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.
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.
Topps is bringing back their tribute to the iconic T206 set from the early 1900s after a ten year hiatus. This time, the set is an online exclusive print on demand. Series 1 had a print run of 74,997 packs. Each wave is on sale for a four week window, with shipping advertised in a short period after that. The pandemic has delayed and spread out the shipping quite a bit, with some people receiving their shipment direct after the Series 2 order window had completed.
This release consists of mini cards, in the size of the original tobacco issue. It comes in small packs of ten in silver packaging within a box resembling a cigarette box. While there are some available autograph pack-ins, they are not in any advertised ratio. Two of the cards are Piedmont backs, leaving eight regular base cards, which do not feature any retro advertising on the back. Other backs are available, some with a limited print run and some at a certain pack ratio. Any additional parallels are in place of a normal base card.
