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My Museum Collection Collection Museum

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smapdi

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
4,397
221
aaron.jpg
The sell sheet for 2011 Topps Marquee highlighted a new autographed insert set called the "Museum Collection." Just 10 copies of the massive 120-card checklist, on-card autos, and each card would be encased in a metal frame. Admittedly, they didn't look too special in the mockup:
sell-sheet.png


But once they went live, their appeal was instant and obvious. The gold frame highlights the auto space, and the shiny, refractive surface really pops. At the time, I was in the process of saving hard for a new house while rehabbing my current one, so I couldn't dive in as hard as I normally would have. I bought my first card, Joe Morgan redemption (story to follow), for $52.99. Then the next day, I bought an actual Frank Robinson. Then I had to slow down. A Ryan Braun followed in November, a Hanley Ramirez in December, but no more until November, 2012, after I moved into my new house. What I missed in that year I'm sure will haunt me till the end.

But here is what I have so far. After reactivating accumulation mode in November 2012 with a Mike Stanton (so glad I go that one), I have checked ebay and the other sites at least once a day, trying in vain to find all the ones I could, dealing with the different listing styles people have (using the word "marquee" or not, using "museum" or not, "frame" or "framed" and so on). I was stuck at 59 cards for a while but then a raft of them came my way, putting me currently at 63 with 1 on the way. My baseball collecting has gone way down in recent years, with Grady Sizemore being injured and Frank Thomas being retired, and my tastes have gone more towards quality than quantity. National Treasures Flawless and Museums are where my money goes, along with Magic, so I'm pretty happy to have reached this milestone.
andrus-britton-1.jpg

bruce-ethier-1.jpg

fisk-jenkins-1.jpg

kinsler-palmer-1.jpg

ramirez-smoltz-1.jpg

stanton-young-1.jpg

bgs-bench-blyleven-weaver-young-1.jpg
bgs-crawford-fielder-hunter-pujols-1.jpg

Update: Just received #64 , Gordon Beckham.
beckham-sm.jpg


I'm not sure exactly how many more are out there. One checklist I saw showed 46 cards as redemptions and I don't know how many actually got fulfilled. I have many of the ones listed as redemptions or whose existence is questioned on that list, but I know at least a couple did not make it. My first purchase, the Joe Morgan redemption, after a year was still undone, and Morgan apparently hadn't signed any cards for Topps since 2010. I asked for another Red from the same set, figuring I'd get Johnny Bench but I got Jay Bruce. I was strangely OK with that, as Bruce was pretty hot at the time. And I got a Bench eventually, but it cost a lot more than $53. Cliff Lee is another who I've never seen, but with just 10 redemptive copies, it could be out there.

A couple more details...
These cards seem to have been intended to be signed with a thin, silver paint pen. At least three of these cards were signed in blue ink rather than silver (McCutchen, Beckham, and Hunter). Some, like Aaron and Butler, were signed with a much thicker pen, which detracts from the elegance of the card, IMHO, but what are you gonna do? I imagine Topps sends the people a bunch of different cards and pens all at once. They probably have some instruction about what pen to use on which cards, but sometimes people screw up/don't care (See 2014 in the second post).

Being just 10 copies also leads to some weird distributions. After reviewing the checklist, there are quite a few I've not seen in years, if ever. But I have 3 Carl Crawfords, coming in rapid succession and diminishing prices a couple years ago. I recall at one point there were 4 Koufaxes listed on eBay, either BINs or auctions, but they were all priced out of my range at the time, including one at $1100 or so (auctions had been ending around $700-800). But even that one got bought eventually. Koufax is the big name I most covet, and the one I feel I'm least likely to get. Those copies must be locked into permanent collections, but I keep hoping.

I'll just throw this out. If anyone has any for sale or trade, whether I have them or not, I'm interested. I won't trade any from my set, but I have these dupes (plus one more Crawford).
2011-marquee-museum.jpg
 

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smapdi

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
4,397
221
I just want to follow up on the preceding post with some info and observations on the 2012-2015 Museum Collections

In 2012, Topps renamed the product from "Marquee" to "Museum Collection," I assume to capitalize on the popularity of the eponymous cards. They also then proceeded to Topps things up by changing what people (or at least I) liked about them: 10 numbered copies, the refractor finish, the gold highlights, and the large checklist. They switched instead to 3 levels of parallels, numbered to 15, 10, and 5, with gold, silver, and black metal frames. Rather than a Topps Gold Label style finish, the pictures were printed on matte black with photos run through some sort of photoshop filter that makes them look a little grainy, or a lot grainy in some cases. I have to say that the frames make the least sense. Isn't gold better than silver? Wouldn't black be more suited to the base tier? And if you're going to have these tiers, 5-10-20 would be more tier-like. I dunno, whatever. In any case, I was less enthused about the 2012 set when it hit. I have accumulated some, and the checklist shrank down to just 35 different players. That is actually an attainable goal, I think. I still wonder about going after the set sometimes, but 3.5 years down the road some players just might be gone. On the other hand, the gold looks the best to me, so at least that is on the most accessible tier of cards.

Quick aside: I hate scanning. It's just so tedious, I really had to force myself finally to scan my 2011s. Scanning the other years will have to wait, although I want to have them all in my photobucket at some point.

One bright spot of the 2012 set was the addition of two major names: Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Trout. I don't have a Griffey, but I did snag this beauty in October, 2013.
gold-15-trout.jpg

And I couldn't resist this Stanton in November, 2012.
black-5-stanton.jpg


Could you imagine what the price of a 2011 Trout, who would have been a perfectly legit include at the time? Or a Griffey? As much as I'm disappointed they aren't in there, I'm also relieved because I'd probably have to hold off buying a new car.

2013 and 2014 held to this formula. I admit I was getting a little frustrated with it; still the matte black backgrounds and triple-level parallels. They didn't sleep on the checklist, though. Each year had some repeats, but good ones. And each year has some new blood that are juicy targets, or at least they were. 2012 had Matt Moore, Matt Kemp, Robinson Cano, and Willie Mays. 2013 expanded up to 54 cards and had Al Kaline, Yoenis Cespedes, Bruce Sutter, and Yu Darvish.

One note about the 2013s. I can't find an example right now, but I think it was this year that they printed some wrongbacks. The Clayton Kershaw has Cal Ripken's back. Will keep looking for this.

2014 had 54 cards again with new names like Nomar Garciaparra, Xander Bogaerts, Troy Tulowitzki, Greg Maddux, Manny Machado, Paul Goldschmidt, and Randy Johnson. The 2014 additions that got the most notoriety were Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. Those two came out of the shadows to have autos appear in a number of 2014 Topps products, and I was quite happy to see them (got a Mac, need a Jose). But probably the biggest 2014 Museums were ones like this:
silver-20-peyton-manning.jpg

Even though they have the same design as 2014 Baseball, and coming out in late spring 2014, these were in 2013 Topps Museum Collection football. A decent, 35-card checklist with some immortal names like Manning, Montana, and Aikman, with some good rookies and young stars like Le'Veon Bell, Matt Stafford, and Eddie Lacy. But there were a fair number of clinkers in the rookie selection. Inevitable with football, where 1st round busts outnumber guys who do well. The 2013 football set made a change I like. They still had 3 tiers, but were numbered to 5, 10, and 20. The 5s were still black, but 10s were gold and 25s were silver.

One other note about 2014s is the Ripken error. I'm sure they get some instruction on signing, but Cal must've still been tired from all that baseball because he signed these twice, once on the back for some reason and then again on the front. Didn't he think it odd to sign across the text?

2015 Museums saw the first "innovation" to the product since 2012. Adding a 1/1 parallel, they were touted on the sell sheet as having a "wood frame." I was dubious once again, as I recall Turkey Red basketball and football using wood frames, and they looked kind of dopey. I hoped they'd look like polished mahogany or something that really held up against the metal frames. But what appeared surprised everyone I have talked to:
wood-1-trout-flip.jpg

I went way above my budget on this card. If you care to look it up on eBay, I want to warn you against a heart attack, but I figured this is my ultimate Trout card and even if he disappears tomorrow I love owning it today. I figured if I'm going to be "the Museum Collection guy" I should have at least one Wood, and this seems like a pretty good one. Seeing what others have sold for, and considering base Bowman Chrome autos are selling for more, I'm reasonably happy with the price, even if it is a "7th year card."

The 2015 set had another intriguing list of names on it. Down to 46 cards, they include Yasiel Puig, Jose Abreu, Javier Baez, and Rusney Castillo, and Jacob DeGrom in the young first-timers, and veteran/HOFers newbies include Rod Carew, Fernando Valenzuela, Mariano Rivera, Wade Boggs, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Robin Yount.

Shortly after 2015 Baseball came out, 2014 Football came out, again with the same design even if technically a year earlier. They stepped up the checklist majorly, IMHO. Still 35 cards, and still some questionable rookie picks, but it's OK to have a Blake Bortles or a Bishop Sankey if you balance them out with Favre, Marino, Elway, Brees, Lynch, Rodgers, Emmitt Smith, Tom Brady, and a very fortuitous pick with Odell Beckham Jr. And yes, there is even a Johnny Football card in there. I'd love to build this set, but pricing on Tom Bradys alone has been ridiculous, and even though I went big on the Trout, I wouldn't pay what everyone else is paying for Beckham. I mean, all-time highlight aside, he's playing for the Giants. My Eagles fanhood just won't let me do it.

One other thing I'd like to highlight are the Bo Jackson cards. He appears in 2013 and 2014 Football, as well and 2014 and 2015 baseball. His cards sell really well, so I haven't bitten that bullet yet. Someday I will, if the cards are available. I think they would be fun to chase.

Finally, for completeness, baseball and football aren't the only ones with the museums. They did a UFC set this year called UFC Knockout that has framed autographs as well. They are also numbered to 5, 10, or 15, with black, gold, and silver frames, respectively. I'm not into UFC, so I can't really tell you much about the ladies and gentlemen on them, but I can tell you that Ronda Rousey is not included. She is included on a set called "Engraved Ingots" from a product called UFC Bloodlines from 2014. These cards are not auto'd but they are kind of cool, with a fully carved or engraved metal back. They are numbered to 109 with a silver frame/back, and there's a gold version #/25.
rousey-ingot-109.jpg

rousey-ingot-109-back.jpg


They have also used the Museum frame in 2014 Topps baseball. Highlighting classic rookie cards of years past, they produced black-framed version numbered to 199, silver numbered to 99, and a gold frame version numebered to 25. 2014 Topps Update had framed cards also, with a design based on 2000 Gold Label for some reason, #/99. 2015 Topps saw the inclusion of a 20-copy silver-framed parallel of the entire set. Good luck with that one.

Looking ahead to 2016, I hope they make a change to the baseball. The design is getting stale, though the cards are still very nice. Seeing what they did with the 2016 base brand design makes me think they got a new philosophy for aesthetics (though I don't care for it, at least it's something new). And after seeing the 2015 Woods sell for hundreds, maybe they will branch out into other things like leather, all metal, who knows? And if they ever get another license, I'd love to see new cards in this vein. How about an NHL set with something like the original 2011 design? That would look really, really sharp. Wishful thinking, but I'll be very interested how they exploit this design in the future. I'll post more updates here as I acquire more and can bear scanning them. Please post more pics if you have them. I'd love to have this thread become a sort of virtual collection.
 
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Brewer Andy

Active member
Aug 10, 2008
9,634
21
Beautiful cards! I don't think they've topped the 2011 Marque ones. Like you said, the refractor surface is stunning. I'd love to own a Braun or Fielder some day. Good luck with the rest, however many there may be!
 

rsmath

Active member
Nov 8, 2008
6,086
1
stinks that Topps screwed up the Marquee Museum Collection inserts. Torii Hunter in blue ink - seriously??? For the rest, the thin silver pen autos look awesome. I hate those thicker silver pen autos like Aaron, Palmer, Frank Thomas, billy Butler, Pujols and it gives the set no consistency for those trying to build a complete set of them.
 

mrwhitesox30

New member
Oct 7, 2008
1,222
0
I've never seen one in person, but they look great in the scans. Good mix of HOF and current stars with a good design, almost like a shiny 1999 SP Signature Series, but I like this one better.
 

nevermore

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
3,369
506
New York
Impressive! I had the O'Neill once upon a time, these are beautiful cards, that's an insane set to put together.
 

gmarutiak

Active member
Jul 23, 2010
1,386
2
Baltimore, MD
Amazing and beautiful collection, OP!

From the 2011 set, I own an Andrew McCutchen (it is signed in blue ink) and a Neil Walker (silver ink).

They are two of my favorite cards.
 

gmarutiak

Active member
Jul 23, 2010
1,386
2
Baltimore, MD
As I was looking through your collection once again, I noticed how cool the Red Schoendienst is, since he put his first name in the little box where the serial numbers went on all of the other cards.

Since Topps put the serial number between his first and last name, I guess this means that Topps didn't stamp the serial numbers until after the cards were signed.

I wonder if Schoendienst and Topps did this on all ten of the cards? Also, I wonder if stamping cards after they are signed is common practice?

Again, awesome collection.
 

nkdbacks

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
865
50
AZ
Finally, confirmation that the Justin Upton does exist! I've been searching for one for years to complete the D-backs set. Good to know it was made.

Awesome seeing them all together, hope you can snag that Koufax at some point!
 

Dilferules

Well-known member
Aug 10, 2012
1,945
1,738
Auburn, WA
Great collection and great set. I can confirm that the 2011 Trevor Cahill exists (part of my A's collection and not available).


cahillmuseumauto.jpg
 

selah150pslm

New member
Aug 7, 2008
357
0
Tucson, AZ
As I was looking through your collection once again, I noticed how cool the Red Schoendienst is, since he put his first name in the little box where the serial numbers went on all of the other cards.

Since Topps put the serial number between his first and last name, I guess this means that Topps didn't stamp the serial numbers until after the cards were signed.

I wonder if Schoendienst and Topps did this on all ten of the cards? Also, I wonder if stamping cards after they are signed is common practice?

Again, awesome collection.

Thanks for saving me the time of typing this.
 

smapdi

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
4,397
221
Yeah, I remember a Johnson sitting on ebay for a while. I think I hadn't yet decided to go after every card yet, and spending the $50 or whatever for a card I didn't really want wasn't something I wanted to do. Now I wish I had, so if you ever want to move one...

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone. I don't post much from my collection, but I really am happy with these.
 

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