Last 2011 Topps Update Value Box recap

Bought one at Target for $14.99 and it was devoid of anything - since the Topps site was down, I had to enter my code cards on vacation and I ended up with 1987 Topps cards of Don Sutton and an Ozzie Smith All-Star subset card.

2011 Topps Update Value Box recap - a couple more #2 of 2

2011 Topps Update Value box - I don't know if I'll try and keep on picking these up [if I even find more] since it seems like I've come up with bupkis, but can I really complain not pulling 'OMG, super mojo cards' with these little mediocre retail breaks?

BCE-1 Bryce Harper bonus card - red refractor version; I think I pulled one 'silver' but no 'gold.'

#TDG-20 Kevin Youkilis Topps Diamond Giveaway code card - I redeemed a 1959 Topps Jim Brosnan #194.

2011 Bowman Chrome hobby pack
#BCP 124 Luke Jackson
#BCP 116 Jose Casilla

#2 Manny Machado - 2021 Future die-cut insert
#220 Aaron Crow

2011 Topps Update eight-card packs

Pack one
#US-213 Louis Coleman
#US-96 Ryan Hanigan
#US-148 Alex Presley
#TTU-22 Stephen Drew - ToppsTown

#US-42 Frank Thomas - SP
#US-273 Miguel Montero - The Beard lurks
#US-105 Joel Hanrahan
#US-254 Dustin Ackley

Pack two
#US-129 Brooks Conrad
#US-46 Angel Sanchez
#US-157 Reed Johnson
#US-211 Dustin Moseley
#DD-2 Andre Ethier / Matt Kemp - Diamond Duos insert

#US-258 Monte Irvin - Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallel
#US-59 Matt Kemp
#US-163 Adrian Beltre

Pack three
#US-158 Darren Oliver
#US-224 Bill Hall
#US-56 Ryan Adams
#US-155 Eric Hosmer
#US-178 Jason Bourgeois
#US-216 Takashi Saito - gold parallel serial #'d 0187/2011
#KC-112 Cole Hamels - Kimball Champions insert
#US-230 Miguel Cabrera

Pack four
#US-212 Pat Neshek
#US-284 Laynce Nix
#US-215 Michael Dunn

#US-56 Ryan Adams - Liquorfractor
#T60-103 Alex Rodriguez - Topps 60 insert
#US-207 Jay Bruce
#US-188 Eric Hosmer
#US-84 Pablo Sandoval

Pack five
#US-107 Brandon McCarthy
#US-301 Tom Gorzelanny
#US-220 Adam Dunn
#US-117 Michael Stutes

#US-152 Julio Teheran - Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallel
#510 Hank Aaron - Liquorfractor
#US-85 Roy Halladay
#US-140 Clayton Kershaw

2011 Topps Update Value Box recap - a couple more #1 of 2

2011 Topps Update Value box [$10.98 each x2 at a Walmart] - I found two more of these and decided to pick them up.

BCE-1 Bryce Harper bonus card - this one looks like another red refractor version.

#TDG-17 Ryan Braun Topps Diamond Giveaway code card - I redeemed a 1991 Topps Randy Johnson #225.

2011 Bowman Chrome hobby pack
#3 Edwin Jackson
#BCP 119 Jose De Paula
#BCP 165 Nathan Eovaldi - refractor serial #'d 332/500
#30 Ian Kinsler

2011 Topps Update eight-card packs

Pack one
#US-235 Charlie Morton
#US-126 Adrian Gonzalez
#US-209 Rubby De La Rosa
#US-232 Miguel Tejada

#US-43 Carlos Quentin - Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallel
#640 Dan Uggla - Liquorfractor
#US-174 Jacob Turner
#US-62 Jason Marquis

Pack two
#US-324 Melvin Mora
#US-35 Eduardo Nunez
#US-191 Andy Sonnanstine
#US-211 Dustin Moseley
#US-185 Orlando Hudson

#US-8 David Robertson - Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallel
#US-38 Josh Hamilton
#US-193 Lonnie Chisenhall

Pack three
#US-32 Matt Stairs
#US-67 Miguel Olivo
#US-101 Scott Downs
#US-25 Tim Stauffer

#US-23 Chance Ruffin - Liquorfractor

#T60-102 Hank Aaron - Topps 60 insert
#US-305 Carlos Beltran
#US-21 Prince Fielder

Pack four
#US-298 Yorvit Torrealba
#US-139 Rafael Soriano
#US-240 Blake Tekotte
#US-279 Trevor Plouffe
#US-322 Fernando Martinez

#T60-136 Bert Blyleven - Topps 60 insert
#US-316 Justin Upton
#US-114 Lance Lynn

Pack five
#US-79 Chris Dickerson
#US-148 Alex Presley
#US-200 Vladimir Guerrero
#US-7 Nate Schierholtz

#DD-19 Justin Verlander / Max Scherzer - Diamond Duos insert

#544 Justin Masterson - Liquorfractor
#US-131 Jeff Keppinger
#US-319 Corey Patterson

2011 Topps Update Value Box recap

2011 Topps Update Value box [$10.98 each at Walmart] - a break from the 'featured autographs' I've posted in the last several days.

These are popular on the Blowout Cards forums since they were marked down to $10.98 - these maybe of good value if you resell the code card(s), the Bryce Harper bonus card and maybe pull a decent card in the packs.

BCE-1 Bryce Harper bonus card - I'm not sure how many variation of the Harper card are out there, but this one looks like the red refractor version.

#TDG-12 Mike Schmidt Topps Diamond Giveaway code card - I redeemed a 1978 Topps Randy Jones #56, which was redundant because I got another copy of the exact same card signed through the mail four or five years ago.

2011 Bowman Chrome hobby pack
#BCP 138 Tyler Moore
#BCP 132 Melky Mesa

#36 Miguel Cabrera - refractor

#17 Curtis Granderson

2011 Topps Update eight-card packs

Pack one
#US-221 Jamey Carroll
#US-295 Wilson Ramos
#US-9 Jose Iglesias
#US-150 Adrian Beltre
#US-178 Jason Bourgeois

#KC-123 Bert Blyleven - Kimball Champions insert
#US-62 Jason Marquis
#US-53 Koji Uehara

Pack two
#US-135 Grant Balfour
#US-69 Gerald Laird
#US-190 Alexei Ogando
#US-168 Bruce Chen -
#US-105 Joel Hanrahan - gold parallel serial #'d 1779/2011
#US-271 Eric O'Flaherty - Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallel
#US-316 Justin Upton
#US-20 Adrian Gonzalez

Pack three
#US-48 Scott Hairston
#US-213 Louis Coleman
#US-171 Matt Lindstrom
#US-149 Omar Infante

#TDG-27 Victor Martinez - Diamond Giveaway code card; got a 1971 Topps Woody Woodward #496
#T60-133 Tris Speaker - Topps 60 insert
#US-18 Robinson Cano
#US-259 Andre Ethier

Pack four
#US-182 Ronny Paulino
#US-183 Carlos Peguero
#US-209 Rubby De La Rosa
#US-240 Blake Tekotte
#US-110 Edgar Renteria

#US-296 Bobby Jenks - Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallel
#US-299 Robinson Cano
#US-75 Gio Gonzalez

Pack five
#US-11 Jason Pridie
#US-217 Elliot Johnson
#US-286 Rich Thompson
#US-279 Trevor Plouffe
#US-317 Craig Counsell - Liquorfractor

#T60-121 Pee Wee Reese - Topps 60 insert; looks like infield practice perhaps with Jackie Robinson lurking near him.
#US-154 Cliff Lee
#US-268 Yadier Molina

2011 Topps Update Value Box recap #2

2011 Topps Value box [$14.99 each at a Target]

It probably isn't due to the cards themselves being hard to find but I have not seen any blasters and / or racks of 2011 Bowman Chrome - so far, the Value boxes seem to be my only fix to get anything with 2011 Bowman Chrome in it and while it isn't even worth the trouble, I tried another box.

#BCE-1 Bryce Harper bonus card - I didn't even bother looking at the number of the other Harper bonus card I pulled from my other value box; this card is a red refractor version while the other looks more like silver.

Topps Diamond Giveaway code card - I got stuck with a 1993 Topps John Franco, which wasn't great but there was an immediate trade offer for it [something like three 'early 1980s' commons].

However, the 'trade manager' gave me a couple of error messages and I tried logging off - after about 10-15 minutes, I tried to execute the trade again [two more times], but it didn't go through either time and the offer ended up disappearing.

2011 Bowman Chrome hobby pack
#BCP 215 Eduardo Nunez
#BCP 202 Chris Owings

#BCP 206 Scott Maine - refractor serial #'d 024/500; sported a 10.29 ERA as a rookie in 2011; looks like a LOOGY otherwise.
#183 Desmond Jennings

2011 Topps Update eight-card packs

Pack one
#US-176 Xavier Nady
#US-54 Jerry Sands
#US-164 Hector Noesi
#US-205 D.J. LeMahieu
#US-250 Zack Greinke
#US-TTU-27 Neil Walker - ToppsTown
#US-218 Victor Martinez - Liquorfractor
#US-42 David Ortiz

Pack two
#US-153 Matt Gurrier
#US-266 Jason Isringhausen
#US-194 Jason Kipnis
#US-178 Jason Bourgeois
#TDG-25 Adrian Beltre Diamond Giveaway code card - revealed a 1986 Topps Brad Wellman
#KC-138 Rogers Hornsby - Kimball Champions insert

#US-175 Mike Trout
#US-131 Jeff Keppinger

Pack three
#US-285 David Purcey
#US-300 Carl Crawford
#US-223 Arthur Rhodes
#US-267 Sam Fuld
#US-149 Omar Infante

#US-169 Ezequiel Carrera - Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallel
#US-319 Corey Patterson
#US-58 Tim Lincecum

Pack four
#US-187 Bobby Wilson
#US-311 Drew Butera
#US-239 J.J. Hardy
#US-159 Alex Cobb
#US-298 Yorvit Torrealba - gold parallel serial #'d 0738/2011
#KC-131 Adam Dunn - Kimball Champions insert
#US-172 Jonny Venters
#US-294 Edwin Jackson

Pack five
#US-93 Matt Downs
#US-283 LaTroy Hawkins
#US-281 Mark Melancon
#US-280 Kyle Farnsworth

#US-205 D.J. LeMahieu - Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallel
#US-78 David Ortiz
#US-118 Michael Pineda
#US-309 Paul Konerko

2011 Topps Update Value Box recap

2011 Topps Value box [$14.99 each at a Target]

I wasn't impressed when it seemed like I went through the break in about five minutes - in these latest value boxes, there is a hobby pack of 2011 Bowman Chrome, five eight-card retail packs of 2011 Topps Update along with a code card and a Bryce Harper bonus card exclusive to these boxes.

The Topps Value boxes earlier this year were put together a little differently - featuring two hobby packs of 2011 Topps Heritage, five 12-card retail packs of 2011 Topps, a Diamond Giveaway code card and a bonus card exclusive to these value boxes.

Bryce Harper bonus card - finding a Harper card out of a Topps product this year hasn't become too hard to find; this is a nice card though I doubt it is going to be worth more than a few bucks and as much as I'd like to pull an autograph of his, the player isn't really too high on my list right now. It seems like Topps is hyping him up as a Major League star when he hasn't had one Major League at-bat yet and maybe it is just a little premature.

Topps Diamond Giveaway code card - revealed a 1967 Topps dual rookie card of Sal Bando which isn't too bad; a rookie card of a star from the Oakland Athletics World Championship teams of the 1970s.

2011 Bowman Chrome hobby pack
#BCP 219 Fernando Abad
#BCP 162 Brody Colvin

#55 B.J. Upton - refractor
#131 Nelson Cruz

2011 Topps Update eight-card packs

Pack one
#US-272 Jorge Cantu
#US-182 Ronny Paulino
#US-183 Carlos Peguero
#US-328 Kevin Gregg
#KC-134 Miguel Cabrera - Kimball Champions insert
#US-22 Randall Delgado
#US-174 Jacob Turner
#US-297 Chase D'Arnaud

Pack two
#US-235 Charlie Morton
#US-298 Yorvit Torrealba
#US-177 Rene Tosoni

#US-152 Julio Teheran - Cognac parallel; the foil on the banner seems a little imperfect.

#T60-129 Ty Cobb - Topps 60 insert
#US-4 Brian McCann
#US-82 Mark Ellis
#US-49 Rickie Weeks

Pack three
#US-139 Rafael Soriano
#US-90 James Russell
#US-39 Eduardo Sanchez
#US-264 Alex White
#US-255 Allen Craig
#TTU-27 Neil Walker - ToppsTown
#207 Angel Pagan - Cognac parallel
#US-304 Hunter Pence

Pack four
#US-11 Jason Pridie
#US-217 Elliot Johnson
#US-39 Eduardo Sanchez
#US-264 Alex White
#US-320 Russell Martin
#US-267 Sam Fuld - Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallel
#US-96 Zach Duke - Cognac parallel
#US-62 Jason Marquis

Pack five
#US-286 Rich Thompson
#US-307 Casey Coleman
#US-317 Craig Counsell
#US-126 Adrian Gonzalez
#US-53 Koji Uehara - gold parallel serial #'d 1341/2011
#T60-143 Lance Berkman
#US-316 Justin Upton
#US-20 Adrian Gonzalez

Last of the two Topps Diamond code cards - 1983 Topps Bill Madlock and 1989 Topps George Brett

1983 Topps Bill Madlock - don't know much about him, but doing some digging around on his stats, it looks like he was a pretty good player collecting just over 2,000 hits in his playing career and winning National League batting titles in 1975, 1976, 1981 and 1983.

1989 Topps George Brett - this is a card I probably won't have delivered, though I'm hoping to get some interesting offers for it, since Brett is a Hall of Famer.

Admittedly, my early years in card collecting was spent with the likes of 1989 Topps, 1990 Topps, 1990 Fleer and 1990 Donruss - there is something I just don't like about this particular card. Maybe I've seen it too many times over the years and realize it was worth a quarter back 20 years ago and it is probably now worth a nickel in 2011.

More Topps Diamond - 1979 Topps Dennis Martinez and 1978 Topps Rollie Fingers

I relented to enter the rest of the Topps Diamond Giveaway code cards I got from my 2011 Topps Value Box breaks - a 1979 Topps Dennis Martinez is a common, but I do remember him superficially as an older veteran who had reinvented himself as the ace of the Montreal Expos pitching staff from the late 1980s through the early 1990s.

1978 Topps Rollie Fingers - the first thing to notice is probably Fingers' trademark handlebar mustache and the second thing is the San Diego Padres' mustard-and-brown uniform / caps of the 1970s were really gaudy.

Even though Fingers is a Hall of Famer unlike Martinez - I'm probably looking to getsome sort of package deal of cards for this one or maybe one unique card i.e. a pre-1973 Topps common card of some vintage. I've seen my share of Fingers cards [mostly retro or late career] over the years and have gotten his autograph on various cards / items through the mid 2000s.

Vladimir Guerrero Diamond Die Cut

I unlocked a Topps Diamond code and ended up with this Vladimir Guerrero Diamond Die-Cut - this suddenly became the most unique card out of my portfolio. However, besides any interesting offers I may get, I'm thinking the Diamond Cuts cards may only be worth so much after people actually end up getting them delivered in-hand.

Unlocked another Topps Diamond Giveaway code

I got a 2007 Topps Rich Aurilia, which was a dud - but I got a bonus code, which led to a vintage 1960 Topps card of Frank Malzone.

Unlocked some Topps Diamond Giveaway codes

I was thinking about it lately and I hadn't gotten in on any Diamond Giveway action for the longest time - I ended up with about eight code cards [two pulled from packs] from the three 2011 Topps Value Boxes I purchased and wondered what to do with them?

I know I'd like to go to the Diamond Giveway Web site and enter the codes sooner than later - whether it is nefarious or not, there is a certain gambling element in play as you plug in a code and hope for something, anything of note.

I ended up entering two of the codes Sunday night and got a 1973 Topps Dave Marshall [who?] and a 1983 Topps Super Veterans subset card of Phil Niekro - maybe I should have save the rest of the unused codes to sell, particularly when the code cards are good for $3 or $4 each.

Chances are however, I'll probably end up entering the rest of the six four remaining code cards - after scratching in another set of codes Monday night.

2011 Topps Value Box three box recap - six packs of 2011 Topps Heritage Hobby

These six packs of 2011 Topps Heritage were from a 2011 Topps Value Box - I ended up picking up three boxes for $14.99 each at Target.

I think these new retail configurations Topps has come up over the last year or so has evolved and is doing wonders - as far as appealing to a collectors making impulsive purchases at a big box store.

In my mind, $50 is more than I want to spend at one time on cards at Target - but people have been busting a lot of these boxes on the Freedom Card Board and Blowout Cards forums because of the resale value of the two Diamond Giveaway code cards as well as potential hits on the two 2011 Topps Heritage hobby packs.

In each value box, the two 2011 Topps Heritage hobby packs maybe worth $5 each and the Diamond Giveaway code cards maybe worth $3 each - the five 2011 Topps retail packs included maybe worth $2 each, the bonus card [either a Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson or Babe Ruth] maybe worth $2 and the booklet enclosed with a gallery of Topps cards from the last 60 years / 2011 schedules for all 30 MLB teams maybe worth $1.

So for $50 of my actual hard earned cash - I'll take my chances on the unopened packs, but as far as guestimated value of the contents as they are packaged, I'm getting $28 worth of cards per each box.

Maybe Topps should work on something like this for baseball card shoppes that still exist - offer an attractive box of cards to entice collectors who want to purchase more than just loose packs, but don't exactly want to spend $75, $100, $125 on a full hobby box purchase.

Pack one - first box
#203 Kevin Millwood
#419 Wandy Rodriguez
#127 Dallas Braden / Trevor Cahill - Pride of the A's
#411 Michael Young
#335 Austin Jackson
C83 Justin Morneau / Joe Mauer - Twin Terrors Chrome refractor serial #'s 418/562
#18 Albert Pujols / Ryan Braun - Managers' Dream
#312 Roy Halladay - Doc Shows His Perfect Form
#64 Nick Markakis

Pack two
#351 Justin Morneau / Joe Mauer Twin Terrors
#130 Omar Infante
#307 Jair Jurrjens
#29 Terry Collins
#40 Pablo Sandoval

#486 Martin Prado - SP
#137 Babe and Mr. Huggins

#239 Brandon Beachy

#182 Cody Ross

Pack three - second box
#363 Nick Hundley
#252 James McDonald

#CCR-10 Ike Davis - Clubhouse Collection relic
#383 Daniel Hudson
#75 Chris Tillman
#338 Brett Gardner
#1 Josh Hamilton
#247 Jonathan Lucroy

Pack four
#45 Evan Longoria
#315 C.C. Sabathia - Sabathia Tosses a Curve
#367 Dan Uggla

#39 Erick Aybar
#129 Carlos Quentin
#311 Derek Jeter - Jeter Makes the Double Play
#106 Yadier Molina
#406 Tyler Colvin
#158 Atlanta Braves - Team Card

Pack five - third box
#197 Casey Blake
#389 Ryan Doumit
#123 Aaron Hill
#70 Justin Morneau

#NAP-6 Ubaldo Jimenez - New Age Performers insert
#58 2010 National League Wins Leaders
#336 John Lackey
#153 Marco Scutaro
#128 Joel Pineiro
#4 of 6 Checklist

Pack six
#362 Greg Halman
#319 Tim Lincecum - Lincecum Shows His Stuff
#214 Chris Sale
#401 Matt Kemp / Andre Ethier - Dodgers Dandies

#433 Kyle Davies - SP
#88 Joe Girardi
#353 Neil Walker
#242 Manny Acta
#96 Jered Weaver