The 2017 Topps Heritage Baseball card set paid tribute to some of the most iconic baseball card designs of the past. Topps’ Heritage line has become a highly anticipated release each year for collectors looking to add retro-styled cards to their collections. The 2017 edition contained a variety of parallels and inserts packed inside traditional wax packs, hobby boxes, and high-end sets.
The base card design of the 2017 Topps Heritage set paid homage to the 1969 Topps baseball card design. Like the 1969 originals, the cards featured a solid color background with a thin black border surrounding each player photo. The team logo appeared on the upper left of the photo along with the team name printed below. Player names were listed across the bottom edge in classic bold all-capital letters. The clean, simple design aesthetic was immediately recognizable as a throwback to the late 1960s cards that many collectors grew up with.
The base cards could be found in both standard glossy and matte finished varieties. The matte cards had a suede-like texture that some preferred for a truly vintage feel compared to the glossy counterparts. Each wax pack contained about 12 total cards with odds of 1 in 8 packs including a short print version of a base card. The short prints were inserted randomly with no checklist denoting which players were SP variations.
Beyond the base set, Topps Heritage is known each year for its varied insert sets paying tribute to past designs. For 2017, one insert set paid tribute to the 1954 Topps cards with a woodgrain border style. Players were depicted from that breakthrough Topps design year including legends like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Duke Snider among the 30 total cards in the set. Another popular insert set was styled after 1965 Topps cards with frosted photos and team names printed diagonally across each image. Additional inserts included 1952 Topps and 1967 Topps style designs as well.
Parallels were abundant providing additional eye-catching variations for collectors to pursue. The most prevalent was the rainbow foil “Refractor” parallel inserted at approximately 1 per pack or 1 per two packs. Other parallels included “Museum Collection” sepia-toned cards numbered to 99 copies each, and “Aurora” parallel cards with iridescent refractor-like backgrounds numbered to only 25 copies apiece. The low numbered Aurora parallels were coveted chase cards opening additional levels of scarcity to the overall heritage product line.
Topps also produced factory set options for the serious collectors wanting premium 2017 Topps Heritage releases. The base Heritage set could be found neatly arranged in a classic 1969-styled factory-sealed box. For those desiring an even more complete experience, Topps offered expanded insert factory sets containing all the tribute designs like 1954 Topps, 1965 Topps, and more presented together for the first time. High-end collectors could purchase individual teams or player lots from the Heritage set as well. These coveted factory assembled team and player sets were sealed with the vintage-inspired packaging adding greatly to their appeal as premium presentation pieces.
When the 2017 Topps Heritage Baseball set hit the market, it was met with widespread enthusiasm from the collecting community. Card shops and online resellers sold out of initial inventory at a brisk pace indicating strong early consumer demand. On the secondary market, individual base rookies and stars as well as highly sought after parallel and insert cards fetched premium prices. vintage styled products by Topps never fail to trigger nostalgia and fuel collector demand and 2017 Topps Heritage was certainly no exception in this regard. The blending of retro design aesthetics with modern production qualities and parallel variations has cemented this annual Heritage release as a highly anticipated tradition for baseball card collectors of all eras. The 2017 edition lives on as one of the most widely collected Topps Heritage releases to date.
The 2017 Topps Heritage Baseball card set paid tribute to some of the most iconic baseball card designs of the past in a product that was highly coveted and collected. Topps’ execution blending retro designs with modern collecting elements made it a standout nostalgia fueled release. Between the base set, numerous inserts, and array of parallels, there was much to pursue for all levels of collectors. High quality production brought the old school designs to life in a true collector’s product. For these reasons, 2017 Topps Heritage remains an appreciated and remembered set within the world of vintage-styled baseball cards.
