Topps is the premier brand when it comes to baseball cards and memorabilia cards. Every year, they release inserts featuring game-used pieces of jerseys, bats, gloves, and other equipment from MLB stars as part of their flagship baseball card sets. These relic cards have become hugely popular with collectors in recent decades. The 2023 Topps Baseball release promises to be one of the best yet for relic cards, with exciting new parallels and special inserts honoring iconic players and moments from the past.
Topps has acquired licensing rights to incorporate authentic materials from all 30 MLB teams into their 2023 relic cards. This allows them to pull jersey, bat, and equipment pieces from any active or retired player. Topps authentication ensures collectors they are receiving real game-used memorabilia certified by the company’s experts. The materials will come from a wide array of sources, including recent games, All-Star Games, postseason contests, Spring Training usages, and more.
Base relic cards in 2023 Topps Series 1, 2, and Update Series will feature common jersey, bat, and glove swatches. These will include single-color swatches as small as 2×1 centimeters in the standard issue versions. Larger and multi-color swatches can be found in parallels and short prints. Topps Project 70 cards honor the brand’s 70th anniversary with oversized 7×7 cm triple-relic patches. Mega patches spanning entire jersey fronts or backs may pop up as rare chase cards as well.
Topps also has a strong lineup of special insert sets focused entirely around relics for the 2023 season. The Topps Museum Collection will pay tribute to iconic players, teams, and moments with large relics incorporating fabrics and materials from the actual events or eras depicted in the card artwork. The Topps Golden Moments collection does the same thing but utilizes rare game-used gold parallel swatches to premiumize the relics.
Topps Hall of Fame relic inserts in 2023 will feature some of the biggest retired player names authenticated with patches, bats, gloves etc actually used in their HOF careers. Topps Graded Relics will debut a new concept where select relic cards come slabbed and graded to verify authenticity. Topps Transcendent Collection aims to wow collectors with 1/1 printing plate relic cards with pieces of the printing plate materials fused directly into the front of the cards.
Authentic autograph relic cards are also a major part of Topps’ plans for 2023. Dual autographed/relic cards combining a signature with a jersey or bat swatch from the same player are always in high demand. 1/1 triple autographed/relic “cut signatures” fusing three different swatches and autographs into one card could become the new holy grails. Topps Golden Anniversary commemorates iconic players past and present with special dual auto/relic parallels featuring gold swatches.
The market for high-end Topps baseball relic cards remains incredibly strong. Recent Topps Museum Collection 1/1 jersey relics of Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle sold for over $100,000 each. A Topps Golden Moments dual auto/relic 1/1 of Mike Trout achieved $400,000. With the quality and selection Topps is putting into their 2023 flagship and inserts, new relic cards from this upcoming series are poised to shatter records and excite collectors for years to come. The combination of authentic materials, star players, and innovative new concepts will make 2023 Topps relics among the most coveted pieces in the modern memorabilia card world.
