Topps Finest Box break towards 400!

As I close in on elusive post #400, I wanted to share some of the finest cards on the planet!

Sometimes you are looking for something a little different. Last week as I finished my purchase and took one last look at the shelves and I spotted this... It was one of those mini boxes. Apparently there are two to a full box. I made a mental note to save up for one of these the next time I came in. On Saturday, since the wife had a cold and needed a nap, I decided to take Jacoby to both of my shops to burn some time. I went to Cranky's store and found this same product for 20 bucks less per box than my lucky store. This was an offer that I could not refuse. I should have just bought one, but what the hey, lets give er a whirl.

Pack #1 was my first taste of ripping a Topps Finest pack. I have no idea what in inside of these...what the hits are...are their ridiculous relics, worthless rookie autos, who knows? Here is the very first card I pull...

Now I have heard of these! I know that these Topps Finest redemptions are pretty slick and often come with autographs on them. I was pretty excited to get the first card, because I knew that I was a lock for a Heyward card. That thought actually became a reality this morning as Heyward was officially announced as redemption #1. A more exciting kicker is that one in ten of these will come with autographs. Apparently once you redeem, it will tell you immediately if you get an auto, so you don't have to dwell on it for eight months wondering. I will redeem this evening and report back! Very excited though.

Here are the base cards. Since these Topps Finest cards are somewhat shiny in nature, all of these scans are going to be a struggle on my $50 printer. I will say though that the scans are pretty decent and show off much of the characteristics of the cards...though they are a bit dark. There is one turnoff of the cards, and I noticed this as I placed them on a scanner...they tend to curl a bit. I noticed this with Topps Chrome, it must be the chrome technology or whatever. Its not a game breaker, but I definitely was in a hurry to put the cards I wanted preserved in top-loaders.

Speaking of, here is the first "hit" of the box. A serial numbered to 299 (I think) Jon Lester refractor! I will say this. The refractors of this set are GORGEOUS. Absolutely flawless and shiny. I would say that those with the blue background look best.

Really, really nice card.

Over the next few days I will go through the results of both box one and two. and unless indicated (Heyward redemption, Lester) anything is up for trade if you are looking for a particular player.