uncharacteristic value climbs.

“His 2000 Playoff Contenders RC has a current book value of $800 and that price has held steady for more than a year,” says Dan Hitt, Beckett Media’s Sports Data Manager. “But the most recent sales of the card are well over $1,000, with a PSA 10 Gem Mint copy selling for $3600.

“The 2000 SP Authentic RC is moving up as well. The most recent Beckett value for that card is $900, but raw copies are selling for as high as $1,200. Many industry experts predicted shortly after Brady’s third Super Bowl victory that the card would never sell for more than it was bringing at that moment – $800.”

Indeed, hobby logic dictates that guys with three Super Bowl rings and two Super Bowl MVP awards and a higher Q-Rating than most A-list actors don’t appear on Rookie Cards that appreciate so dramatically so long after realizing those accomplishments. Most of the appreciation should’ve occurred after Brady won his first Super Bowl, or his second, or his third.

But more than two years after New England’s last title, Brady’s best cards are enjoying championship-caliber gains midway through a regular season that has guaranteed nothing at this point but a 7-0 record. Simply, Brady is in uncharted waters right now, which has rendered history irrelevant as a barometer.

“Rarely, if ever, have cards of a player with Brady’s resume been able to catch fire like this,” Hitt notes. “Typically, that player is late in his career with all but just a few last gasps of modest value increase left. But that isn’t the case with Brady. His cards – all of them, really – are on fire.”

So, where’s the ceiling on his best RCs?

“It’s hard to say,” Hitt says. “There’s nothing to compare it to. He’s blazing a new trail. I could definitely see them going to $2,000 apiece.”

Not bad considering that just a few short years ago, $800 seemed out of the question.

Sports Card Fakes 

Upper Deck Unearths Artifacts in Latest Basketball Trading Card Set

With a rich history of blending the top young talent in the game with some of the best hoop stars to lace up the high tops, Upper Deck Artifacts Basketball reaches a perfect balance of both.  This marks the premiere launch of Upper Deck Artifacts Basketball, four cards per hobby pack, which will deliver a wide range of insert cards from autographs, memorabilia, rookie and parallel cards.  Every pack of Artifacts Basketball will include a guaranteed hit, from a sequentially numbered card to autograph and memorabilia cards.  Artifacts Basketball is available now with an SRP of $4.99 per hobby pack.

 

“We have successfully launched the Artifacts Brand in Baseball and Hockey and really felt the time was right to offer it to Basketball card collectors,” said Bill Beaman, Associate Basketball Product Manager for Upper Deck.  “Every box will have at least two numbered rookies, one autograph, three numbered memorabilia cards and four numbered inserts, a tremendous value to collectors.”

 

Upper Deck Artifacts keeps things collectible and is built with an eye toward long-term collectibility.  “There are more than 600 one-of-one cards, including the unique triple artifact cards featuring piping, pieces of uniform patches and the actual jersey tag.  This is unheard of in the industry as far our willingness to push the envelope on product development but pretty typical with a premium Upper Deck brand,” added Chris Kollmeyer, Associate Basketball Brand Manager for Upper Deck.

 

Upper Deck will be giving collectors another reason to crack packs of Artifacts Basketball.  For the first time ever in the industry, Upper Deck will be utilizing the neck emblems from the jerseys on cards. Each of the jersey neck cards will be a rare one-of-one.

 

Not willing to stop there, Upper Deck goes the extra mile and has created a bonus ‘hobby only’ box topper. The box topper will be a three-card pack called “Artifacts Exclusives” featuring Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant – these cards will be an extension of the base set.

 

Artifacts Basketball is a 100-card regular set of the top current round-ballers and two 50-card sets of Legends and rookies.

 

Content Highlights:

• One Numbered Card, Autographed Card or numbered Memorabilia Card in Every Pack, on Average!
• Two Numbered Rookie Cards per Hobby Box, on Average!
• Look For 1/1 Game-Used Team Logo Cards!

Dual patch cards numbered to 35 or less!

Collect Triple Artifacts cards featuring Three Swatches of Memorabilia! Product Breakdown:             Autograph Cards o        Auto-Facts o        Artifacts Exclusives // (varied numbering) hobby only             Memorabilia Cards o        Neck Emblem (# to 1) o        Triple Artifacts (# to 50) o        Triple Artifacts Rare Parallel (# to 1) o        Divisional Artifacts (# to 250) o        Divisional Artifacts Red Parallel (# to 100) o        Divisional Artifacts Blue Parallel (# to 50) o        Divisional Artifacts Copper Parallel (# to 25) o        Divisional Artifacts Silver Parallel (# to 10) o        Divisional Artifacts Gold Spectrum Parallel (# to 1) o        Divisional Artifacts Patch Red Parallel (# to 35) o        Divisional Artifacts Patch Silver Parallel (# to 5) o        Divisional Artifacts Patch Gold Parallel (# to 1) o        Conference Pairings (# to 150) o        Conference Pairings Patch Silver Parallel (# to 5) o        Conference Pairings Patch Gold Spectrum Parallel (# to 1)        Inserts and Parallels o        Regular Cards Gold // – (# to 100) o        Legacy Rookies Gold // – (# to 100) o        Legendary Legacies Gold // – (# to 100) o        Regular Cards Red // – (# to 50) o        Legacy Rookies Red // – (# to 50) o        Legendary Legacies Red // – (# to 50) o        Regular Cards Blue // – (# to 25) o        Legacy Rookies Blue // – (# to 25) o        Legendary Legacies Blue // – (# to 25) o        Regular Cards Silver // – (# to 10) o        Legacy Rookies Silver // – (# to 10) o        Legendary Legacies Silver // – (# to 10) o        Regular Cards Gold Spectrum// – (# to 1) o        Legacy Rookies Gold Spectrum// – (# to 1) o        Legendary Legacies Gold Spectrum// – (# to 1) o        Artifacts Exclusives Blue // – (# to 10) Hobby only Regular Cards and Rookies o        Base Set – 100 Cards o        Legacy Rookies (# to 1299) o        Legacy Rookies (# to 699) o        Legendary Legacies 50 Cards(# to 999) o        Artifacts Exclusives box topper – 30 cards Hobby only   Sports Card Fakes

2007 Topps Sterling Baseball is Bigger and Better

After a stellar debut in 2006, TOPPS STERLING BASEBALL returns with an even BIGGER and BETTER lineup in 2007.

Again, each gorgeously designed player-themed box guarantees:

* (1) AUTOGRAPHED TRIPLE RELIC #’d to 10 or less OR (1) TRIPLE RELIC #’d to 10 or less

* (3) Base Cards #’d to 250

* (1) MYSTERY PACK featuring a 1 of 1 LETTER PATCH or a BASE PARALLEL #’d   to 50 or less.

Expanding from last year, 2007 Topps Sterling not only features the best retired stars, but also the best active players.  There are 29 in all…

Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Roberto Clemente, Ichiro, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Roger Maris, Stan Musial, Nolan Ryan, Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Ryan Howard, Tom Seaver, Manny Ramirez, Carl Yastrzemski, Mike Schmidt, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Ryne Sandberg, David Ortiz, Tony Gwynn, Justin Morneau, Bob Gibson, David Wright, Johan Santana, Hideki Matsui and Chien-Ming Wang.

Each 10-Box case of 2007 TOPPS STERLING BASEBALL guarantees (1) Mickey Mantle and (1) Barry Bonds, (5) Autographs, (1) 1 of 1 Letter Patch and one of the following: 1 of 1 Autographed Triple Relic, 1 of 1 Triple Relic or 1 of 1 Parallel.  2007 Sterling hits hobby shelves the first week of December.

Sports Card Fakes

Beckett auctions off 1/1 rare 2007 Topps Triple Threads TY COBB bat barrel name

Beckett is auctioning off the rare 2007 Topps Triple Threads TY COBB bat barrel name 1/1

Our research data indicates there have been only five (5) total Cobb bats ever cut down by the hobby. By this we mean, all of the card companies combined! Basically, only one bat barrel card has come out per year since 2003. THIS IS THE ONLY COBB BAT BARREL NAMEPLATE RELEASED FROM TOPPS, ACROSS ALL OF THEIR TRADING CARD BRANDS. So if you are a collector of Cobb, and only buy Topps, this IS THE ONLY bat barrel nameplate card you will find anywhere. Having realized the importance of this card, Topps featured it on their dealer sales materials for the release of 2007 Triple Threads.

Click here to see the auction…2007 Topps Triple Threads TY COBB bat barrel name 1/1

Sneak Peek: Upper Deck David Beckham Images

Upper Deck has released the first images of the soon-to-be-released 2007 Upper Deck MLS Soccer product.

The first image (right) is Beckham’s base card, which will be considered his MLS Rookie Card. The second card (below) is an insert from the Perfect Pitch series.

While Beckham has missed much of the season due to various injuries, it is possible he could come back for the L.A. Galaxy’s final two regular-season games. These are key games for the club since every point is critical to sneak into the playoffs.

The product is scheduled to be release November 2, but you can pre-order your boxes now on Beckett.com.