Pack Break Week 4: 2015 Topps Gypsy Queen

Before it becomes "Taco Night" at home, it was just another ordinary day. The kids are still home on break, playing on their computers or whatever they do while I'm at work. My wife is baking cookies (made these really good peanut butter cookies last night and trying something different today). I'm just keeping up with the work before the end-of-the-year.

And I have all of these packs of cards at my desk waiting to be opened. Tempted as I have been, I've held off. Not because it's busy as usual, but I want to see what I get just before I write my post for pack break week.

Today's pack break features the 2015 Topps Gypsy Queen. Now in it's fifth incarnation, this year's design of the Gypsy Queen is truly a Topps original as I can't seem to find anything that remotely comes close to this in similarity. But that's not a bad thing. The concept is still the same. A mix of current and retired players with a unique cardboard stock and pictures filtered to look like paintings than actual photos. The dark borders in this year's set are prone can be prone to chipping, but they hold well based on the thickness of the cardboard. What makes it even more interesting is that the players by their last names first (Rizzo, A., Cubs for example) on the front and there are no statistics on the back, just a quick bio. Now, if you're not familiar with the name of the player based on the lack of info on the front, his full name is on the back.

So, what came out of this pack of 2015 Topps Gypsy Queen?

• #40 Jorge Soler, Cubs
• #200 Mike Napoli, Red sox
• #196 Travis d'Arnaud, Mets
• #82 Evan Gattis, Braves
• #105 Billy Hamilton, Reds

• #165 Michael Brantley, Indians
• #GWO-21 Kolton Wong, Cardinals, Walk-Off Winners
• #BBMR-7 Tag Up, Basics of Baseball Mini Card
• #263 Mark Buehrle, Blue Jays
• #260 Babe Ruth, Yankees

Some positives include a Cubs card (Soler) and my second Evan Gattis card in two days (also got one in my S1 pack yesterday). A rare mini insert card (1:24 packs) now makes me curious as to how much it would cost to get the whole set. Be right back...Okay. So while there are no full sets online, single cards go anywhere from $2.50 to $4.00. I might take a stab at it as it does look interesting. Or I just might throw it on the Bay.

A star name closes out the pack for the third day straight (Ruth). So overall, a good pack.

Tomorrow's pack break features Series 2 of the eponymous set. And a bonus 5-card pack of 2013 Topps Series 2. Should be a good one. Want to know what's in here? Come back tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week 2013: Topps Gypsy Queen

Today, I'm at the my daughter's orthodontist's office waiting while she gets her braces removed and at the same time get fitted for a retainer. I will be so glad when this ordeal is over. Unfortunately, it will be my son's turn pretty soon to go through this process...and if you know my son, it's going to be a LOT of work. I'll be going to work after she is done here and then back at school.

So what better time than right now to do a quick pack break?

Today, I'll be opening the random pack of 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen. It's probably one of the more under-rated products Topps brought to the masses in 2013, and has played that role since its debut in 2011. The art on these cards is awesome, and the insert sets are easy to complete and utilize very unique themes. Short prints and variations run amok in the regular set, but that seems to be the norm with card sets nowadays.

So let's get to it. Enclosed, in order, is what appeared in my 6-card pack of 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen:

• #278 Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals
• #247 Jose Reyes, Blue Jays, Blue Framed #065/499
• #DA-SS Stephen Strasburg, Nationals, Dueling Aces
• #116 Phil Niekro, Braves, Mini card
• #281 Matt Cain, Giants
• #319 Robin Ventura, White Sox

The Strasburg insert card was nice, but I pulled that from a pack before...and I have one from my master set. The key card here is the Blue Framed Reyes card. Appropriate because the subject is a Blue Jay (would have worked if he was in a Mets jersey too...but he played for the Marlins the year before). Odds of getting one was 1:35 packs. So let's call this pack a win. No Cubs to speak of once again.

Tomorrow, I'll open the pack of 2013 Topps Archives. Will there be a FF Auto? A Short-Print? Tune in tomorrow when I open the pack at another unique location.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2014 Topps Gypsy Queen Sell Sheets are Now Live!!!

If Topps continues it's recent consistency when it comes to its products, the second set that I will be looking forward to getting, just after 2014 Topps Series 1, will be Gypsy Queen.

Now I know you're probably asking, why don't you collect Heritage. I never really got into Heritage, not because I don't appreciate the company's past designs, but I don't know, it just didn't get my attention back in 2001 when the Golden Anniversary Set was all the rage. My mind was more focused on getting the 50 card Through the Years set, so even though Heritage was a hot seller, it was never really on my "must have" radar.

With that said, I like the Gypsy Queen product. Especially the style used for the photos. It's not textured (or painted akin to Turkey Red) but it has a unique quality all its own. And after three years, it has established its own identity. So I was happy to find out that the GQ brand will return in 2014. And just today, I found the sell sheets:

It is another 350 cards set, with 300 base and 50 short-printed cards. There are also SP variation cards (that I don't really collect, but don't mind ever pulling). The font used for the Gypsy Queen header is bolder and more modern looking than its counterpart from four years ago. The design is bold and I love the details on the corners.

While many collectors flock to the relic and auto cards (many of which are on card), I like the basic inserts. The themes are simple, and the cards themselves complement the base set with their own unique designs. There will be five different insert sets in the 2014 edition, including:

• Dealing Aces (20 cards), the set featuring the best starting pitchers in the game,
• Collisions at the Plate (10 cards), featuring catchers defending the plate against some of the game's best in an effort to keep them from touching home,
• Glove Stories (10 cards), showing off 10 players who can play defense with grace and agility,
• Debut All-Stars (15 cards), featuring All-Star players at their first All-Star Game appearance, and
• N174 Gypsy Queen (15 cards), featuring legendary players in the old N174 design.

Both the Debut All-Stars and N174 GQ cards are new to the basic insert series. There will be the usual run of parallel cards galore, in many shades of the rainbow. 

So get ready retro-collectors. With the product coming in at the beginning of the season, you only have six months to prepare for the arrival of one of the better mid-level sets in the Hobby today.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Is Your 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Set Complete?

By Wednesday, unless you plan on dropping $135 plus on a box Topps Tribute WBC edition at the National, being held down the street in beautiful Rosemont, IL, it no longer will be.

Why you ask?

Because one of the pack/box break promotions Topps is throwing (literally) is that if you buy and break a box of Topps' WBC Tribute product, you can get,

THIS!!!

That's right. A 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen card of Dodgers phenom (and ESPN darling) Yasiel Puig. The plan is to distribute 100 of these cards per day, 500 cards total, during the National's five-day run in the Chicago area.

If I was a certain gum enthusiast, I'd be swearing up and down a storm, on my blog, or on a certain radio program. But I'm not. It looks really nice on the computer. I'd love to get my hands on this card. But I think I'll wait. I can be patient. I can even put this on my want list on the sidebar of this humble little blog, to remind me of cards that are for now, impossible dreams to add to my collection.

One question though...

Is this card #351?

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Two 2013 Gypsy Queen Orioles Blue Parallel Cards Showed Up at my Door from Across the Atlantic ...

The above title sounds like the set up to a horrible joke. But trust me, it's very far from the case. Would you like to know how I got my hands on the cards below?:

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Jim Palmer and Brooks Robinson Blue Frame Parallel Cards

About a month or so ago, I get a note on my email saying that somebody on Twitter mentioned me. Now, normally, it's because of Twitter's traditional Follow Fridays where people who tweet post a list of names who they believe their followers should follow as well. I get a few of these from time to time, and thanks to whoever says to #FF @bdj610 (and while you're at it, take some time after reading this post to do the same).

Well, it seems that many of the card bloggers take to twitter to give cards away to their followers. And that's what Andy Bates (who writes the fantastic blog The Wax Fantastic and can be followed on twitter @thewaxfantastic) does. Did I mention that the guy is based out of London??!

Back to the point.

The note from Twitter was not a FF, but a tweet from Andy stating:

Hey, I won two cards...I didn't even know I entered anything. That's the fun about these random drawings...as long as you're a follower of a guy (or gal), you could get free stuff. So I sent the man my address and a few weeks ago the pair finally arrived.

These cards are beautiful up close. The blue really pops on these cards. And even though they are of Orioles, I'll be more than happy to add them to my 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen binder.

So an overdue (I promised I'd write this a few weeks ago...and you know what happened) thank you to Andy for the pair of blue O's.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

SOLD!!! 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Jean Segura Autograph Card!!!

No sooner than I listed this auction on eBay, and it is now sold!!! For the price of $7.50 plus $2.50 shipping, a buyer from Fort Myers, FL, is now the proud owner of a 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Jean Segura Autograph card.

So how much do I get?

Let's see, factor in these PayPal fees ($0.30 + 2.9% of the total which should equal $0.59), and I have $9.41 in a PayPal account that I didn't have before. Okay, I can live with that.

Throw in the eBay fees (9% of $7.50, $0.675) and wait, there's a final value fee on my shipping (9% of $2.50, $0.225)??? Okay, fine, so that's another $0.90 (which makes sense as 9% of $10.00 is $0.90), so officially, I sold this card for a whopping $6.01 plus $2.50 for shipping.

Ouch.

Oh well, it's a start. And that's money in my PayPal account for more cards! Hey, this eBay thing may just work out after all. If I can just get over the fees thing.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen 2-Pack Break

With all the hype that the new Gypsy Queen had been getting (and because I have the previous two master sets of GQ in my collection), I had been dying to get my hands on a couple of packs of this year's edition. When word was spread that the retail big box stores had gotten their hands on the stuff a week earlier than the actual street date, I would take detours to the local Target to see if they were on display. Alas, they were not.

Master sets on the Bay (which would consist of the 300 cards, 50 short prints, and 70 inserts broken into five unique themes) were going anywhere from $149.99 to over $250. Now, I'm not about to spend over $200 for this or any master set, but so I'm going to bide my time for now and hope that the price of the sets go down (like to about $130 or so...yeah, that's the ticket).

So anyway, my son and I had a bit of free time as both the ladies of the family had their own parties to attend. And since it was the first Sunday of the month, in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, that normally means there are hotel card shows happening. The bad news is that thanks to the economy, these shows are down to once a month (they used to be held once every two weeks), so I've normally missed them. Not today.

But by the time I got to the one card show that was actually "on," the vendors were packing up for the day. Yikes. After breezing through a couple of tables, I bought a couple of packs of Gypsy Queen from the guy that runs the show and took off for home. When I got home, my son and I opened the packs. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

The first thing I noticed was that the card that was in front of the mini insert card was facing the opposite direction from the rest of the cards in the pack. That would mean (to me anyway) that either those cards were special or possibly short printed. And boy was I happy with what I found.

So below are the results of my two-pack Gypsy Queen break (in the order that they appeared in the pack):

• #064 Joey Votto, Reds
• #056 Jason Heyward, Braves
• #041 Dylan Bundy, Orioles
• #110 Buster Posey, Giants
• #011 Anthony Rizzo, Cubs
• #320 Roberto Clemente, Pirates (this card was facing the opposite direction from the rest of the pack)
• #135 Ryne Sandberg Mini card
• #261 Vance Worley, Twins
• #321 Robinson Cano, Yankees
• #112 Paul Goldschmidt, Giants

Thoughts: Awesome pack. Superstars, Hall of Famers, rising stars...what more could you possibly ask for in a pack??! Oh, and that Clemente...

IS A SHORTPRINT!!!

Now that I'm calmed down from hyperventilating, here are the results of pack #2:

• #175 Brandon Moss, Athletics
• #217 Neil Walker, Pirates (ironically, the bio on Clemente's card actually mentions Walker...)
• #242 Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians
• #104 Paco Rodriguez, Dodgers
• #091 Matt Holliday, Cardinals
• #GQA-JS Jean Segura, Brewers (this card was facing the opposite direction from the rest of the pack)
• #121 Rickey Henderson Mini card (gives us two HOF player mini cards...sadly, this was not the mini SP variation)
• #074 Josh Rutledge, Rockies
• #102 Tyler Colvin, Rockies
• #145 Ryan Ludwick, Reds

Thoughts: Not too bad, a couple of all-stars, another HOF mini card of a player I grew up watching, a couple of Rockies. Normally, this would be just your run-of-the-mill, average, everyday, "ehh," pack of cards. But this one card...

makes it all better. So what if he's autographed tons of cards in 2013 already. It's an actual on-card autograph of a guy that should have been on my Topps "Chase" team. I rarely, if ever, get autographs from a pack of cards...EVER!!! So regardless of the player, this is pretty cool (you have to admit, this is better than a redemption).

Overall, I like the look of this set. The picture quality is unique to this set (as in, it isn't the same as what you see in Allen & Ginter or Turkey Red). It's dark (lots of shadows), but not so much that you can't appreciate how the pictures look like painted portraits.

And again, as if I can't state this enough, my mini cards were of two HOF players. Eh, who cares if neither are SP's? They look great in mini form, and that's probably the point. While I don't really collect mini cards, I'll add these to my collection, unless someone really wants them.

Speaking of wanting them...you know what I have realized? In my almost five years on the blog, I have not once put a card up on the Bay to sell. I have bought tons, but not sold any. When my kids were little, I had more time to sell cards on eBay, and I did pretty well selling inserts and commons for $1.00 plus at a time. But as the kids grew older, and our lives became more hectic, there was less time to list. What better way to dive back into the selling pool than to put the Clemente and Segura cards on the Bay and see what happens. I better re-learn how to list online...it's been a while.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week 3: 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen

I'm finally finishing up the Pack Break Week posts that should have been done last week. Please pretend that the date above reads Friday, August 17, 2012. Thanks.

As previously stated, I bought five random packs at the local Target last week, and have opened each one for my annual Pack Break Week extravaganza (laugh all you want). The last pack to open is Topps sophomore product, Gypsy Queen.

Another six-card pack that retails at $3.19, it really is too expensive at this price for so few cards. While I shouldn't say I'm not surprised that this product made it to another year (see Turkey Red, Topps 206, etc), the run for this product should be fairly short (meaning I don't expect it to appear again in 2013...although I could be wrong of course). The cards themselves look like they were done as paintings instead of pictures (although thanks to computer graphic technology, none of which I am an expert of, I'm sure you can take any picture and turn it into a painting). I have to admit, with the cards I got, they look good as paintings.

So what did I get?

• #12 Brennan Boesch, Tigers
• #179 Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
• #103 Shaun Marcum, Brewers
• #SS-CG Curtis Granderson Sliding Stars
• #138 Chris Carpenter Mini Black Bordered
• #GS-JF Jeff Francoeur Glove Stories

Three base cards and three inserts. I should do a bit more research as to what the odds are for these...wait I can. The mini black borders come 1:12, same for Glove Stories. Sliding Stars are 1:6.  You have to admit that the pictures, especially the one of Francoeur, look fantastic.

So ends another edition of Pack Break week.  All cards are available for trade, from this pack and all the other packs.  If interested, you know where to find me.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week 2: 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

More than two weeks ago, I bought six random packs at Target, hoping to have another Pack Break Week celebration before the end of the season.  Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control forced what was supposed to be a one week adventure into a three week disaster.  Am I disappointed?  Yeah.  Only because it means, once again, that I failed to finish something that I either promised to have done by a certain time, or because what I thought would be a great idea became a challenge when actually applying it to this humble little blog.

But no more.

With the 2011 season now over, it is time to refocus.  And it is time to actually deliver on the promises.  (I better, otherwise, this blog will just nosedive into insignificance and irrelevance).

So let's (finally) conclude Pack Break Week with the final pack of the bunch, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen.

Reaching into the history of trading cards once again, Topps re-introduced the Gypsy Queen, a product from the 1800's, to 21st century collectors.  Many of the original photos from the original set came from the same photographer as those used in another legendary set, Old Judge.  But the Gypsy Queen in today's product actually included "Gypsy Queens," to go with cards of our baseball heroes. Some called it a gimmick.  I call it genius. But they short printed the Queens, so getting one in my pack most likely was not going to be in the cards (ha ha ha).
Here is what was waiting for me when I opened my pack of 2011 Gypsy Queen:

The cards that came out of the pack are (in the order of how they were packaged):

• #64 Josh Hamilton
• #221 Martin Prado
• #244 Scott Kazmir
• #SF14 Alcides Esobar Sticky Fingers
• #320 Dexter Fowler Mini Card
• One Thick blank filler card (had hoped for a relic, this must be Topps effort to thwart pack searchers)
• #HH24 Rogers Hornsby Home Run Heroes
• Checklist 4 of 4

Some quick thoughts.  If Escobar is supposed to have sticky fingers (I'm guessing for defensive prowess), why does it look like he missed the ball?  Other than that, it's a decent pack.  It would be one that would make me want to buy more. But at this point, I think I'll wait for set prices to go down.
So finally, Pack Week 2 ends.  Just like our MLB season.  Tomorrow, I will start the process of naming players to my 2011 End of the Year All-Star Teams.  A number of obvious names, and maybe some surprises, will fill out both 36-man rosters.  But before I get to that, I have to (finally) show the results of the 2010 All-Star Game simulations. 

Once again, I have to make good on these things.  Maybe one day, I'll get back to the Randomizer and the Archives project. 

Better sooner than later.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Sketch Card Relics...Where is Pujols Running Towards???

The other day, the Number One Source in the Hobby provided pictures of all 24 Gypsy Queen Sketch Card Relics that are being inserted into packs of the new Gypsy Queen product. This is the first time that sketch cards and relics have been combined.  And they are all of one-of-a-kind.

Now normally, I don't go for relics, especially one of ones, but reading the comments on this one, I thought I'd bring this to people's attention (if they haven't already noticed it).


Above is the card of Albert Pujols.Note that the number on his uniform has a 4 on it. Yes, Albert's Cardinal number is 5, but according to Monty Sheldon, the man that drew all 24 cards, and confirmed by Chris Olds, the picture was taken during the Jackie Robinson Day where EVERY player wore #42.

So, okay, that makes sense. But check the background of the card. It's not the stands of a imagined ballpark that is way off in the distance. What does that say off in the distance???

In case the picture somehow doesn't appear when viewing, it looks like three "$" and the word "bank" below it. I wonder what that means?

Mr. Sheldon went on record in the article indicating that he, "...thought people would be talking more about the fact that I painted Pujols running towards the "$$$ bank" in the background than about his uniform #. "

I guess that even though it was for copyright reasons that Monty had to follow the picture of Albert to the letter (or number as the case may be), he was able to take some artistic liberties in the drawing of the background.  Just wait until some lucky fan pulls this card from a pack.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Sell Sheets are Now Live!!!

As promised in my first post about the newest retro product Topps will be debuting in 2011, the sell sheets for the Gypsy Queen set are now live!







Some notes:

There will be a group of insert cards featuring Gypsy Queens. Really? They will come in regular, autos, and jewel-encrusted cards (20 each). The sample on the sell sheet is intriguing. Can't wait to see what the other 19 will look like.

For regular insert collectors (like me), who insist that these cards would be part of the master set, the three insert sets look fantastic. "The Great Ones" (in brown) feature 30 legendary players. "The Home Run Heroes" (in green) showcases 25 past and present sluggers. "Future Stars" (in blue)...is self explanatory with 20 young stars who should carry MLB into the coming decade.

Regular sized parallel cards include "framed paper" (which if I were to guess was how the original cards were created), and gold (100 cards only will get the gold foil and newfangled technology treatment). Mini parallels will include leather (simulated...relax PETA), sepia tone (to acknowledge how the original cards actually looked), Gypsy Queen-backed cards (with the original GQ logo), and black borders.

And did I mention that each card gets its own parallel stamp card (#'d to 10)?

The checklist (in .pdf form) can be found here. And as always, it is subject to change. With the recent news that Topps has signed contracts with both Sandy Koufax and Hank Aaron (just today), they may be added as well. Emphasis on may be.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The Gypsy Queen Scheduled to Sail in 2011.

The latest buzz around the Hobby Internet community was the announcement of the Topps Company's latest retro-baseball card product: 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen.

In what appears to be the replacement for this past year's National Chicle or even Topps 206, Gypsy Queen cards were inserts found in packs of cigarettes back in 1887 (N174 for those of you who follow Mr. Burdick's codes), and the photos used were similar to those used of the more familiar Old Judge cards from that same era (both brands were manufactured by Goodwin and Company). Doing a bit of digging (isn't the Internet a wonderful thing???), the Gypsy Queen set consisted of 183 cards (that are known of anyway), in two sizes (2" x 3½" and 1" x 2½") and because the cigarettes were expensive, only the "upper class" could afford them. Because cards like these weren't really actively collected back then, it is a safe bet that many were just tossed aside, which makes the original cards rarer than other tobacco cards (like the Allen & Ginters, the Old Judges, etc). How rare were these cards? Put it this way, even the book Classic Baseball Cards: The Golden Years 1886-1956 doesn't list or has any pictures from this brand of cards.

Now this isn't the first time Topps is utilizing the design. Remember a few years back (2007 to be exact) when Topps' Walmart Exclusive insert set included a bunch of old baseball card designs? There were a couple of Gypsy Queen cards included (Joe Mauer and Dan Uggla). And although the cards from 2007 stayed true to the set's original sepia colored pictures, the 2011 set will utilize color pictures.


The 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen set will consist of 450 cards, of which 50 will be short-printed variations (there's a big surprise). There are going to be three regular-sized insert sets, and the kicker is that every card (base and inserts) will have their own mini parallel card. The parallel cards will be found one per pack and include hobby-only Leather versions limited to 10, Sepia minis limited to 99, back variants and black-bordered back variants.




There are also the usual relics, autos, and mini framed cards. As well as something called Stamp Relic cards. All 450 cards (#'d to ten) will feature a stamp that incorporates the player's city or country of origin.


And, the number one source in the hobby has pictures (some which are below...you can catch the other ones on their site). The most unique card I've seen among the samples is this embedded Gypsy Queen gem card, complete with a picture of a "gypsy queen." Hey, if they can get Santa Claus, or even the invisible man on a card, you never know.


Now personally, I like the retro stuff that Topps, and even that other card company...when they were around, put out in the last ten years. What started with T206, T205, Cracker Jack, Turkey Red, Allen & Ginter, Goodwin Champions, Goudey, Play Ball, and even the National Chicle, the purpose of these cards were not only to put something on the market for set collectors to hunt, but to also expose us to the rich history of the Hobby and the cards that were made before the Shorin brothers came up with their gum. As a student of the Hobby, I really appreciate that. But lately, there's been a bit of ambivalence to these kinds of cards. Why the hostility? Has the craze already played itself out? If it has, why then is Topps still putting these kinds of products out there? Certainly there is a market for it. And there is a wealth of old card products and designs they can use.

Now for those of us who have never seen actual Gypsy Queen cards, one of the best sites I've seen
that has a number of them is here at Baseball Cards Live. A checklist of the 183 known cards can be found here at Vintage Prices. And when sell sheets arrive, I will make sure to scan and post them here on the blog.

Topps Gypsy Queen is the fifth product the company has announced for Major League Baseball (following Series 1, Heritage, Opening Day, and Tribute). More to look forward to in 2011.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama