OK, so I finished up the “retro” portion of my completed insert set posts. I’m jumping back on this completeness train, where I still have quite a few to go.
This insert is from 2012. I finished this set in late 2015 – just over a year ago. Yeah, I really need to get on these completed inserts 🙂 It’s the Golden Moments insert set, which spanned all 3 series (1, 2 and Update) in 2012 Topps. If you remember back to 2012, gold was the theme for most of the Topps inserts.
Info about the set:
Set description: “Featuring active and retired players and a Golden Moment from their career.”
There are 50 cards in each series, for a whopping 150 cards total. The cards have a gold stucco background across most of the card, with a player photo on the right side. The player name, team and a highlight description of the “golden moment” are listed over a black background toward the top. The word “Golden Moments” is across the left hand side, with the player’s team logo over a home plate shape. The bottom of the card fades to white. The back has a write-up of the specific golden moment.
It’s worth noting that most of the “moments” are really good regular season games, not historical achievements (though there are a few of those).
Set composition: 150 cards, 1:4 odds (2012 Topps)
Hall of Famers: 35. Many of them (9, in fact) have 2 cards.
Tom Seaver, Red Schoendienst, Andre Dawson (2), Jim Rice, Barry Larkin, Ryne Sandberg (2), Willie McCovey, Dennis Eckersley, Brooks Robinson, Frank Thomas, John Smoltz, Al Kaline (2), Joe Morgan, Carlton Fisk, Luis Aparicio, Johnny Bench (2), Paul Molitor, Stan Musial, Cal Ripken (2), Carl Yastrzemski, Dave Winfield, George Brett (2), Jim Palmer, Ozzie Smith, Reggie Jackson (2), Rickey Henderson, Tony Gwynn (2), Wade Boggs, Willie Mays, Gary Carter, Mike Schmidt (2), Ernie Banks, Nolan Ryan, Robin Yount, Harmon Killebrew
How I put the set together:
- 24 cards from the 3 boxes I bought (1 per each series)
- 14 cards from other packs I bought
- 86 cards from trades
- 7 cards from a card show
- 19 cards from online purchases
Card that completed my set: #GM-U1 – Bryce Harper
I got this card last year (along with the Derek Jeter card from Update) from my large Black Friday purchase on COMC. Those cards arrived last December.
Harper’s Golden Moment was May 2, 2012, when he had his first outstanding game. A week into his Major League career, he had 3 hits, a diving catch, and got on base ahead of a walk-off homer by Ian Desmond.
Thoughts on the set: I usually find some kind of redeeming quality for a set, but this honestly is one of my least favorites. It contains a number of elements that I abhor in an insert set. First, it’s unnecessarily large. It’s not just that there are 150 cards, but 32 players have 2 cards, and another 3 guys have 3 cards. That’s too much. Second, the design is just too clearly made so that Topps could do a relic/auto version of these cards. The relic versions of these cards don’t look so bad, but without them it’s too noticeable. Finally, the cards aren’t numbered consecutively across the series. That’s pretty bad, but you can’t tell if card #GM-2 is from series 1 or series 2. They at least fixed it up in Update, where those cards got a “U” designation.
I do like the idea behind it, but this set just seems like insert filler, and the idea of a “great moment” is one that Topps has used in other inserts in the past.
Best card (my opinion): #GM-U23 – Nolan Ryan
Ryan only has 1 card in the set, which is how it should be, and it honors his 7th no-hitter on May 1, 1991. That’s the best moment showcased in this set.
My Favorite Reds card: #GM-18 – Barry Larkin
Larkin, Johnny Bench, George Foster and Joey Votto – all former NL MVPs – are in this set. Larkin is my favorite, mostly because I loved the sleeveless uniforms from the mid-90s. Also, this card honors September 22, 1996, when Larkin became the first shortstop to join the 30-30 club.
Any other tidbits: Miguel Cabrera, Josh Hamilton and Jose Bautista all have 3 entries into this set (one each series).
Lifetime Topps project 
Really enjoyed your article on the Golden Moments insert set.
Thanks!