OK, the title of this post is a little harsh, I know.
2011 Topps Gypsy Queen is a product I knew nothing about. Its sell sheet was released sometime before I started writing again but one thing that received much coverage was the promise of two, hard-signed autographs in every box, along with two relics. So far from the breaks being reported on different forums, that is most certainly NOT the case.
Blowout Cards forum member “gst177″ busted five boxes from his local card shop out of a sealed case and reported just five autographs out of the 10 the Topps sell sheet promised. Other collectors are also reporting just three hits (instead of four) from their boxes, being just one autograph and two relics.
As for the cards, they look absolutely stunning. I haven’t seen artwork this nice since the days of Upper Deck Masterpieces Baseball. Having no stickers (that I have seen) is also a plus but as you can expect, the autograph checklist is not the greatest. Sure, there is a Hank Aaron that is already pushing $200 dollars (along with a Sandy Koufax) but expect a few duds squeezed in as well.
The last sealed Hobby box of Gypsy Queen sold for $147 dollars on eBay. Time will tell how much that price fluctuates as more of the product is busted and information becomes available to collectors about the possible missing autographs.
***EDIT***
A special shout-out to SRUCHRIS from the Baseball Card Pedia for pointing out that there are some stickers in Gypsy Queen after all and they look absolutely hideous.
***EDIT #2***
… and here we have an official word from Topps regarding missing autographs.
