Box Breaks: 4 Boxes of 2017 Topps Allen & Ginter X

 

So like last year, Topps produced an online version of their Allen & Ginter product called Ginter X and sold it online only. Unlike last year there, thanks to Aaron Judge and a cut in production, this stuff started out as a kind of a low key release but collectors quickly caught on how rare the product was and everything sold out within 3 days. I was able to pick up 4 boxes (wish I would've gotten more) and from the breaks I've seen this stuff is pretty damn loaded. Even if the autographs you pull are lackluster, the exclusive mini red parallels numbered to 5 (which fall in pretty much every other box) and silver 1/1 parallels can be enough to carry a box. Not to mention base Judge rookies alone. The initial price of a box was $70, but I'm sure as word spread, if you see these for sale on EBay, there's going to be a big time markup. So was this a better offering than original Ginter? Here's what I got

Box 1

Aaron Judge RC


Mini's
Jayson Stark
Rod Carew
Marcus Stroman
Troy Tulowitzki
Andres Galarraga
Justin Verlander
Lance McCullers
Harriet Tubman
Ben Smith
Billy Hamilton
Raimel Tapia
Matt Olson



SP's (1:2)
Braden Shipley
Justin Turner
Drew Pomeranz
Corey Dickerson
Seung-Hwan Oh
Trey Mancini
Tim Raines
Brian McCann
Stephen Vogt


World's Dudes Mini (1:13)
Park Avenue Dude
Farmhand Dude

Bust A Move Mini (1:20)
Jitterbug Dance


Magicians & Illusionists Mini (1:34)
Robert Heller

Constellations Mini (1:50)
Orion

Silver Framed Mini Autograph (1:18)
Chris Fehn



Red Mini (1:24)
Jacoby Jones (#3/5)


Box #2

Aaron Judge RC

Mini's
Jake Thompson
Brandon Finnegan
Jose Peraza
Marcus Semien
Omar Vizquel
Miguel Sano
Ian Snell
Bobby Abreu
Andrew McCutchen
Jose Reyes
Henry Owens
Mark Melancon
Jharel Cotton

SP's (1:2)
Willie McCovey
Raimel Tapia
Adam Eaton
Ty Blach
Whitey Ford
Lance McCullers
German Marquez
Jon Lester
Matt Strahm


World's Dudes Mini (1:13)
Irish Golfer Dude
Chef Dude

Bust A Move Mini (1:20)
Bavarian Polka Dance

Required Reading Mini (1:50)
The Prince

No Number Mini Parallel (1:85)
Starling Marte

Silver Framed Mini Autograph (1:18)
Paul Finebaum

Box #3

Aaron Judge RC (So Far 3 for 3)

Mini's
Bo Jackson
Carl Yastrzemski
Aaron Sanchez
Mark McGwire
Hisashi Iwakuma
Stephen Piscotty
Zach Britton
Frank Thomas
Jake Arrieta
Kyle Hendricks
Brett Gardner
Josh Bell
Adam Eaton


SP's (1:2)
Bartolo Colon
German Marquez
Raimel Tapia
Yangervis Solarte
Marcell Ozuna
Jordan Zimmerman
Willie McCovey
Ty Blach
Dallas Keuchel



World's Dudes Mini (1:13)
Polo Dude
German Cyclist Dude

Bust A Move Mini (1:20)
Bavarian Polka Dance

Required Reading Mini (1:50)
The Prince


Red Mini (1:24)
Yu Darvish (#1/5)

Silver Framed Mini Autograph (1:18)
Luke Weaver

Box #4

Aaron Judge RC (Went 4-4!)

Mini's
Alex Reyes
Yadier Molina
Ollie Schniederjans
Jacoby Ellsbury
William Shatner
Jacoby Jones
Odubel Herrera
Lou Gehrig
Jeff Bagwell
Hunter Pence
Kenley Jansen
Trevor Story
Carlos Rodon

SP's (1:2)
Bartolo Colon
Marcell Ozuna
Dallas Keuchel
Lance McCullers
Raimel Tapia
Jon Lester
Willie McCovey
Ty Blach


World's Dudes Mini (1:13)
Scout Dude
Circus Clown Dude

Bust A Move Mini (1:20)
Ballet Dance

Constellations Mini (1:50)
Cygnus

Framed Printing Plate (1:1,045)
Andrew McCutchen Magenta (#1/1)


Red Mini (1:24)
Andrew Miller (#5/5)

Silver Framed Mini Autograph (1:18)
Jacob DeGrom Redemption

Overall Thoughts: First all of all, I LOVE the look of the set. The Black background really makes the cards stand out and I really like this over the plain ol' white background from regular Ginter. While I'm not a Slipknot fan, I know enough to know that this Chris Fehn Auto was definitely a great pull. The last few have sold in $125-$180 range so that's not a bad pull at all! Collation was terrible...BUT for once it worked in my favor. I pulled a Judge base rookie in all 4 boxes! The other autographs aren't thrilling, but I think I still pull at least $20 pop for them (so combine that with a Judge a box and you get most of your money back right there). I pulled 3 Reds, and two of them were average, but pulling the Yu was cool! Also pulled yet another 1/1 plate this time of McCutchen. If you bought in at the initial offering price, you really can't lose on this product seems like. I also prefer this because it's a more streamlined version of A&G, so the only carryover inserts are the mini's (which are the same mini's you can pull in A&G). The parallel mini's are all black and I pulled a few pretty good names there too. Collation Issues aside, this was really fun and I enjoyed each box! Here's pics of the noteworthy cards I pulled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 Pulls of 2017 

#1- 2016 Donruss Optic Superfractor Cam Newton (#1/1)
#2- 2017 Bowman Platinum Platinum Cuts Gleyber Torres Autograph (#14/25)  
#3- 2017 Topps Allen & Ginter X Mini Silver Framed Chris Fehn Silver Ink Autograph

#4- 2017 Topps Tier Prodigious Patches Platinum Eric Hosmer (#1/1)
#5- 2017 Bowman Platinum Autographs Gleyber Torres Green Parallel (#16/75)