Completed insert set – 2011 Topps Prime Nine

Continuing on with my feeble attempt at posting about all the insert sets I’ve completed…  Next up is “Prime Nine”, which was a hobby shop redemption.

Info about the set:

Set description:  Prime 9 redemption cards were inserted into 2011 Topps series 2 packs.  You would get a card that looked like this:

Starting with Johnny Bench in mid-July, Topps would announce the “Prime 9 Player of the Week” on their Facebook page every Monday.  Once your card # was announced, you could, in theory, go to a participating Home Team Advantage store and redeem your card.  I say “in theory” because, in practice, it didn’t always work that way.  I pulled card #4 above, which is Derek Jeter, but as you can see below Jeter was my last card in completing this set.  When I went to the card shop near me, they had 7 of the cards, but had given out all the Jeter cards already.  My guess is they just asked collectors who they wanted, and Jeter was the most popular (I lived in New Jersey at the time).  That was fine; they gave me all 7 of the cards they had.

The card themselves have Topps patented chrome finish, but have more of a Topps Finest finish.  They are very colorful.  Prime 9 is a show on MLB Network, which showcases the top 9 of anything.  There is one player representing each position, with a top 9 moments for that player listed on the back of the card.

Set composition:  9 cards, 1 card per redemption – 1:18 odds (2011 Topps series 2)

Hall of Famers:  6.  Johnny Bench, Jackie Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax

How I put the set together:

• 7 cards for my 1 redemption
• 1 cards from the 2013 NSCC
• 1 card from COMC

Card that completed my set: #4 – Derek Jeter

I got this card from COMC last December.

Thoughts on the set:  Putting aside the issues I described above with the redemptions, these cards are really nice.  And I like the idea of working in social media and hobby shops at the same time.  This is a fun set that wasn’t too hard to finish off.

Best card (my opinion): #6 – Hank Aaron

The 70’s Braves uniform was really cook.  This is actually a photo of Aaron I haven’t seen before – unlike the Robinson or Koufax cards.

My Favorite Reds card:  #1 – Johnny Bench

The only one in the set.

Any other tidbits:  Three of the four “Greatest Living Players” were included in this set.  Willie Mays didn’t have a contract with Topps in 2011 (he would a year later), but Bench had been in sets for a while and Koufax and Aaron had signed with them in 2011.