The 2021 Topps baseball card set was highly anticipated by collectors and saw huge interest after the turbulent 2020 season. As the MLB’s official card partner, Topps once again delivered impressive photography and design for its flagship baseball product. With players returning to a sense of normalcy in 2021 after COVID disruptions, many felt it was a season of hope and renewed optimism for the future of the sport.
Topps released multiple series and parallels for the 2021 set, keeping collectors busy searching retail shelves and retail hobby boxes throughout the year for their favorite players. Rookie cards of future stars like Wander Franco, Randy Arozarena, and others generated a lot of buzz. Veterans like Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr. and more maintained strong fan followings as well. With increased demand, PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) slabbed an enormous amount of these new rookie cards and star veterans in hopes of preserving and potentially increasing their value long term.
PSA is widely considered the leading third party authentication and grading service for collectibles like sports cards. They provide clear plastic slabs to encase cards, assign numerical grades to indicate condition from 1-10, and use sophisticated security features to combat fraudulent cards. This gives collectors confidence that what they are buying is genuine and in the stated condition. It also makes the cards easier to showcase and resell down the line for top dollar compared to raw, ungraded copies.
In particular, PSA saw major submissions of the prized autograph and memorabilia cards inserted randomly in hobby boxes of 2021 Topps Series 1, 2, and Update. These contained autographs or memorabilia pieces of current stars and were highly sought after by collectors. Many of the rarer autographed parallels or 1/1 serial numbered prints quickly earned PSA Gem Mint 10 grades due to their protective casing inside factory sealed packs prior to submission. This mint condition increased their value significantly compared to lesser grades or raw counterparts.
Flagship rookie cards like Wander Franco Base, Patrick Bailey Base, and Randy Arozarena Base parallels also dominated PSA submissions from the 2021 Topps set. Collectors raced to have these freshly released cards protected and graded in hopes of long term appreciation. The Franco base rookies in particular shattered records, with PSA 10 copies regularly selling for thousands online due to his league-leading debut season and status as a future superstar. Other coveted rookies like Bobby Witt Jr. and Jarred Kelenic saw massive PSA volumes as well on their lower serial numbered parallels.
Veteran star cards were not left out either, as PSA received boatloads of Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., and more for grading from 2021 Topps. The popular “Big 3” of Trout, Soto, and Acuña seemed to be a particular focus for holders chasing the prestigious black label PSA 10 grade, which signifies true mint quality. Several PSA 10 examples of each achieved prices in the thousands due to their extreme rarity versus a standard PSA 10 grade.
Aside from flagship rookies and stars, collectors also pursued certain parallels and inserts at PSA which became very scarce once graded. These included the 2021 Topps Gold Label parallel cards numbered to /2021, the Superfractor parallel numbered to /70, and various 1/1 serial numbered printing plates. With their extremely limited quantities verified by the prestigious PSA holder, these rarest collector pieces gained tremendous desirability and value in the competitive marketplace.
Despite the massive volumes processed, PSA still managed to keep turnaround times at a respectable 3-6 months or less for most 2021 Topps baseball submissions during the peak season. This was viewed as a huge positive compared to skyrocketing waits of 1-2 years seen in the previous frenzy years of 2020 or pre-pandemic 2019. It allowed collectors to participate in the hot rookie card market more quickly after release rather than being delayed. Still, PSA output from 2021 Topps is far from over, with older or non-priority submissions still trickling results into 2023 from their backlog.
In summary, PSA authentication and grading transformed many 2021 Topps baseball cards into highly sought after collectibles and valuable long term investments. By certifying condition, combating forgery, and adding stunning black labels, PSA took Topps flagship rookies, stars and parallels to even greater demand heights within the modern trading card industry. Their efforts to keep pace with unprecedented submission volumes also allowed enthusiastic collectors to more promptly join in on the excitement of the game’s newest stars. PSA graded 2021 Topps cards will undoubtedly remain a giant focal point of the hobby for many years to come.
