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Value Level: Allen & Ginter Baseball cards represent the enduring 19th-century history of the first modern set of cards marketed for collecting. Since 2006, Topps has released this set of retro-themed baseball cards based on the OG Allen & Ginter cards. Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball keeps it real with its base set featuring current players, retired legends, and new rookies, notables from other sports, and the world of pop culture, as well as the brand’s Minis, Rip Cards, and Relics.
WHO IS TOPPS ALLEN & GINTER FOR?
Allen & Ginter is for the collector who appreciates the idiosyncrasies of The Hobby’s history, as well as being interested in a lot of other things. Alongside faithful updates of the 1880s A&G “The World’s Champions” series and a focus on baseball, this MLB product features cards of musicians, actors, athletes from other sports, and personalities from pop culture. Additionally, a variety of fun Insert Cards presenting food, animals, plants, famous locales, and more, alongside more “traditional” baseball Insert Card themes are perfect for the new and returning collector.
THE HISTORY
As much as Topps represents the beginning of modern trading cards, Allen & Ginter provided the foundation for Topps and the rise of modern trading. Allen & Ginter was a Richmond, Virginia-based tobacco company founded in 1865 by John F. Allen and Lewis Ginter. By the 1870s, Allen & Ginter had cemented its position as one of the premier cigarette producers in the U.S. But it would be Allen’s 1875 marketing innovation that would fundamentally shape The Hobby. That year, Allen & Ginter included advertising cards to stiffen its soft cigarette packs. The cards kicked off a nationwide collectors’ craze forcing other tobacco companies to follow suit. In 1888 Allen & Ginter released the first of two “The World’s Champions” series consisting of roughly 50 cards each featuring “The World’s Champions” from not just baseball, but tennis, sharpshooting, cycling, and more. It’s this range of subjects that modern Allen & Ginter sets continue to honor that keeps it a release calendar favorite.
WHY IT MATTERS
History, tradition, nostalgia, and innovation make the heady brew that fuels The Hobby. The revived Allen & Ginter brand stays true to the look and feel of the original “The World’s Champions” series and the diversity of subjects of early cigarette cards that would feature animals, flags, famous moments in history, and pastoral scenes. This is a great way to connect the hobby’s past and present through one product.
WHAT AM I CHASING?
Allen & Ginter offers an array of unique, chase-worthy cards including baseball and non-baseball Autos, DNA Relics, Rip Cards, and multiple Parallels. The Silver Portrait Base Parallels are foilboard base Parallels found in one box per case. You can hit the Black Bordered Mini Base Card Parallels in 1:10 packs; the Wood Mini Base Card Parallels are all printed on wood stock and are 1/1. In this year’s product some of the chase-worthy baseball Autos include Derek Jeter, Mike Trout, and a slew of Rookie Cards featuring Jeremy Peña, Julio Rodriguez, and more. And for all the paleontologists out there, the Framed Mini DNA Relic cards feature fossils of Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex, Hadrosaurus, and more.
Topps Allen & Ginter continues the rich history of The Hobby that stretches all the way back to the 19th century. Now’s the perfect time to become a part of this tradition.
