2018 TOPPS ALLEN & GINTER ARRIVES WEDNESDAY, SURE TO SATISFY THE ECLECTIC COLLECTOR

2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball has all the elements the brand is known for including an antique look, framed hits and Rip cards. But even in that familiarity, Topps is spicing things up–literally.

Sticking with tradition, hobby boxes have three hits that can include anything from autographs to memorabilia cards to original Allen & Ginter cards or Rip cards.

2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Base Set

A total of 350 cards make up the 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball base set. Of those, the final 50 are short prints. And while those 50 cards may be a little tougher to come by, one lands every other hobby pack. That means they definitely attainable.

The checklist is predominantly baseball players past and present, but this wouldn’t be a modern Allen & Ginter set without some cards from outside the sport. The brand celebrates champions from other sports and areas of a much broader pop culture.

Full-sized parallels come in a couple of forms. Hot Box base cards return for another year. These are available only in randomly inserted boxes. One-of-one Glossy parallels also return.

These are just the start of the parallels, though. Every pack also has a mini parallel. These come in several forms beyond the basic shrinking of a base card to match original tobacco card dimensions.

A&G Logo Back Minis are 1:5 packs while Black Border Minis are 1:10. If you find a mini card without a number on the back, it’s by design. No Number Minis have just 50 copies each.

Sequentially numbered mini parallels include Brooklyn Logo Back (/25), hobby-exclusive Wood Stock (1/1), Glossy Stock (1/1) and Framed Printing Plates (1/1).

Framed Cloth Cards (/10) and Metal Minis (/3) are partial parallels of 150 cards. Both of these are found only in hobby packs.

Autographs and Memorabilia Cards

The Framed Mini Autographs in Allen & Ginter are, traditionally, some of the most popular in the entire hobby. So, of course, they return in 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball. The checklist is fairly large, covering more than 50 baseball players and champions from other areas.

Autograph parallels include Black Framed (/25) and hobby-exclusive Red Ink.

A small number of Cut Signatures are in the product covering figures from history and politics. These are all one-of-ones.

Basic memorabilia cards in 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball come in two forms, Full-Size Relics and Framed Mini Relics. The Full-Size Relics checklist is the larger of the two, bringing in the eclectic range of baseball players, pop culture personalities and champions.

The product has single and dual Autograph Relic Book cards. Numbered to 10, single versions have a signature and memorabilia from one star. Duals double it up, highlighting a pair of players.

Framed Sunken Treasure Relics head to the bottom of the world’s oceans and seas. These are only in hobby packs.

Going back to the early days of trading cards and the Allen & Ginter brand are Framed Originals. A total of 100 antique Allen & Ginter tobacco cards are in the product, inserted into a custom frame. Each of these is considered to be one-of-a-kind.

Rip Cards

Rip cards and hobby-exclusive Double Rip cards return at a rate of two total per hobby case. These have a card within the main card, creating a collector’s dilemma. Do you tear the outer card to get to the one that sits within? Or do you keep it in tact and in top condition?

Among the contents of the Rip cards are 50 exclusive Mini cards that expand the checklist to 400 cards. These do not have full-sized versions. They’re also not available in packs as loose cards outside the Rip cards. Rip-exclusive minis come with Metal (/3) and Wood (1/1) parallels.

Inserts

Be warned, Allen & Ginter isn’t all baseball. This is where things get a little bit strange and fun.

Full-sized inserts combine to land 1:2 packs. Two of these are rather large. World Talent has 50 cards and looks at players in the majors from around the globe. Also coming in at 50 cards is Fantasy Goldmine. These celebrate players who bode well with sabermetric stats.

Other regular inserts include Baseball Equipment of the Ages (30 cards), World’s Greatest Beaches (ten cards) and Magnificent Moons (ten cards).

In addition to the traditional-sized inserts are several mini inserts. Themes are extremely varied, starting with Baseball Superstitions (15 cards).

Non-baseball mini inserts cover an extremely varied area of topics. World’s Hottest Peppers bring the literal spice to the checklist. Postage Required (15 cards) celebrates stamps. Flags of Lost Nations (15 cards) remember national symbols that are no more. Indigenous Heroes (25 cards) celebrate some of history’s greatest Native American and First Nations leaders in North and South America. Finally, there’s Folio of Fears (ten cards), dedicated to the things many of us are scared of.

Hobby Box Loaders

Every 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball hobby box comes with one over-sized box loader card. Basic box loaders feature top players and rookies.

Autograph Box Loaders come numbered to 15 copies each.

N43 Box Loaders take a throwback look to key stars. These have 500 copies.Autographed versions for select players are numbered to 15.

Going outside of baseball are Natural Wonders Box Loaders. Limited to 500 copies each, these look at amazing places in the world.

What to expect in a hobby box:

• Autographs, Relics, Original Allen and Ginter Cards, Rip Cards – 3 total
• Insert Cards – 12
• Mini Inserts – 4
• Mini Parallels – 24
• Short Prints – 12

Allen & Ginter Framed Mini Autographs Checklist

110 cards.

Parallels:

• Red Ink – (hobby only)
• Black Frame – /25

MA-AA Aaron Altherr
MA-AE Austin Meadows
MA-AH Austin Hays
MA-AJ Aaron Judge
MA-AL Alison Lee
MA-AM A.J. Minter
MA-AN Anthony Banda
MA-AO Austin Rogers
MA-AR Amed Rosario
MA-AS Andrew Stevenson
MA-BD Brian Dozier
MA-BH Bryce Harper
MA-BI Bill James
MA-BJ Bo Jackson
MA-BL Ben Lecomte
MA-BM Biz Markie
MA-BW Brandon Woodruff
MA-CM Claire Smith
MA-CO Christopher McDonald
MA-CP Champ Pederson
MA-CS Chance Sisco
MA-DC Dominic Smith
MA-DF Dustin Fowler
MA-DM Don Mattingly
MA-DP Dillon Peters
MA-DS Darryl Strawberry
MA-DU Doris Burke
MA-FJ Felix Jorge
MA-FM Francisco Mejia
MA-FT Frank Thomas
MA-GC Garrett Cooper
MA-GT Gleyber Torres
MA-GU Genie Bouchard
MA-HB Harrison Bader
MA-HJ H. Jon Benjamin
MA-IH Ian Happ
MA-JA Jose Altuve
MA-JB Justin Bour
MA-JC J.P. Crawford
MA-JCK Jack Sock
MA-JD J.D. Davis
MA-JH Jordan Hicks
MA-JI Jose Berrios
MA-JJ Jaren Jackson Jr.
MA-JM J.D. Martinez
MA-JO Jose Canseco
MA-JR Jose Ramirez
MA-JS Jackson Stephens
MA-JV Joey Votto
MA-JZ Jon Lovitz
MA-KB Keon Broxton
MA-KD Khris Davis
MA-KP Kelsey Plum
MA-KR Kris Bryant
MA-LC Luis Castillo

MA-LR Lincoln Riley
MA-LV Lindsey Vonn
MA-MF Max Fried
MA-MG Miguel Gomez
MA-MH Molly McGrath
MA-MIII Marvin Bagley III
MA-MM Manny Machado
MA-MMI Miles Mikolas
MA-MN Method Man
MA-MO Matt Olson
MA-MR Michael Rapaport
MA-MT Mike Trout
MA-MW Mark McGwire
MA-MY Madison Keys
MA-NY Noah Syndergaard
MA-OA Ozzie Albies
MA-PB Parker Bridwell
MA-PD Paul DeJong
MA-PG Paul Goldschmidt
MA-PL Paul Blackburn
MA-PSP Paige Spiranac
MA-RA Ronald Acuna
MA-RD Rafael Devers
MA-RI Ryan Sickler
MA-RK Rhys Hoskins
MA-RR Raudy Read
MA-RU Richard Urena
MA-S Stugotz
MA-SA Sandy Alcantara
MA-SB Scott Blumstein
MA-SE Sean Evans
MA-SF Sonny Fredrickson
MA-SG Sonny Gray
MA-SKI Scott Kingery
MA-SN Sean Newcomb
MA-SO Shohei Ohtani
MA-SR Scott Rogowsky
MA-SS Steve Simeone
MA-SST Sloane Stephens
MA-SX Collin Sexton
MA-TE Theo Epstein
MA-TG Tom Segura
MA-TH Tony Hawk
MA-TI Tommy Wiseau
MA-TL Tzu-Wei Lin
MA-TLU Tyronn Lue
MA-TM Tyler Mahle
MA-TN Tomas Nido
MA-TS Troy Scribner
MA-TV Travis Shaw
MA-VC Victor Caratini
MA-VR Victor Robles
MA-WB Walker Buehler
MA-WM Whit Merrifield
MA-WO Willson Contreras

Autographed Relic Book Cards Checklist

38 cards.

ARBC-AJ Aaron Judge /10
ARBC-AL Adrian Beltre /10
ARBC-AO Amed Rosario /10
ARBC-AR Anthony Rizzo /10
ARBC-AU Addison Russell /10
ARBC-BD Brian Dozier /10
ARBC-BH Bryce Harper /10
ARBC-CF Clint Frazier /10
ARBC-CK Corey Kluber /10
ARBC-CL Charlie Blackmon /10
ARBC-CR Cal Ripken Jr. /10
ARBC-DJ Derek Jeter /10
ARBC-EL Evan Longoria /10
ARBC-FL Francisco Lindor /10
ARBC-I Ichiro /10
ARBC-JA Jose Altuve /10
ARBC-JE Jacob deGrom /10
ARBC-JL Jake Lamb /10
ARBC-JS Justin Smoak /10
ARBC-JU Justin Upton /10
ARBC-JV Joey Votto /10
ARBC-KB Kris Bryant /10
ARBC-KG Ken Griffey Jr. /10
ARBC-KS Kyle Schwarber /10
ARBC-MM Manny Machado /10
ARBC-MT Mike Trout /10
ARBC-NS Noah Syndergaard /10
ARBC-OA Ozzie Albies /10
ARBC-PG Paul Goldschmidt /10
ARBC-RB Ryan Braun /10
ARBC-RD Rafael Devers /10
ARBC-RH Rhys Hoskins /10
ARBC-SM Starling Marte /10
ARBC-TM Trey Mancini /10
ARBC-VR Victor Robles /10
ARBC-WC Will Clark /10
ARBC-WO Willson Contreras /10
ARBC-YM Yadier Molina /10

Boxloader Autographs Checklist

12 cards.

BA-AR Amed Rosario /15
BA-CR Cal Ripken Jr. /15
BA-DM Don Mattingly /15
BA-JA Jose Altuve /15
BA-JC Jose Canseco /15
BA-JV Joey Votto /15
BA-MM Manny Machado /15
BA-NS Noah Syndergaard /15
BA-OA Ozzie Albies /15
BA-PG Paul Goldschmidt /15
BA-RD Rafael Devers /15
BA-VR Victor Robles /15

Cut Signatures Checklist

20 cards.

CS-AP Al Pacino
CS-BB Bear Bryant
CS-BC Bing Crosby
CS-BG Ben Hogan
CS-BH Bob Hope
CS-BM Bill Murray
CS-CB Chuck Berry
CS-ER Eleanor Roosevelt
CS-GB George W. Bush
CS-HC Harry Caray
CS-JC Johnny Cash
CS-JD Jack Dempsey
CS-JI Jack Nicklaus
CS-JP Jimmy Page
CS-MS Martin Scorsese
CS-PN Paul Newman
CS-RM Rocky Marciano
CS-RP Richard Pryor
CS-RS Ringo Starr
CS-SD Sammy Davis Jr.

Dual Autographed Relic Book Cards Checklist

17 cards.

DABC-AL Roberto Alomar/Francisco Lindor /10
DABC-BA Craig Biggio/Jose Altuve /10
DABC-BR Anthony Rizzo/Kris Bryant /10
DABC-BS Charlie Blackmon/Trevor Story /10
DABC-BT Mike Trout/Kris Bryant /10
DABC-DS Jacob deGrom/Noah Syndergaard /10
DABC-FA Freddie Freeman/Ozzie Albies /10
DABC-G Ichiro/Ken Griffey Jr. /10
DABC-GT Mike Trout/Ken Griffey Jr. /10
DABC-JC Chipper Jones/John Smoltz /10
DABC-JR Derek Jeter/Mariano Rivera /10
DABC-KL Corey Kluber/Francisco Lindor /10
DABC-M Ichiro/Hideki Matsui /10
DABC-PS Chris Sale/Dustin Pedroia /10
DABC-RM Manny Machado/Cal Ripken Jr. /10
DABC-RS Kyle Schwarber/Addison Russell /10
DABC-SM Ozzie Smith/Yadier Molina /10

Full-Size Autographs Checklist

3 cards.

FSA-CE Chris Evans
FSA-CH Chris Hemsworth
FSA-MB Mikal Bridges

N43 Boxloader Autographs Checklist

9 cards.

N43A-AR Amed Rosario /15
N43A-JA Jose Altuve /15
N43A-JV Joey Votto /15
N43A-MM Manny Machado /15
N43A-NS Noah Syndergaard /15
N43A-OA Ozzie Albies /15
N43A-PG Paul Goldschmidt /15
N43A-SO Shohei Ohtani /15
N43A-VR Victor Robles /15