Group Break - 2000 Topps Stars

I was going through my scans folder and realized I missed a couple boxes from the group break over the weekend.

Topps Stars was a fairly high end product when it came out in 2000.  At $3 a pack, it was a premium product with textured base cards and some pretty nice looking foil inserts.  But the real draw was the autograph lineup of stars and Hall of Famers.  We didn't land an auto in the box, but the product still yielded some nice inserts of stars of the day.  The Beltre is a blue parallel, and looks really nice in person.

Some of the cheaper 90's boxes like Stadium Club and Stars are a worthwhile gamble for some rare autographs of top stars.  Even when you strike out on the autos, the sets had some well designed base sets, high quality card stock, and nice foil inserts.  Personally, I'd take that any day over a box that all but guarantees an auto of Chris Owings or Dean Anna.

Group Break - 1999 Ultra

I'm posting the box results from the 11 box late 90's/early 00's group break individually.  I always try looking online to find box breaks of older products before buying them, and having each box in its own post should make it easier if anyone out there likes to do the same.

This was the first box we opened, and things started out with a bang.  Ultra offered a decent selection of inserts, great looking Gold Medallion parallels at 1 per pack, and some of the nicest photography of the year.

Our break pretty much fell in line with the odds, hitting the expected number of inserts.  The highlight is definitely the Kevin Young Platinum Medallion /99, the lone Pirate parallel from the entire break.  But hey, I'll take it.  The World Premiere and The Book On inserts have some textured embossing, and look great in person.  And this may be my favorite year for the Gold Medallions, which really make the photo pop with a strong gold color, and gave us a really nice mix of teams.

Group Break - 2004 Playoff Prestige

I'm going to post the scans for each box individually.  I always try looking online to find box breaks of older products before buying them, and having each box in its own post should make it easier if anyone out there likes to do the same.

This box was by far the star of the show.  It delivered just about an insert or parallel in each pack.  The box guaranteed two autos or game used, and delivered 1 of each.  The Rolen dual gu /150, and the Youk auto /100.  It also yielded 3 Achievements inserts, 2 Xtra Bases parallels /150, a Stars of MLB Sammy Sosa, and a slew of unnumbered inserts.

The numbered cards are all on various types of mirror or foil board, and look fantastic in person.  For the price, this box was an absolute steal.

90's Group Break - 2002 Upper Deck Victory

I'm posting the box results from the 11 box late 90's/early 00's group break individually.  I always try looking online to find box breaks of older products before buying them, and having each box in its own post should make it easier if anyone out there likes to do the same.

Upper Deck had some strange fascination in the early 2000's with making products with massive base sets with obscure parallels, and absolutely no other appeal in the set.  The result?  Either a ton of this stuff is sitting unopened, or in boxes in somebody's basement.

The box yielded these gold parallels at a rate of 1:2, and it held true to its word for most of the box.  The parallels were literally alternating in every other pack.  They're nice and tough to find.  I didn't hit any Pirates (there was actually only 1 Pirate parallel in the entire break), and quite a few of the golds we hit were of unclaimed teams.  If you find a stack of these in a dimebox somewhere, scoop them up without hesitation.  This may be one of the most under appreciated, sneakily-scarce parallels of the 90's.

90's Group Break - 2002 Upper Deck MVP

I'm posting the box results from the 11 box late 90's/early 00's group break individually.  I always try looking online to find box breaks of older products before buying them, and having each box in its own post should make it easier if anyone out there likes to do the same.

Simply put, this box was pretty much a dud.  A retail only product, 2002 MVP drew on the formula from the previous years' sets.  Kid friendly base card design, with numbered parallels that would attract collectors.  A big part of why this box ended up in the break was how nearly impossible it has been to find the Gold /25 and Silver /100 parallels from this set.

And this box proved why they're so damn tough to find.  We didn't pull any numbered cards.  The only inserts in the box were the two Ichiro inserts above, with an example of the base card to the far right.  This one was a big swing and a miss.

90's Group Break - 2001 SP Top Prospects

I'm currently buried in a mountain of cards, boxes, and wrappers.  After over two hours of breaking last night, all 11 boxes were opened.

I'm going to post the scans for each box individually.  I always try looking online to find box breaks of older products before buying them, and having each box in its own post should make it easier if anyone out there likes to do the same.

This was definitely one of the better boxes in the break.  The box promised 2 autographs and 1 gu, and delivered.  The set has a pretty solid autograph checklist for a minor league product of the era, with a number of players developing into major league regulars and All-Stars.

There was some sticking issue with the packs, but most of the base cards came apart undamaged.  The wood grain theme to the insert sets is a nice touch, and ties the set together nicely.  And from the perspective of the guy who has to sort a couple thousand cards, the fact that the back of the card lists the parent organization is a nice plus.