2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15A "Wood Stock" #/5

 

Card Review: 9.4

I like this non-autograph version better than the autographed version (sharpie marks don't belong on baseball cards).  These wood variants, while certainly a goofy gimmick, are a very cool goofy gimmick.  They sort of have the feel of those old wooden airplanes that you could buy and then assemble.  The back of the card feels like a normal card, but the front is very much thin wood.  Snapping one of these in half wouldn't take much pressure, though the paper back would likely hold it all together.  Given that there are only 5 of them, I'm not willing to spend the $5 to $20 bucks the cheaper ones demand to find out.

If Topps is going to continue to insist on stuffing their hard to find, overpriced packs with all sorts of junk that isn't part of the set, then I fully support them getting weird with it.  I'd like to see them try to print on gum.  A card sized slab of gum with a card, even if monotone, printed on the front that is fully edible.  Different flavors can be printed in different numbers.

I also like the idea of intentionally embracing errors, but curated.  Print off centered cards, but go ahead and slap x/# on the back, with the more off-centered ones being more scarce, or start slapping wax stains on cards.  Call them "variants" and individually number them.  I'm just sick of refractors, gold borders, and other similar things.  As far as non variants, would modern collectors like cards that were nothing more than offers to mail in $10 for your favorite teams painters cap if they were individually numbered?  Yellow ones could be common, with green ones being out of 100 and red ones out of 10?  Then do the same thing with offers to win a trip to the All-Star Game or something.  I wouldn't be as annoyed with inserts like those.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15A "Vintage Stock" #/10

Card Review: 9.3

Much like the "Vintage Stock Auto" variation of this card, I have hard time interpreting this card as being "vintage stock."  I guess the feel is a little less glossy than the current Topps cards, but this is a lot closer in look and feel to a 1993 Topps than it is a 1963 Topps.  In any event, it's not going to be an issue for too many collectors as there are only "ten" of these (unless you count the other ten they slapped an autograph sticker on) floating around out there.  I prefer this normal variant over the autographed one, but there both pretty nice cards.

A few the eBay sellers seem to have accepted that I can in fact live without all of these as the prices on these has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks.  That's what led to me recently adding this, and a few other of the remaining variants I don't have yet.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "Black & White" #/75

 

Card Review: 5.7

This is yet another of the endless variations of the excellent 2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures card, and like all the other variations, it's not as nice as the original.  This one is actually one of the worst.  I like it a little better than the "Sepia" variation, but not much.  At the end of the day, and this isn't unique to this set (which I actually like as a set quite a bit), I'm just left confused and asking "why?"  

Why does anyone need all these endless variations and inserts, and what becomes of them?  I opened two fat packs of 2026 Topps this year, and probably pulled cards from 9 different insert sets.  Are people actually collecting them as sets?  As for the variations, I'm the first to admit I'm a little weird when it comes to player collecting, but are there really that many of us out there?  In another 10 years is a 2021 Topps Garrett Hampson sparkle variation of his base card numbered out of 5 going to be more in demand than just his regular base card?  I doubt it.  It's all just trash, regardless of how clunky and impenetrable the top loader with a number on top you store it in is.  On the other hand, there will probably still be a few people building the 2021 set who need the Hampson.  My point is, who asked for this?  Just give me some gum to smack while I sort my pile of new cards sequentially by the number on the back.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15A "Wood Stock Auto" #/5

 

Card Review: 9.1

This is the "wood stock" autograph variant.  These are numbered out of five.  This is actually pretty cool.  As far as I can tell, the front of this card is actually made out of wood.  The back is like a normal card, but the front is some sort of balsa wood I would guess.  It's firm enough that I feel like it would fully snap in half if I bent it enough, though I presume its glued to the back of the card in some manner to keep it from literally breaking into two pieces.  It's not any thicker, at least not by much, than the standard base card.

If Topps is going to insist on filling products with an endless onslaught of goofy inserts, then they should do stuff like this.  I've never been one for  "relic" cards with pieces of bats or jerseys.  In large part due to how thick they are.  At some point, it stops being a "baseball card" for me and it just becomes a chunky novelty item.  But if they could shave down bats thin enough to print the base card photo on top of, like this, I could get behind that.

In any event, I can set aside my disdain for inserts to acknowledge that I actually find this one pretty cool.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15A "Vintage Stock Auto" #/10

Card Review: 9.1

This is the "vintage stock" variant of the base card, and the autographed version of the "vintage stock" variant.  Still with me?  Both are numbered to ten.  I'm not a fan of autographs on cards, other than the ones I obtained in person as a kid, but this card stays the most true to the base card of the variants I've seen, and the base card is far and away the nicest of all the variations.  If this card wasn't autographed and numbered on the back, it'd be really hard to tell the difference between this and the base card.  The "vintage stock" gimmick is not super apparent to the naked eye or even to the touch.  It's every bit as subtle as trying to identify a 1987 Fleer Glossy from a stack of ordinary 1987 Fleer, and I've missed a few of those over the years while sorting stacks of new Wallach cards.

In any event, I'm making some progress towards tracking all of these endless variations down, but I wouldn't lose any sleep if I end up missing a few.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "Topps Logo" #/35

Card Review: 9.1

This card is identical to the "Topps Logo Autograph" variant, but for the missing sticker with the autograph on it.  I prefer this one without the sticker slightly, as the only acceptable additions to cards in my book are wax and gum stains.  This one stays truer to the 1988 Topps original.  These again are numbered to 35, like the autograph variants.

Below is a close up of the "Topps Logo" laminate that covers the whole card.  It has a sort of shine to it that makes it look similar to the "rainbow" variations.  You can see the "topps" running across Wallach's forhead.  That pattern covers the whole card with various degress of success as far it's visibility.

Number of this card in my collection: 2

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "SSP" Canvas Stock

Card Review: 9.4

I gave this card a 9.4.  I gave the base card a 9.5.  This "SSP" is allegedly on canvas stock, but I can't tell a difference between the two given it's stuck inside the BCW snap case.  My eyesight has been getting a little worse every year, but I'm not blind, and I've looked pretty hard at it.  If I decide to crack this thing, maybe it will feel different to the touch.  So I dinged it a tenth of a point for the confusion it caused me.

These "SSP" whatever that's supposed to mean (Super Short Print, okay Topps) come one to a box, albeit, only to "Collector's Edition" boxes.  They're not in "Single Boxes."  There are no shortage of ridiculous gimmicks and ripoffs in the hobby today, but the different types of boxes is probably in my top three (behind the disappearance of gum and grading slabs.  The mainstream acceptance of autographs on cards still also baffles me).  The pack some kid buys in Target should be the same one Simpson's Comic Book guy buys in a shop.  If these shiny inserts and sharpie damaged cards are actually desirable and what makes modern collecting "fun," wouldn't making the more accessible packs "better" draw in more people?  Admittedly, I'm just a guy in his 40's still complaining about gum, so what do I know.

I'll probably leave this card imprisoned in this case until another one comes my way, but for now they're still being listed at north of ten bucks, and this feels like more of a "I'll give you a buck and the cost of shipping sort of card" (which is what this one cost me).  I have no problem opening PSA slabs (figuratively I have no problem, literally they're a pain in the ass to open), but that's because PSA is just some dudes in a office somewhere and nothing "official."  This case is actually made by Topps, which gives it at least a small air of legitimacy.  So it may be awhile before my desire to page this in my Wallach binder outweighs my misgivings about tampering with a Topps seal.  If it happens, I'll update on what I find inside.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "Topps Logo Autograph" #/35

  

Card Review: 8.8

This is the "Topps Logo" autograph variant.  It's numbered to 35, but there is also another 35 without the autograph sticker, so they printed 70 of these.  The gimmick here is a clear laminate over the card with with "Topps" printed throughout.  It's nearly impossible to see in the scan, and not much easier to see in person.  Below are two zoomed in screen grabs.  It shows up best in the red letting.

 

Cool.  I'll be in no hurry to track down the other 34 of them.  From what I can tell, I'm currently the only person chasing these on eBay, but the sellers have been slow to get that memo, as I see the same ones go unsold and get re-listed repeatedly.  Guys, you can have my $5-10 or you can keep the card for yourself and pretend it's worth $30-$500, I'll be okay either way.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "Sepia Autograph" #/50

  

Card Review: 6.5

I'm not much for autographs on cards, at least, ones that aren't obtained in person.  That's actually a generous way of putting it.  I view the whole point of autograph as to serve as a memento of a celebrity encounter.  But to each their own.

And if I may get off my high horse for a moment, and put on my hypocrisy hat, I like this autograph variation of the sepia variation (lot of variations in this set) more than the standard sepia variation.  As previously stated in the original sepia post, the lack of color on an '88 Topps All-Star card is just tough on my eyes.  So the blue sharpie burst is a welcome addition in this instance, even if it is just on a sticker slapped on the middle of the card obscuring it in part.  These are also numbered to 50, which with 20+ individually numbered variations in this set, I think it becomes a little misleading as far as the implied scarcity.  But what do I know.  I'm sure in 20 years the kids will be clamoring for the blue father's day camo variation of Max Muncey and I'll end up having sounded like a fool.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2026 update: 2

#15, #25

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "Sepia" #/50

  

Card Review: 5.5

I think the 1988 Topps All-Star design is one of the all-time great card designs.  It's hard to mess it up.  But one of the things that makes it so great are its vibrant colors.  The yellow, blue, and red all pop off the card.  I loved the design from the first time I pulled one from a pack back in 1988.  So I'm not sure why anyone needs to see this card in sepia tones, other than to have another variation to stamp numbering on the back of for the modern collectors.

This card certainly understands the assignment, if the assignment was to crank out as many variations as possible.  These are numbered to 50 (though there are another 50 with autograph stickers on them).  I can't imagine the youtube case breakers getting very excited to pull one of these, at least not of the Wallach, I wasn't super excited when it arrived in the mail either.  It just fed my irrational need that is the entire basis of this blog.

All my gripping aside, I'm always happy to add another new Wallach to my collection, and this qualifies.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "Treasures Stamp" #/99

Card Review: 6.8

This card is identical to the base card but for the "Shoebox Treasures" logo on the upper front left of the card.  It also has the foil numbering on the back to show that there were only 99 of these produced (sort of, more on that below).  You may question the large drop off in the score for this card from the 9.5 that I gave the base card.  I think it's deserved.  The "Treasures" stamp adds nothing to the card for me aesthetically and in my view is just a blemish, or worse, almost like an advertisement stuck on the likeness of a classic card.  So I dinged it down.

Also, there weren't 99 of these produced.  There were 198 of these cards made.  Topps just took half of them and stuck a sticker with Tim Wallach's autograph on it to the front of the card.  You can peel the sticker off, and it's the same card.  I know I'm currently in the minority with my position on this, but I don't care, I'm right.  You see it a lot with the buybacks.  An autographed buyback, or a regular card with a "buyback" stamp is not a "new" or unique card.  It's a 1987 Topps (or whatever) with a stamp on it.  How cool that may be is for the collector to decide, but don't tell me it's not a 1987 Topps.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

 

 

2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15

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Card Review: 9.5

When I was around 8 or 9 years old, probably in about 1989, my mother drew me a detailed replica of the 1988 Topps All-Star card using colored pencils.  It was probably about 11'' x 17'' in size, though I remember it to be bigger, and I believe drawn on a heavy stock water color paper.  My mother had been a design major at Syracuse and was (is) very talented when it comes to these things.  At the time, all the neighborhood kids had discovered a store at Metro Center Mall in Phoenix that sold large posters of MLB stars.  Everyone on the block was getting a poster of their favorite player.  Even my younger brother got in on the act, proudly pinning a large Mark McGwire poster to our shared bedroom wall.

So while the likes of Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry, Will Clark, Eric Davis, and Ryne Sandberg were being displayed across the rooms of kids all over Moon Valley, I was left out in the cold as Tim Wallach was not among the players offered for sale.  My mother, taking pity on me, took it upon herself to do the best she could with a homemade effort.  Initially, I didn't care for it.  I thought it was embarrassing.  Reluctantly I hung it on my wall.  To my surprise, not only was I not mocked for it, the other kids liked it when they saw it.  Liked it so much in fact that my mother received multiple calls from the parents offering to pay her to draw similar ones.  She declined, but the homemade poster became a source of pride.

I don't know what happened to that drawing.  Its been lost to time, along with my brothers Mark McGwire poster and every other item to ever adorn our bedroom walls in the 1980's.  I hadn't thought about it in years, and very well may have never thought of it again, if this Andy Friedman Shoebox Treasures card hadn't appeared on eBay.  When I saw it for the first time, the memory of that home drawn "poster" immediately came back to me.

I had no prior knowledge about this set, or Tim Wallach's inclusion in it.  When the first one of these popped up on eBay, I impulsively bought it (at an inexcusably high price, as I've gone from paying $6 to $1 for them).  I should have done a quick google search, as I sort of assumed it must be an insert, but instead I just said "take my money now." Turns out it's just a normal base card in a set.

The set is comprised of 100 cards, pulled from between 1952 and present, reimagined in water colors by an artist named Andy Friedman.  I am extremely pleased that Wallach was included in the checklist, and with the choice of card to recreate.  Andy Friedman clearly has good taste.

There also appears to be about 20-30 variations of this card of different individually numbered scarcity and sparkles.  I've added a few, but haven't looked into the exact number of variations that are out there.  Given the prices I've seen on some of them, I don't think tracking them all down will be a huge priority, unless something changes.  I did a search online and saw boxes of this product going for $80, with 7 cards per pack and only 4 packs for box.  I'm a stranger to "high end" releases, and I would call those prices high end.  

My understanding is that the collector's who like that kind of product also like lots of numbered variations, so it makes sense there would be a lot of variations.  Given how much I like the base card, there could be 200 variations and I wouldn't mind.  It's cards like this one that remind me why I collect in the first place and why I'm still collecting cards now, nearly 45 years after opening my first packs.

Number of this card in my collection: 6