TOPPS’ TOPPEST TIER

2021 TOPPS TIER ONE BRINGS THE HITS

It’s all autographs and memorabilia cards once again for 2021 Topps Tier One Baseball. The hits-only checklist has a lot of variety, covering current players, rookies and stars from the past. Each hobby box comes with three cards, two autographs and one relic.

2021 TOPPS TIER ONE BASEBALL AUTOGRAPHS

On-card signatures are a major focus for 2021 Tier One. This is something that has been the case for the brand for years. Also consistent is the deep checklist that has lots of players. So while there are lots of top stars and marquee names, there is likely to be some balance. Basically, like pretty much any product, don’t expect the likes of Mike Trout or Derek Jeter every time out.

The most abundant autographs on the checklist fall under three categories. Prime Performers Autographs highlight great players past and present. Tier One Talent Autographs highlight specific skills. Break Out Autographs has rookies and other young players. For all three, base versions have 299 copies or less. Additional parallels are available in Bronze Ink (/25), Silver Ink (/10) and Gold Ink (1/1).

Tier One Talent Autographs (/199 or less) are a case hit. According to Topps, names on these are only top names in the hobby. These also have Bronze Ink (/25), Silver Ink (/10) and Gold Ink (1/1) parallels.

Next Level Autographs (/50 or less) return with a layered look and also come with Bronze (/25), Silver (/10) and Gold (1/1) parallels.

Clear One (/10) and Dual Clear One Autographs (/10) use acetate to make signatures pop.

More multi-player cards are available in hard-signed Dual Autographs (/25) and Triple Autographs (/10).

Cut Signatures are randomly inserted, albeit in very small numbers. Cut Signature Relics add a memorabilia piece to the mix. In both cases, all are one-of-ones.

AUTOGRAPH RELICS

Autograph Tier

One Relics are the most plentiful signature memorabilia cards in 2021 Topps

Tier One Baseball.

Base versions have no more than 99 copies each. Instead of the usual colorbased parallels, here it’s all about adding more swatches. Dual

Patch versions are numbered to 25 while

Triple Patch parallels are one-of-ones.

New to 2021 Tier One are Perfect Contact Autograph Bat Relics (/5). These have a large slice from a game-used bat with the signature on the piece. One-of-a-kind Platinum parallels are also available.

Signature Tools Autograph Relics (1/1) are back. The “relic” here is a piece of a pen used by the player during a signing session.

MEMORABILIA CARDS

Tier One Relics are the most basic memorabilia cards in 2021 Topps Tier One Baseball. Base versions are numbered to 399 or less while parallels are limited to Dual Patch (/25) and Triple Patch (1/1). Tier One Legends Relics (/199 or less) are similar, only featuring retired players.

Prodigious Patches return with jumbo pieces. Base versions have ten copies while Platinum parallels are one-of-ones. Select cards also have autographs (/10) that come with on-card signatures.

Tier One Bat Knobs and Limited Lumber come with, arguably, the most coveted parts of game-used bats. All are one-of-ones including the autographs that are available for some players.

Uniform Button Relics have five copies each.