Oh don't mind me, just trying to finish last year's Heritage set. What's taking so long, you may rightly ask?
Elvis has entered the building, but he is part of a large group of MLB players that are found only in the artificially rare "SP" series that makes up cards 401-500 in the set.
I've been not so patiently waiting for the price to come down on these short printed cards. While I was waiting, Topps released an extension to the 500 card set, as it has done for several years, which they call the "High Numbers" set. I was ready for this! I pre-ordered a hobby box of the stuff way back in 2020, so I would receive the cards promptly in early 2021. Ernie Banks has an insert set in the High Numbers section of this mammoth set. Just found one in the box.
There's a 1971 World Series highlights subset, Award Winners, and Now & Then, which is a common Heritage insert set.
The "Hits" were a pair of plain white fabric swatches. I've pulled Hoskins before in something else, can't recall the product but I sent that away some time ago.
Freddie Galvis was in the box as well. I added the Adam Eaton (Springfield, OH represent!) and the Eddie Rosario as eBay singles.
The box topper was pretty sweet, if difficult to store. Greatest Moments was a similarly oversized offering back in the day, and it's always a welcome sight to add a super prospect like Luis Robert.
The one oddity? Well, if you notice Freddy Galvis is both a SP from the regular set AND a High Number card. I believe there are a couple more examples of this, but another indication of the sloppy and/or indifferent quality control at Topps. One of those cards could have been a missing player. Then again, with 725 cards, there's plenty of roster spots!
Have you attempted to complete one of these Heritage sets? Are you working on 2021 right now?
Thanks for reading!
Seems daunting!
ReplyDeleteI'm not building the 2021... but I do hope to be able to find a complete set at a reasonable price on eBay. I don't think I've ever attempted a Heritage set build, but I have purchased the 2005 (1956 design) and 2014 (1965 design) sets.
ReplyDeleteYes! 2020 Heritage is one of the sets I'm working on. I bought one hobby box but I think I'll need another hobby box (and many more SPs) to get close to completing the set. btw, I love the way your 9-pocket page is organized. That's exactly the way I organize my set binders--by team, then position. In my eyes, the pages just make more sense this way.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm slowly chipping away at 2019 and 2020, needing some short prints, of course. I traded a few with some guys at work which is super helpful.
ReplyDelete2020 High Numbers was weird because I don't know that it was ever issued retail. I ended up buying most of the base cards I needed on Sportlots for 18 cents a pop since I don't really have any hobby shops around me. Didn't realize Galvis was in both Heritage sets - that seems like something Topps would accidentally do.
ReplyDeleteNever saw a pack of the High Number. I don't remember there being WS Highlights from the honorary year though, is that a new thing?
ReplyDeleteI think it is, I remember buying high numbers in past years but hadn't seen world series highlights before
DeleteJustin Verlander in the parking lot. The design for that insert set seems to be more late-70s than '71.
ReplyDeleteI have the complete 2007 Heritage set (1958 design) and the 2017 Heritage set (1968 design) so I suppose I shouldn't attempt another one until 2027 - but it will be hard to pass up the 2024 set with the 1975 design.
ReplyDeleteI built 2014 and working now on 2021 so my next one should be 2028, right? I wonder if they'll still be making Heritage then. 1979 design?
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