Nonsense Newsletter No. 86: Bedard has arrived, July has arrived, Topps Chrome is changing & More!
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School’s out for the summer, but we didn’t get the memo! That said, we’re here to educate and enlighten you this week with some knowledge bombs! John Dudley breaks down the month of July in the hobby. I wax poetic about how Connor Bedard’s arrival is gonna rock the very foundation of the hockey hobby, and, if that wasn’t enough… the Quick Hits section is, as the the kids say, Dope! So, let’s take a moment to really let the awesomeness of this week’s Nonsense Newsletter sink in…. perfect! Now, let’s go!
Contributor: John Dudley
We are halfway through the year. There’s been a lot of great products already, but the second half of the year should be even more action-packed. July is relatively quiet, though. There are some big releases, but it still feels like the best is yet to come. There are some goodies this month, and these are the ones I’m most excited about.Â
Baseball
2023 Topps Finest Baseball 7/7- Finest baseball is a nice kickoff for the month. The product works great in breaks and for personal rips. Nice on-card autos, along with a healthy dose of refractors, make for a strong product. Last year had big issues with the quality of the cards, so you might want to check the product out to see how the cards are looking this year before diving in.Â
Contributor: John McTaggart
I had a column already in the books for this week, then decided to switch it all up after getting caught up in the NHL Draft last night.
I’ve always been an advocate of drafts, who isn’t right?Â
They add an air of excitement to the end of the season. They provide hope to fans all over the world, and they also start a series of events that ultimately leads to the first releases of rookie cards for these prospects.Â
In hockey, the benchmark rookie is a product called Young Guns.Â
These cards have been around since 1990 (and yes, I was chasing them then) and feature, a a rule, 50 of the top prospects in the NHL for that particular year,
The criteria is, as a rule, the player had to have played at least a game in the NHL already in order to be considered for a spot on a coveted Young Guns card.
Quick Hits
Hobby News- There are some changes for Topps Chrome this year. Hobby boxes have only one auto, but the price dropped significantly to $125 per hobby box. Jumbos offer three autos this year at the price of $250 a box. Boxes sold out quickly on Topps’ website at those prices so I wouldn’t be surprised if one has to pay a bit more in the wild. The biggest addition this year that will get folks talking is the Tacofractor. The name is absurd, but the cards look spiffy.
Vintage- This week, the vintage scene wants to talk about baseball’s iron men… without mentioning Cal Ripken Jr. That’s right, there were others who played a lot of games, but didn’t quite reach the same level as the Orioles great. Players such as Miguel Tejada, Steve Garvey and others rank among those with crazy-long streaks. Sports Collectors Daily takes a very cool look at these also-rans. Check it out here.
Grading News- Shohei Ohtani is a juggernaut and he is soaring up the grading volume charts. He has topped even Michael Jordan as the most-graded athlete in the past week. He trails only Pikachu and Charizard as the most-graded subject over the same time frame.Â
Pop Culture News- Upper Deck’s Marvel Beginnings comes out at the end of the month. While most products focus on a single movie or show, this one focuses more on the comics history of Marvel. I’m particularly intrigued by their creator autographs and comic clipping cards. If done well, these could be fun.
The Sports Card Nonsense newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors and contributors. They are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation for purchases or of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any assets.