Topps revives 1887 Gypsy Queen baseball for 2011 release
By Chris Olds | Editor
Move over Allen & Ginter, there’s a new queen in town.
Topps released the basic product information for its 2011 Gypsy Queen baseball card set on Wednesday, a retro-styled release modeled after the 1887 N174 set of the same name.
Scheduled to arrive in late-April, the Queen will deliver two autographed cards and two Relic cards in every 24-pack hobby box as well as a 10-card mini box inside.
The base set will consist of 450 cards — 50 of those short-printed variations — with a mix of current players, Hall of Famers and rookies in the mix. There will be seven base cards and three parallel cards in every pack.
See the images — and read more — after the jump.
Among the parallels are Stamp Relic cards, which will be limited to just 10 copies apiece. All 450 cards in the base set will have these cards, which feature a stamp somehow relating to the player’s city or country or origin. There also well be Framed Paper parallels — one per box — which are limited to 999, and Gold parallels that will be found in every pack.
Mini parallels will be found one per pack as well with hobby-only Leather versions limited to 10, Sepia minis limited to 99, back variants and black-bordered back variants. Also to be found are standard minis and mini variations.
The Autograph lineup will include dual and triple autograph Relics along with standard autographed Relics and autographed mini Relics.
Among the more unique inclusions will be art patch cards — 1/1 sketch cards with a piece of game-used patch attached. “Bonus hits” will include Gypsy Queen cards — inserts, autographs and jewel cards.
Insert sets include The Great Ones, Home Run Heroes and Future Stars — each set will also have mini parallels.
Also to be found are printing plates for the standard cards — as well as the minis.
Some of the signers for the product (on the preliminary checklist) include Albert Pujols, Buster Posey, Curt Schilling, Tom Seaver, David Wright, Frank Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Nolan Ryan, Mike Stanton, Jason Heyward, Johnny Bench, Bernie Williams, Ryan Howard, Brooks Robinson, CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay.
Want even more autographs? Also to be found are Ernie Banks, Stan Musial, Cal Ripken Jr. Al Kaline, Ozzie Smith, Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Mike Schmidt, Fergie Jenkins, Greg Maddux, Starlin Castro, Cliff Lee, Ryne Sandberg and Sandy Koufax among many, many more.
Among the most-notable names with Relic cards in the product are Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Thurman Munson and Rickey Henderson.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
For more on GQ, watch this video …
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I’ve seen it in T206 and Allen & Ginter, and now it’s in the Gypsy Queen set too. What’s the fascination with mini cards? Is there a historical significance?
From mod: The first sports cards were issued in packs of cigarettes. These “tobacco cards” were the mini size.
Ugh.
I was willing to go along for the ride until I saw the ‘gypsy queen’ herself.
This one might be a tough sell…
These Gypsy Queen cards look good. And I’m glad the checklist is on the big side at 450. I just hope we don’t get the same old HOF’ers (e.g., Mantle, Ruth, Cobb, Robinson, etc.) that we consistently get in the other Topps sets. As a Dodgers fan, I would love to see cards of Koufax, Drysdale, Grimes, Sutton, Vance, and Wheat–HOF’ers who are rarely, if ever, seen in Topps products.
I have been a huge fan of Allen & Ginter, 206 and liked the National Chicle 2010. I was just beginning to get bored. I think Gypsy Queen looks like Topps has raised the bar. I like that they added background to the base cards and inserts rather than a player or frisbee catching dog on a plain colored card. I have always liked the nostalgic look of black and white photos that were colorized and I think Topps hit the nail on the head. The downside, based on the preview is…who the heck would want a Gypsy gemstone card? Nice work overall, I plan on pre-ordering a couple boxes!
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Gemstone cards….hmmm. Genuine rubies, emeralds, sapphires? Or colored glass cut to look like faceted stones?
Maybe they’ll have some mysterious cosmic power….
Mini … #338 Babe Ruth ….value ????