Beckett Global
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Release Dates and Set Information
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2017 Bowman Baseball
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New Trading Card Releases
- 2016-17 Panini National Treasures Basketball
- 2017 Topps WWE
- 2017 Fleer Ultra Spider-Man
- 2017 Topps Star Wars 40th Anniversary
- 2017 Bowman Baseball
- 2017 Score Football
- 2017 Panini Aficionado Soccer
- 2017 Topps MLS Soccer
- 2017 Rittenhouse Game of Thrones Season 6
- 2017 Leaf Ultimate Draft Football
- 2016 Panini Flawless Football
- 2017 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Football
- 2016-17 Upper Deck Ice Hockey
2017 Upper Deck Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Trading Cards Are a Hobby Mixtape
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
Star-Lord, Groot, Rocket and the rest of the gang are back with 2017 Upper Deck Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 trading cards. Like the set based on the original film, there’s a cardboard mixtape including more autographs from the movie’s stars and a pair of memorabilia cards per hobby box.
While the product does lean towards a more high-end configuration with regards to three premium inserts per hobby box, it’s not to quite the same extent as some of Upper Deck’s other recent Marvel products like Doctor Strange.
1916 M101-5 Blank Back Babe Ruth Tops $550,000
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
$552,000 — that was the final price for a 1916 M101-5 Blank Back Babe Ruth card sold on May 13 by Heritage Auctions.
2017 Topps Now Baseball Cards Tell Season’s Story
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
2017 Topps Now Baseball sees print-on-demand cards return for a second season. And while much of the concept remains the same, some changes show the line is evolving.
2017 Panini Select Racing Highlighted by Prizms Galore, On-Card Autographs
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
Select Racing isn’t new to NASCAR, but you have to go back to the days when Pinnacle was still around as its own company to when it was last released. 2017 Panini Select Racing sees the chromium brand return with a modern spin that includes two autographs and three memorabilia cards per box plus plenty of color.
2016-17 Panini Grand Reserve Basketball to debut this summer
By Stephen Laroche | Beckett Basketball Editor
An all-new concept to help round out this season, 2016-17 Panini Grand Reserve Basketball is a premium release which could generate some buzz one it hits store shelves this summer.
With three packs per box and lots of hard-signed ink, the early details on this product tease the potential to pull some major hits along with coveted inserts that utilize a variety of printing technologies. With a name like Grand Reserve, can we expect anything less? Read More…
2017 Panini Majestic Football Checklist and More
By David Lee | Beckett Football Editor
Panini debuted a lot of new football hobby brands last year, and 2017 Panini Majestic Football will be introduced as a new brand in mid-May. The post-draft release will feature a darker, “mysterious” design with a focus on colorless photos.
There are five boxes per case. Boxes are packaged with just one pack of 10 cards. Four will be autographs (including one on-card) and four will be memorabilia cards. There also will be two base or parallel cards numbered to 99 or less. Multi-signed cards will fall two in every three boxes, on average.
These 2017 Bowman Baseball Superfractors Aren’t in Packs Anymore
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
By their nature, Superfractors can have a “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” moment. Being one-of-a-kind, you’re not going to see them often. Many are also swallowed up directly into personal collections where they rarely change hands. When it comes to baseball prospects, a first autographed Superfractor can become the card. Of the thousands of different cards a player can receive over their career, it’s the one many collectors consider to be the best of the best.
The Superfractors in 2017 Bowman Baseball include a mix of Prospects, Prospect Autographs and several other inserts. Blake Rutherford, Nick Senzel and Eloy Jimenez are among the big-name Chrome Prospect Autograph Superfractors in the product.
If you’re wondering which of the 2017 Bowman Superfractors have been pulled and what they’ve sold for, we’re compiling a list and will be updating it in the weeks ahead as more surface.
Gwendoline Christie Captain Phasma Autograph Cards on the Way
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
Topps continues to add to their stable of Star Wars autograph signers, announcing that Gwendoline Christie signatures will appear in upcoming products.
2017 Summit Award Spotlight: Ultimate Box Breaks’ Bryan Gavin – Best Customer Communication
The 2017 Summit Awards sponsored by Amazon helped close out the 2017 Industry Summit in Las Vegas, recognizing several industry leaders for their contributions over the last year. Bryan Gavin of Ultimate Box Breaks won for Best Customer Communication.
Beckett Media caught up with him to discuss the importance of communication and his approach to things.
Catch a glimpse of hockey’s up-and-coming stars with 2017 Upper Deck Team Canada Juniors
By Stephen Laroche | Beckett Hockey Editor
Canadian hockey fans were tantalizingly close to seeing their national teams win gold at the World Junior Championship and the Women’s World Championship events earlier this year and those teams are a big part of the upcoming 2017 Upper Deck Team Canada Juniors release.
Arriving in late August, it will give collectors a taste of some of the game’s top Canadian-born prospects along with with plenty of hits that have made this brand a success in recent years. Read More…
Cards on Every Corner: My Brief Experience with Collecting on a European Vacation
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
What if I told you there was a place where trading cards could be bought on every other block and packs were usually around a dollar?
Many yearn for the days of finding sports cards and other trading cards almost everywhere you went. The cheaper, the better. Corner stores, department stores, gas stations, restaurants — there was a time when cards were everywhere.
Today, that’s not the case where many of us live. You have your card shops. Or maybe you don’t have one nearby. There are places like Walmart and Target, but it seems like those sections are shrinking more than they’re expanding.
Are other parts of the world the same? Where are cards found on the other side of the planet?
That was one of the questions I had on my mind as my family and I recently embarked on a trip through the Mediterranean with stops in a handful of countries.
And while my sample size of cities and areas weren’t the biggest, the results surprised me.
2017 Topps Inception Baseball Pivots the Brand from Prospects to Rookies and Veterans
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
Baseball has had Bowman Inception for a few years now. But like other Bowman products, the focus has been primarily on prospects. 2017 Topps Inception Baseball sees that focus shift a little. There’s still the similar look and attention to autographs but the checklist is centered on veterans and rookies rather than those working their way up through the minors.
Like Bowman Inception, each box has just one pack. In it is either an autograph or an autographed relic card.
2017 Panini Gold Standard Football Sees Brand Return to the Gridiron for First Time Since 2011
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
2017 Panini Gold Standard Football marks the brand’s return to gridiron. Although it has been a regular on the basketball calendar for years, 2011 is the only other time it has been a standalone football set.
Like its hoops counterpart, much of the product’s attention is on autographs and memorabilia cards with five total in each seven-card box.
Exclusive Look: Topps Baseball Cards Coming to Sports Crate
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
Sports Crate has baseball cards. The subscription box service, which is launching in baseball with ten teams, comes with exclusive cards from Topps.
2017 Topps Sports Crate Baseball cards come with a new design that hasn’t been used elsewhere. Each crate includes one card, so putting together a full set each month — and over the course of the season — is going to be a challenge.
2017 Fright-Rags Re-Animator Box Busters
Join Beckett Media’s Matt Bible and Eric Norton as they open some 2017 Fright-Rags Re-Animator trading cards.
What will they find? Watch and find out.
Kickstarter Spotlight: 2017 Sidekick Lab Ed Repka’s Monsterdom Trading Cards
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
When it comes to bringing heavy metal music and art together, Ed Repka is one of the most renowned of all-time. Over the years, he has collaborated with dozens of bands on cover art, most notably Megadeath. 2017 Sidekick Lab Ed Repka’s Monsterdom hit Kickstarter to showcase some of his work using the trading card medium.
2017 National Sports Collectors Convention Autograph Signers
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
Every year, the National features dozens of autograph signers spanning several sports. The 2017 National Sports Collectors Convention autograph list is no different.
Organized by TRISTAR, baseball legends make up the largest chunk of signers. Hall of Famers on tap to attend the show in Chicago include Cal Ripken, Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson, Pedro Martinez, Johnny Bench and Andre Dawson. The recently retired Alex Rodriguez is making his National debut.
Football also has several players scheduled to appear. Among them are Barry Sanders, Jim Kelly, Bob Griese, Jerome Bettis and Deion Sanders.
The 2017 National autograph pavilion will have more hockey players than recent years including Ray Bourque, Brett Hull and Guy Lafleur. Bobby Hull, Chris Chelios, Ed Belfour and Jeremy Roenick are among the one-time Chicago Blackhawks.
Highlights from other sports include Mike Tyson, Julius Erving, Lenny Wilkens, and WrestleMania 33 headliner Bill Goldberg. There’s also cyclist Lance Armstrong making his first National appearance.
2016-17 Panini Instant Basketball Checklist, Details
By Stephen Laroche | Beckett Basketball Editor
It was only a matter of time before Panini America was able to produce its first cards of Kevin Durant in a Golden State Warriors uniform and the company chose to utilize its exclusive athlete to kick off its 2016-17 Panini Instant Basketball collection.
Available for just a short 24-hour window, the new set of on-demand cards have several numbered variations, including a facsimile signature option, which is a new concept for the brand. Read More…
2017 MLB Bobblehead Schedule and Other Stadium Giveaways
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
More than 150 MLB bobblehead stadium giveaways are scheduled for 2017. On top of those are dozens of other promotions offering other collectibles like garden gnomes, replica statues, replica World Series rings and baseball cards. Yes, the Seattle Mariners even have a Felix Hernandez Funko Pop! giveaway in September.
Some of the 2017 MLB bobblehead giveaways are your standard models. Some go to extremes to showcase a specific moment or show another side of the player. These are often the most memorable.
We’ve compiled a detailed list of all this season’s MLB bobblehead giveaways as well as other notable collectibles being handed out to fans at games.
2016-17 Topps UEFA Champions League Showcase Soccer Checklist
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
2016-17 Topps UEFA Champions League Showcase soccer cards draw from the large number of players and teams made available through the expansive license. While the product isn’t overly expensive or particularly high-end, it does have a pair of autographs in every hobby box.
2017 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Series 2: Battle of the Bands Sticks It to Pop Music
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
2017 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Series 2: Battle of the Bands sets its sights on a half-century of popular music. The release focuses on singers and bands current and from the past.
As has been the case for the past couple of years, it comes with a couple of different hobby configuration types. One is straightforward in its approach and costs less. The other has more inserts and premium potential, but it’s also more expensive.
2017 Topps WWE NXT Shifts to a Full Hobby Release
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
2017 Topps WWE NXT is the second set of wrestling cards for WWE’s “farm system.” However, it’s the first to get a traditional hobby distribution following 2016’s online-exclusive release.
The checklist is a relatively simple one that includes one autograph in every hobby pack.
2016-17 Panini Threads Basketball Checklist and Team Set Lists
By Stephen Laroche | Beckett Basketball Editor
Fans of one of Panini America’s long-running brands are about to find it at their hobby shop once again with the release of 2016-17 Panini Threads Basketball.
Last year, Threads was exclusive to Target stores. Its return to traditional card stores will include one autograph and one memorabilia card per box along with a pair of Leather Rookies that are exclusive to hobby packs. Read More…
2017 Topps Star Wars Masterwork Takes the Force High-End Once Again
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
2017 Topps Star Wars Masterwork marks the third consecutive year for the high-end brand. Once again, it’s highlighted by a premium insert in every pack. Each four-pack box promises a pair of autographs.
Alexa Bliss: Five Cards of Fury
By Matt Bible | Beckett Non-Sports Analyst | Commentary
Move over, Charlotte Flair. Monday night has a new queen.
Alexa Bliss is known as the Wicked Witch of WWE and she is currently one of the hottest wrestlers in the industry. A top heel in the company, she recently made the switch to the RAW roster and won her third women’s championship by defeating fan-favorite Bayley at WWE Payback. She’s the first to win both the Raw and Smackdown women’s titles since the brand split. Not too shabby considering she’s only been in the industry for four years.
And, as usual, with championship caliber talent comes championship caliber cardboard. Here are five of Little Miss Bliss’s most notable releases…
The “Original” T206 Honus Wagner Hitting the Auction Block
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
A handful of baseball cards have transcended the hobby over the years. However, none have reached the levels as the T206 Honus Wagner. It draws attention in and out of the hobby whenever one comes up for sale. It’s a card surrounded in history, intrigue and a long list of massive sales.
But where does this popularity track back to?
It’s hard to pinpoint it, but it’s believed the card’s first mention in a mainstream news publication came in November, 1930 in the Newark Evening News. The specific card mentioned in that story, now dubbed the “Original Wagner,” is coming up for sale in SCP Auctions‘ 2017 Spring Premier Auction.
2017 Leaf Best of Football Includes Cards from the Past, ROY Predictors
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
2017 Leaf Best of Football is the latest instalment in the long-running line that focuses largely on high-end cards from the past. However, it’s not entirely a repackaged product. There are some new, exclusive cards as well.
While You Wait for Cody Bellinger Rookie Cards, Here’s What You Can Collect Right Now
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
After making a quick and dramatic impact, interest in Cody Bellinger Rookie Cards is rising. It will be a little bit before the Dodger phenom’s first base cards are found in packs. Who knows, by then maybe he’ll have cooled off. In the meantime, there are several Cody Bellinger cards out there already.
2016-17 Donruss Optic Basketball Box Busters
Join Beckett Media’s Paul Wirth and Eric Norton as they open some 2016-17 Donruss Optic Basketball.
What will they find? Watch and find out.
Off-Takk: Takkarist McKinley Didn’t Sign All of His 2017 Contenders Draft and Elite Draft Autographs
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
2017 Panini Contenders Draft and 2017 Elite Draft both have Takkarist McKinley autograph cards on their checklists. But there’s a problem — the signatures don’t all belong to the Atlanta Falcons first round pick.
Starting Lineup Figures Are Back in Four Sports as Stadium Giveaways
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
They have a long way to go before catching bobbleheads, but the number of Starting Lineup figures being used as stadium and arena giveaways continues to grow.
The figures made their official comeback last fall when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers handed out an exclusive Jameis Winston SLU to fans at their October 30 game. Since then, both basketball and hockey have had a few of their own SLU giveaways with more on tap.
The 2017 MLB season will also see Starting Lineup figures return in the form of promotional items.
2017 Score Football Box Busters
Join Beckett Media’s Paul Wirth and Eric Norton as they open some 2017 Score Football.
What will they find? Watch and find out.
2017 Leaf Valiant Football Sees Line Return with Lots of Color and a Graded Card Per Box
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
After taking a couple of years off, Valiant is back on the gridiron. 2017 Leaf Valiant Football sticks with the colorful designs and all-autograph structure used in the past but the configuration has one notable change. In addition to three regular autographs, each box also comes with a BGS-graded card that’s a 9.5 or better.
2017 Summit Awards Spotlight: GTS Distribution, Excellence In Communication
The 2017 Industry Summit came to a close with the Summit Awards sponsored by Amazon to recognize leaders in several categories and voted on by attendees earlier in the conference. GTS Distribution received an award for Excellence in Communication.
Joe Fallon, GTS Director of Business Management, discussed some of their marketing and communication initiatives.
4 Reasons NOT to Use Tape on Top Loaders
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor | Commentary
Taped top loaders are common. It’s what many of us do to keep cards from flopping out and getting wrecked in the mail.
But is putting tape on the end of a top loader the best and safest way to protect cards headed out in the mail?
Some types of tape are better than others (clear packing tape and scotch tape are the worst), but you may want to avoiding it all together. Here are four reasons why.
Read More…