2008 Topps Allen And Ginter Baseball Card Review

One of the most popular sports card sets of 2008 (and 2006 and 2007) is the Allen & Ginter set from Topps. The 2008 set was released by Topps in July and it delighted sportscard enthusiasts once again. If you are not familiar with the Allen & Ginter line, the cards are modeled after the first sports card set which was produced by the tobacco company Allen & Ginter beginning in the 1880's. Both the original and new Topps Allen & Ginter sets have a feature that you don't see in very many baseball cards sets--cards from great athletes of other sports as well as famous actors, politicians, scientists, landmarks (yes, landmarks) and more! Some examples of Allen and Ginter non-sports cards include cards of Sitting Bull, Dennis Rodman, Gandhi, Alexander Graham Bell, Susan B. Anthony, Harry Truman and more.

This year's Allen & Ginter set features many of the same insert sets and cards that the 2007 Allen & Ginter set had. Of course there are the 1 of 1 cut signature cards again, which feature signatures from some of the world's greatest politicians. The coveted rip cards are placed at a rate of 1 rip card per hobby case. Rip cards are a full sized card with a rare serial numbered mini card inside of it. The mini cards inside of the rip cards are exclusive mini cards which are numbered from 351-400, original Dick Perez sketch images, red ink autograph cards serial numbered to 10 or one of one wood mini cards. Each hobby box contains one box loader insert consisting of N43 cards modeled after the original N43 cards, N43 relic cards serial numbered to 25, N43 autograph cards hand numbered to 15, N43 autograph relic cards hand numbered to 5 or cabinet box loaders which are oversized cards featuring several mini cards. Each hobby box also contains two of the following--autograph cards, relic cards, printing plate cards or original 19th century Allen & Ginter cards (brought back from the 2006 set). Each pack of 2008 Allen & Ginter cards has six cards and overall the 2008 base set consists of 257 baseball veterans, 32 rookies, 24 famous non-sports figures and 20 famous athletes from sports other than baseball. In addition to the six base cards, each pack also comes with one mini parallel card.

Mini cards from the 2008 Allen & Ginter set include all 350 base cards, all 350 base cards in a 1/1 wood version, all 350 base cards in a cloth version numbered to ten, all 350 base cards with a Bazooka logo back numbered to 25, all 350 base cards with an Allen & Ginter back variation and all 350 base cards with a black border variation.

New to the 2008 Allen & Ginter set are a world leader insert set of 50 cards (1 card in 12 packs), US States cards of all 50 states and a baseball player from that state, baseball icons featuring legendary players and ancient icon cards of historical figures such as Beowulf (1 card per 48 packs). There are also rare DNA relic cards which have a strand of hair or other matter. Most are from famous people, but there is also a wooly mammoth DNA relic card! There are eight DNA relic cards and all are numbered 1/1. Perhaps the most intriguing new set is the world's greatest victories set which consists of 20 cards. Each card holds part of a code and the first collector to decipher the code will actually be on their own card in the 2009 Allen & Ginter set! With the past success of Topps Allen & Ginter sets and some exciting new subsets, 2008 Allen & Ginter has become another fantastic set.

By: Star Wars Chris

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You can find more information on Topps Allen and Ginter cards at www.toppsallenandginter.com