2012 Topps Heritage Review

Product: 2012 Topps Heritage
Box Price: 80$
Distribution: 24 packs/box 9 cards/pack
Hits: 1 Relic or Autograph per box.

My grade:  B.   The hobby box that I opened was not great but the product is a great looking set and takes after one of the most iconic Topps designs in its 60 year history.

   When I saw the pre-release pictures of the 2012 Topps Heritage cards at the end of last year I was excited because the design was aesthetically pleasing and the inserts and parallels seemed to fit the theme of the set. The inserts included in the set have received criticism because they are bland and understated. In my mind the inserts fit very well to the theme of the set. Heritage is supposed to be an homage to the Topps set of 50 years prior, not to wow you with flashy inserts and parallels. That being said without further delay here are the pics of the 2012 Topps Heritage set.
Pictured below are the chrome parallels of the base cards. Each of the chrome parallel cards are serial Numbered /1963, and there are also chrome refractor parallels that have a rainbow finish are serial numbered /563.

 Pictured here is an original 1963 Topps Heritage 50th anniversary buyback card which fall 1 out of every 2 boxes. you can tell its a buyback card buy the foil '50th anniversary' stamp in the top left corner of the card. This is a pretty cool little bonus in the box which was considered a box loader card. this was much better than pulling one of the three card sheets that pretty prevalent in these boxes.

 Inserts:
     Top left: Josh Beckett New Age Performers.(this is a returning insert set from previous years.)
     Top right: Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Iglesias Short Printed base cards fall 1:3 packs
     Middle: Mini sticker inserts. These are pretty cheesy inserts, but very nostalgic.
     Bottom: Now and then inserts picture an old time great with a current star on the same card. Very cool cards

 Pictured here is a short printed base card variation that is called an "image swap". If you notice the small picture on the bottom right of the card is the image that should normally be the larger/main image on the card. This is a really cool variation and there are also color swap variations that have different color name banners than the base cards.

 This is the relic that I pulled from my box. Very cool looking, simple card. Jimmy Rollins Clubhouse collection card with a jersey swatch has a bright red pinstripe through it. The clubhouse collection cards have randomly inserted Auto/relics that are serial #'d. Wish I could have pulled one of those. Other hits for this set include cards that have coins imbedded in them. I have no interest in these cards as they are a novelty. There are also Real One Autographs that are hand signed, on card autographs. and Real One Red Ink Autos that are hand serial numbered /63.

This set is a classy tribute to an iconic design. i would try to build the set if it weren't 500 cards big. This set is one of my favorites of the year. One way to improve this set would be to include more than 1 hit per box. even if the box would have cost 10-20$ more it would have been worth it to see an extra hit. Overall this is a great set that is worth the time to build the set and collect the cards of your favorite players. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read my blog and as always, Peace and Baseball Cards!!!