2011 Topps Allen & Ginter

John McEnroe is all I needed to see to get geeked about Allen & Ginter again this year. Last year’s autograph checklist was a little soft when it came to non baseball autographs but this year between Mac and Manny Pacquiao there is sure to be even more busting and chasing than we usually see with A&G. They ahve completely revamped the auto checklist with the aforementioned members as well as Dick Vitale, Sue Bird, Kristi Yamaguchi, Stan Lee, Lou Holtz and Jim Nantz. Pretty interesting names that you certainly won’t find in many, if any, other products.

Crack the code, don’t crack the code…I don’t really care. The code thing has never gotten me all hot and bothered and it that’s not about to change this year. You have to bust too much of this stuff to even get the cards to help you crack the code. Some collector’s go nuts for this stuff, I’m not one of those collectors.

Of course Rip cards are back bringing plenty of value to the product as well as plenty of fortune and misfortune to those deciding whether or not to rip or sell their new found lottery ticket. The usual “new” inserts this year include animals, flowers and other stuff I don’t care about but master set collectors will drool over. The “Minds Tthat Made the Future” set is a pretty cool concept though. N43, Ginter codes, Box Loaders and mini parallels pack the same punch they always have.

This year’s DNA card being touted is that of Geronimo the long time Apache Indian leader. As usual this one will bring huge cash when it gets pulled or if it gets pulled at all. Ginter’s production run with so many parallels must be through the roof. It gets bought up in such bulk amounts but never seems to run dry which is definitely cause for concern.

A Hobby box will get you three hits, maybe more if you’re lucky but expect at least two of them to be framed memorabilia pieces and often times all three will be memorabilia. This will be a hot product out of the gate and usually has a solid month or two of staying power before prices begin to really fade badly on the more common SP’s, inserts and SP’s memorabilia. SP Autographs, rip cards, and parallels wills stay strong probably until the next A&G is released. That’s part of the fun of ripping this product. You never know if the Bazooka back mini you just pulled is going to fetch $50.

The price point is about the same as past years in the $85-100 range per box. Unlike other products you can never really bank on the price falling and picking it up later at a cheaper price so if you want this stuff you might as well get it as soon as you can. Last year’s A&G is still in the $85-95 range and so is the 2009 wax.

You’re going to want to keep her happy.

To make this product even more fun this is the only proven product my girlfriend will stay interested in. She likes opening any product but this is the only one she truly examines the cards and enjoys seeing pack after pack.

With a release date of July 13th get ready for some fun. I’ll be busting at least one box on my blog.

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