This is the first 2012 Topps Archives insert set I’ve completed – the 3-D insert modeled after the 1968 test set.
Info about the set:
Set description: “Before the insert card craze of the 1990′s, Topps was experimenting and testing new technologies 30 years prior. Topps pays tribute to 4 classic inserts featuring active and retired stars.”
This insert is designed like the test-issue 1968 3-D set, featuring 25 stars of today, utilizing life-like 3D technology.” This is another tribute to a past oddball set. The 1968 3D cards are pretty expensive to find, but is a cool set.
Here’s my previous post comparing the current set with the old set. The set has a white border with a yellow player name and a pink oval with the team name. The cards have (naturally) a 3D effect, and are blank-backed and unnumbered like the 1968 cards. The old set had 12 cards, this year’s version has 15 cards.
Set composition: 15 cards, 1:8
Hall of Famers: None – only current players.
How I put the set together:
6 cards from two hobby boxes
1 card from a trade
1 card from a card show
6 cards from Check Out My Cards
1 card from Sportlots
Thoughts on the set: This and Deckle Edge are my favorite insert sets from this product. I like that Topps produced these cards in the same size as the 1968 versions, unlike last year with Topps Lineage when they did a 3-D set in the standard size. I like the set size, too – 15 cards is attainable, even though these are only 3 per box.
Card that completed my set: Al Kaline
I picked this card up from a Sportlots purchase I made on Black Friday.
Highest book value: Mickey Mantle
Best card (my opinion): Roberto Clemente
A good action shot, but I like this card the best because Clemente was actually in the original test set.
I also think the Cabrera, Ruth and Kemp are good photos that go with the 3-D design.
My Favorite Reds card: Joey Votto
He’s the only Red in the set.
