It really doesn’t feel like a Topps Total release unless there are some checklist problems. Wave 8 is no exception to this rule. There is no #737 and two #740, but it seems a bit more complicated than that. One of the #740s has an autograph card numbered #739-A, so it looks like there are a few problems here.
With a print run of 3458, this wave is down just slightly from wave 7. It’s the same configuration as the rest of the release. We see red, black, and gold parallels, along with one retired star and a handful of autographs. Each pack is advertised to contain 10 cards, but packs with a parallel or insert have those as additional cards.
Series three of the Topps 206 release changes things up a little bit. In an homage to the original T206 cards, which included some minor league players, Topps includes a number of up and coming prospects in their set. This waves has a lower print run than the previous two, which isn’t really a surprise given the checklist. While there are some top prospects, there are also many who are not as familiar at this point. Maybe they will eventually make a name for themselves, but right now, they’re not really driving the print run.
At 28,225 packs, the print run is smaller. The still represents a lot of each card, however. It does make it a bit easier to find limited parallels. Each box contains a single pack of ten cards, which includes two Piedmont back parallels.
Wave 7 hits for Topps Total as the year’s release begins to wind down. Production is up slightly for this release with 3495 packs. That still represents a fairly small print run, so the cards are able to hold their value a little bit.
The standard configuration remains for this release. Each pack contains ten base cards. The odds of any inserts is not explicitly mentioned, but you could figure it out by looking at the release size. There are once again three parallels available – red, black, and gold. There are also a handful of autographs and a possible retired veteran card. For packs containing a parallel or insert, these cards are in addition to the ten base cards.
This release ticks up just a bit from the print run of wave 5 with 3059 packs. The errors once again return in this wave, with every card seemingly having an error on it. To begin with, there are three cards that feature a different player on the back than they do on the front. In addition to that, the text on the back of the cards mention “The 2019 Topps Total set”, rather than the 2020 set as the rest of the waves have to this point.
By now, the release pattern is very well known. The wave contains one hundred cards, along with red, black, and gold parallels. There are also a handful of autographs and retired legends included, but there are no specific odds given for those. Each pack contains 10 cards, unless there is a parallel, autograph, or retired legend, which is included as an extra card.
This series seemed to ship a little quicker than the last one. The print run of 33914 is a little less than half of the print run for Series 1. It will be interesting to see how that goes for the remaining series. I had not received the Series 1 shipment until after the Series 2 order window had closed.
This series follows closely the first release. The cards aren’t numbered, but you have a similar assortment of advertising backs in the style of the original T206 release. For Series 2, Old Mill has been replaced with cards without black print. While there are some possible hits, they’re not very likely, beyond different backs. This series includes 50 cards. Each pack comes with 10 cards, including 2 Piedmont backs.
