2016 Topps Tier One Baseball Cards – Product Review & Hit Gallery Added

Product Review

2016 Topps Tier One Baseball Product Review

Reviewed by Trey Treutel

Good: Many on-card autographs, all hits numbered, big hit potential.

Bad: Small one-color relics are plentiful, still has some sticker autographs, true gamble product.

The Bottom Line: Like many of the Topps products, Tier One really doesn’t change. Three-card boxes for $90-100 are hurt by the single-color relics that are common in the release and occupy one hit in most boxes. While the positive attributes of the set, like hard-signed signatures and all hits being numbered, do help, collectors are essentially rolling the dice at this price point.

Card Design: 3.75/5.0

The majority of 2016 Topps Tier One Baseball looks quite nice. Open signing spaces are joined by mostly lighter backgrounds along with a solid stock and gold foil accents. Sure, the auto relics have sticker signatures, but most of the other options are signed on-card. At this point, some is better than none, I suppose, but all autographs should be hard-signed at this level.

While I did not pull one in my box, one thing that did not seem to work from a design perspective was the case-hit Tier One Autographs. These are some of the key signed cards in the release but the dark signing area makes the autograph nearly invisible. When you pull a case-hit autograph for a top current player or all-time great, it would be awesome (and expected) if you could clearly see their signature. I also don't see the appeal of the Tools of the Trade inserts that have the pen embedded in the card but I appreciate the effort to try something new.

Checklist: 3.0/5.0

This is where things get a little dicey for 2016 Tier One. The two most common pulls fall from the Breakout Autographs and Prime Performers Autographs. Both have pretty large checklists and a lot of weaker names. This is further compounded as many of the younger subjects are doubled up with a second version of the signed card. This means 2x as many cards despite what the print runs says.

Another thing to realize about Tier One is that while the checklist seems expansive, most of the huge hits are 1/1. That is not surprising but the variety is not so impressive when you remove the eight one-of-one insert sets. This makes it pretty clear that most boxes will yield two autographs from Breakout Autographs and Prime Performers Autographs as well as a very basic Tier One Relic.

Value: 2.5/5.0

No matter how nice the cards look, the checklist always has the final say on the value. As a traditional gamble product, this is where Tier One has the most trouble. Around $100 per box for two autographs and one relic makes it very tough to get fair value. Sure, breaking by the case opens up a better shot at those case hits and truly big cards, but those are not the normal outcome by the box.

The Fun Factor: 3.25/5.0

There really is a lot to like in 2016 Topps Tier One Baseball. I can always appreciate numbered, on-card autographs that feature a strong design. And there is always the outside chance that a monster is waiting inside the box. However, reality will set in for most and it can be a little disappointing to see that basic jersey card account for 1/3 of the box contents. At this price point, fun equals a bit stronger autograph checklist and perhaps another route than the standard nickel-sized memorabilia card.

2016 Topps Tier One Baseball Box Hit Gallery

The box used for this review was provided by Topps.

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MIKE TROUT 2016 TOPPS TIER ONE AUTOGRAPH RELICTS PATCH AUTO #'D /50 ANGELS MLB

$600.00

JACOB DEGROM-2016 TOPPS TIER ONE AUTOGRAPH /99

$72.99

2016 Topps Tier One Breakout Autograph Copper Eduardo Rodriguez Red Sox 12/25

$25.00

2016 TOPPS TIER ONE''SSSP''5/5''ZACK WHEELER''RED INK AUTO''BREAKOUT AUTOGRAPHS'

$169.00

2016 TOPPS TIER ONE #BOAJR GOLD INK 1/1 - JT REALMUTO RC BGS 9 SUB 9.5 - AUTO 10

$2,450.00

2016 Topps Tier One DAVID WRIGHT MLB Mets Legend Dual Relic Auto /25 BGS 9.5 GEM

$300.00

OZZIE SMITH 2016 TOPPS TIER ONE AUTOGRAPHS CERTIFIED AUTOGRAPH#17/25

$44.99

2016 Topps Tier One MANNY MACHADO Bronze Ink Auto /25

$97.99

2016 CHASE HEADLEY TOPPS TIER ONE SN#/249 AUTO SGC 9.5 /10

$28.00

2016 Topps Tier One Mike Trout Auto 26/50 #T1AMT PSA 10

$3,499.99

AL KALINE 2016 Topps Tier One Prime Performers Auto /99 Detroit Tigers HOF

$59.95

2016 Topps Tier One Robin Yount Prime Performers On Card Auto /50 BGS 9 10 SSP

$134.99

COREY SEAGER 2016 Topps Tier One PRODIGOUS PATCHES AUTO 1/10 BGS 9.5 10

$445.00

Omar Vizquel 2016 Topps Tier One Auto #/249 Signed Prime Performers On Card

$49.99

2016 TOPPS TIER ONE - KYLE SCHWARBER - ROOKIE AUTO /25 - CHICAGO CUBS & PHILLIES

$225.00

GARRETT RICHARDS 2016 TOPPS TIER ONE PRIME PERFORMERS BLACK Gold AUTO #D 15/25

$29.99

2016 Topps Tier One Prime Performers Jose Altuve Autograph Astros AUTO 32/249!

$89.99

2016 Topps Tier One Manny Machado Auto 25/50 - PSA 10

$179.00

2016 Topps Tier One Rookie, COREY SEAGER, Jersey Auto #03/149 RC DODGERS MVP

$134.95

2016 Topps Tier One Silver Ink /10 Carlos Delgado Toronto Blue Jays Autograph

$48.00