Today we celebrate our Independence Day

Since 2018, Topps has been printing Independence Day parallels in their flagship releases.  

I have gotten the parallel each year, but so far haven't picked up the lone copy available on the secondary market from 2021 Topps Series 2.

This year's parallel just doesn't do it for me as you can see in the screenshot taken below from an eBay listing.

The stars look nice, but there's just nothing that screams out America Freedom on this design.  In previous year's designs there were at least attempts at showing off not only the stars, but also the stripes of our great country.  This year, nothing.

I do like the Topps Bunt app Independence Day cards though.

The above digital format only "card" looks very patriotic.  

Let's look at the flagship parallels year by year and you can all comment below which is your favorite.

2018 Topps Series 1

2019 Topps Series 2

2020 Topps Series 2

2021 Topps Series 2 (not in my possession)

In addition to discussing your favorite year for the Independence Day parallel, leave a comment below how you plan to spend your 4th of July.

USA Looking to the UK

Coronavirus has changed the way the entire world has operated in 2020.

Many of us know someone that has been impacted by it.  Some of us may even know someone who may have passed away from it.

The United States is mere days away from a vaccine and I don't want this to get political, but the United States will continue to monitor the United Kingdom very closely to see the reactions caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.

I mentioned a few days ago that I didn't understand why Topps needed to make the Topps UK product.

That didn't stop me from adding 3 cards to my collection though.  I already showed the base and the blue parallels.  

Because I didn't need to get all of the parallels I focused on just adding the one that really stood out to me as a unique parallel.  The Big Ben parallel is the most unique of all the Topps UK product.  It is based on the Elizabeth Tower, formerly known as Big Ben.  The tower was officially completed in 1859 and is one of the most iconic buildings in the world.

I had to add it to the collection, because unlike the gold, blue, or purple parallels actually has a connection to the United Kingdom.

It features a red and white colored design to go with the iconic building.  

It is very similar to the Independence Day parallels that Topps Flagship has been doing since 2018.

What do you think of these two parallels?

Should the Big Ben have had a numbering relevant to the tower? Maybe 12 to mark the name change to Elizabeth Tower or 59 to recognize the year the tower was completed.

Today We Celebrate our Independence pt2

Independence Day was one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time.  Obviously the concept of the movie had no real links to the original day of independence.

One of the best new parallels to appear in Topps flagship this year is the Independance parallels numbered to 76 copies to commemorate 1776, when America was truly declared as the United States of America.

I am still in search of some of the other parallels for this card, but this is by far one of my more favorite cards in recent years to feature stars and stripes.

I would much rather get a cool parallel background like what you see above instead of the traditional manupatches Topps has done in the past.

Case in point, the version you see below....

Or this one I showed off last year from the 2010 release with 229!!! player checklist.

Cardboard Cameos #9: Murcia!!!

Some supercollectors collect cardboard that features their player mentioned somewhere on the card.  Checklists, mentions on the back, a fan sign in the stands, etc.

Well, I am not that far into super collecting yet, but I did notice that one of my favorite current Pirates players, Felipe Rivero, now Felipe Vazquez, got an Andrew McCutchen quote on the back of his 2018 Topps card.

No heartbeat!

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Murcia!!!!