2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Two Box Break

Although this year's Allen & Ginter has been out for about a month, I wanted to post my own review and add to the plethora of opinions about one of Topps' most popular sets each year.

Product: 2008 Bowman Chrome - Hobby Box
Packs/Cards: 24 packs/8 cards a pack
Price: $95 per box

Overview: I already know what I was getting when I bought these two boxes... and if you have bought any Allen & Ginter from past years... you probably know what you are getting when in this product. The Allen & Ginter set is a tribute to the original tobacco cards from the late 19th century. Although the majority of subjects are all baseball related, the set also features cards of champions from other sports and historic figures, places and events.

Allen & Ginter is not a set I am looking to complete. While many people love building the A & G set, I decline mostly because, as a baseball card collector, I want to build a set about baseball. Currently, the set is about 80% baseball and 20% everything else. Despite this view, I would like to see an A & G set that is a greater mix of atheletes across all sports, as well as historical figures and events. Topps was pretty successful with the American Heritage and I don't see why they wouldn't be successful with a real tribute to the Allen & Ginter legacy.

With that being written, it was the hits that drew me in to this product. Three guaranteed hits per box and with the wide variety of hits... not just baseball, but other venues... I just had to give it a try.

Results: Box #1
- 131 Base Cards (out of 350)
--- 11 Short Prints (out of 50)

- 3 Code Variations

- 23 National Pride (out of 75) - plus 1 double
- 4 Allen & Ginter Highlight Sketches (out of 25)

- 24 Minis

--- 12 Base

--- 2 Black Border
--- Heinrich Hertz (Scientist)
--- Cat Osterman (Softball)

--- 5 Allen & Ginter Back
--- Diasuke Matsuzaka
--- Loren Opstedahl (Sculpting)
--- Kazuo Matsui
--- Brett Myers
--- Kenshin Kawakami

--- 2 Hoaxes, Hoodwinks & Bamboozles
--- The Bathtub Hoax
--- The Cottingley Fairies

--- 2 National Heroes
--- Switzerland - William Tell
--- Albania - Skanderbeg

--- 1 Inventions of the Future
--- Mental Movies

- 3 Relics
--- Ryan Doumit - Jersey
--- Mark Mulder - Pants
--- Jered Weaver - Jersey

- Box Topper
--- N43 Josh Hamilton

- TWINS
--- Delmon Young
--- Francisco Liriano - National Pride



I will admit that the first box left a very bad taste in my mouth. Still, was I a glutton for punishment or did I figure I couldn't do any worse that this first box? Here's the second one.

Results: Box #1
- 130 Base Cards (out of 350)
--- 12 Short Prints (out of 50)

- 2 Code Variations

- 24 National Pride (out of 75)
- 4 Allen & Ginter Highlight Sketches (out of 25)

- 24 Minis

--- 12 Base

--- 2 Black Border
--- Dexter Fowler
--- Evereth Cabrera

--- 4 Allen & Ginter Back
--- Jason Jaramillo
--- Johnny Damon
--- Todd Wellemeyer
--- Vincent Van Gogh (Artist)

--- 1 Bazooka Back
--- John Danks #02/25

--- 2 Hoaxes, Hoodwinks & Bamboozles
--- The Turk
--- Victor Lustig

--- 2 National Heroes
--- Iceland - Jon Sigurosson
--- Jamaica - Marcus Garvey

--- 1 Legend, Myth & Terror
--- Kraken

- 2 Relics
--- Mike Cameron - Bat
--- Ryan Doumit - Jersey

- 1 Autograph
--- Joba Chamberlain (Short printed to 49 copies according to Topps)

- 1 Printing Plate
--- Simpson/Bunker Magenta Plate

- Box Topper
--- N43 Albert Pujols

- TWINS
--- Francisco Liriano - Mini
--- Francisco Liriano - National Pride



This second box total redeemed any sour feelings I had about the first box.

Joba Chamberlain is probably the most overrated player in the Major Leagues today, but I know this auto will pay for the box. This card is now sold on eBay. I will put it this way: if Nick Blackburn played for the Yankees, he would have an autographed card short printed to 49 copies.

I also pulled my first printing plate ever from a box. Perhaps there is an equestrian fan would will want this. This card is also now sold on eBay.

The Bazooka Back is also a bonus. Too bad it's a White Sox pitcher.

(Honestly, I was hoping for either an autograph, printing plate or Bazooka back and I got all three! (Honestly, I wanted a rip card, but I can't always get what I want.)

Set Builders Perspective:
Out of an average 8-card pack, there will be 6 base cards, 1 National Pride card and 1 mini. If a pack contains an Allen & Ginter highlight sketch, you have five base cards. If a pack contains an framed relic or autograph, there will be four base cards. The short prints are packaged one out of every two pack. Assuming you get minimal doubles, you could possibly complete the base set (with short prints) in three boxes.

Of course, the added inserts: National Pride and Allen & Ginter Highlight Sketches, as well as the mini inserts, also adds lots of appeal for a set completist.

Although, from the two boxes I opened, the regular base and the National Pride were almost duplicates. If I were building the set, my progress would look like this.

Set Total:

- Total: 161/350 - 46% complete
--- Base: 138/300
--- Short Prints: 23/50

- National Pride: 26/75
- Allen & Ginter Highlight Sketches: 5/25

Twins Perspective:
I have not had a lot of luck with Twins cards in any of this year's products. Out of these two cards, I only pulled three unique Twins cards, and none of them feature a player named Mauer or Morneau.

Grade: Major League Minnesota Twins