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2016 Topps Series 2 Break

The 2016 Topps flagship set is a good set - the design is reasonably sharp, the photography continues to be excellent, and the checklist is what we’ve come to expect - Bryant, Trout, Harper - they’re all there.  The problem with Series 2 is that the rookie checklist is basically Gary Sanchez and Francisco Lindor - not bad, but not the quality of the Kris Bryant RCs from 2015 or the Aaron Judge/Cody Bellinger RC frenzy in 2017.  The result?  A jumbo box of 2016 Series 2 available for under $60.  

I’ll be honest, I’ve never had great luck in mainline Topps hobby and jumbo boxes; very rarely have I pulled hits whose value exceeds the cost of the box.  So, with that as the backdrop, this was a pretty good box, and would have been a good box even at the standard initial price of approximately $100.  

The Gerrit Cole relic is fine; there are certainly more desirable basic relics, but Cole is still an up-and-coming pitcher, so I feel like there were worse hits available.  

The Giancarlo Stanton Futures Game Pin is a cool hit; I pulled a Schwarber a few months ago.  They’re crisp-looking cards, they’re super thick and heavy, the checklist is pretty strong... but they’re not particularly valuable.  Again, not the best hit, but I’ve done worse.

The primary redeeming factor for this box was definitely the Corey Seager Scouting Report insert Autograph card.  The sticker auto is a bit of a downer, but to pull one of the Top 5 autographs in the set is a pretty notable victory.  


Two other noteworthy pulls: a Black parallel (#/65) Sean Rodriguez and the nicest surprise was a Kenley Jansen Black printing plate.  1/1s are always a pleasant surprise!

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