The set was the second issue of the Topps Heritage line and was based on the 1953 Topps cards. The base set copied the 53 version minus the old players. The low numbered cards were generally the commons in the set, with a few scattered short prints. Overall, I love the appearance of this set and the look of the cards.
Of all the Heritage sets that Topps has put out since 2001, I have them all, this was the easiest one to assemble. The short prints are the last 70-80 cards of the set, but there is not a real marquee rookie or veteran to make the set difficult. You can generally find assembled copies of the set pretty cheap, compared to other Heritage sets, or you can find a few big lots and mix and match together a set. Here's a look at the front and back of a short print:
Of course Topps threw in some other cards beyond the base set. There are the normal inserts featured in Topps Heritage like the Now & Then set, Classic Renditions, etc. There are some really good autographs in the set which all collectors should check out. There is a Willie Mays. It's expensive. Everyone else is totally affordable, but solid. The most expensive autographs past Mays are ARod, now less than $50, and Yogi Berra. While Yogi Berra sounds like it might be expensive, they are relatively easy to find and often for right around $50-$60. Also recommend Jim Edmonds, Red Schoendienst, and George Kell. If you want solid, but affordable check into Brian Giles or Senor Triple.....
I also spend a lot of time harping on the variations in Topps cards, but the 2002 Heritage set actually has a pretty cool variation. Note the previous sentence refers to the variation. Singular. The took all of the cards in the set and made a night version of the cards. They look pretty cool.
The night version cards are pretty inexpensive too and can be bought in big lots. I do not have the whole set of night cards, but I have not really tried either. I know several people who love the Heritage sets and were able to assemble the complete night version set.
Nice article on one of my favorite sets. Right now I'm going back and working on putting together the HOF Clubhouse Collection and Grandstand Glory cards. The Grandstand cards were only made from 2001 through 2004 and have some great photographs of HOF players plus seat chips from some stadiums that no longer exist. For an even bigger challenge I love picking up some of the cards that have paint on them, these Heritage cards are the only ones I've seen that have original chair paint, which looks great in the binder.
ReplyDeleteI love the Grandstand Glory cards. I have a really cool copy of a Musial which is one of my favorite Heritage inserts that I own in my collection. There were also some Grandstand cards in the Super Teams set that year. You have a binder of these cards? I bet that looks really nice.
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