2002 Topps 206 Piedmont Black Back Pinstripes

Year: 2002

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: 206

Card Number: 289

Card Type: Mini Parallel 

Mini Parallel Set: Piedmont Black

COMC Black Friday Card Haul #12

I've written about my love of the 2002 Topps 206 set.  Well mainly series 2, and mainly the fact that Robin was featured in the set and had two base card variations.  At the time I was pretty enamored with the set because it was the first time I could remember Robin being featured in a base set of new cards, although that's probably incorrect, it was the first time I remembered seeing it.  And as a guy who collected Robin Yount cards I was super excited.  Plus it was Topps first attempt at the vintage tribute set and I liked it.  It also marked the beginning, yes I know Pacific had done it years before, but really this set marked the returned tobacco sized mini inserts.  Over the year's I've been slowly picking up the different backs and image variations featuring Robin.  As a matter of fact with this card I have only one mini card left to find to finish the quest.  Series 2 featured 4 different backs all with some differing rate of difficulty finding.  The most common being the Polar Bear backs and the rarest being the Carolina Brights.  Mixed in the middle were the Red and Black Piedmont backs.  And I'm glad I was able to find this pinstripe Piedmont Black variation to help get me one step closer to completion.  Now all I need is to find a Piedmond Red Blue Jersey mini and I'm done. 

2002 Topps 206 Piedmont Black Back Mini Blue Jersey

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Year: 2002

Card Set: Topps 206

Card Number: 289

Card Type: Mini Parallel Variation

Parallel Type: Mini Piedmont Black back

Variation: Blue Jersey

I really like the 2002 Topps 206 set.  I opened quite a bit of it back in 2002.  My card collecting has had some  hills and valleys in terms of what I collected and opened in my life and 2002 marked a definite resurgence in my collecting.  Spurred by Robin being featured in a lot of the sets with some great cards and it's also the year I started using eBay.  The 206 set marked the start of Topps' vintage brands that were not just reprints or reuses of their old brands.  And while this set isn't the first modern set to insert tobacco sized mini's, that honor goes to the 1999 Pacific Private Stock set, it does mark the starting point where they become a lot more common.  It also is the start of the manufactured short print in the base set.

Topps 206 was issued in three series for a total of 526 base cards.  Robin's two cards are found in the second series.  Not all, but some players had multiple variations to mimic the variations found in the original T-206 set.  Robin has two variations, one featuring him in a blue jersey and the other in pinstripes with a bat on his shoulder. He also has all the mini parallels that goes with that.  Each series had their own backs. Series 2 featured Polar Bear, Piedmont red and black backs, and the rarest Carolina Brights.

This product was a blast to open with the possibility of original T206 cards, I pulled one of those, some great autographs, I pulled a Joe Mauer rookie auto, and some great relics featuring players from the modern era and the T206 era.