Star power is really nothing new with Topps Update & Topps Traded RCs

First Bowman Chrome autos, Topps Heritage autos and Rookie Cards in general for key players seem to be powering sales of wax boxes most generally these days for Major League Baseball.

Those shouldn’t be too surprising, but in a world of seemingly countless options with autographs, serial-numbering or memorabilia pieces one could argue that less is more — that oldschool simplicity is back.

And one could argue that the basic Rookie Cards from a hobby staple such as Topps Update (or Topps Traded if you’re oldschool) continue to be an emerging go-to — and not just for players such as Mike Trout, whose 2011 Topps Update card is a ridiculous seller if in top condition and still pretty impressive if just in a lesser slab.

Perhaps it’s just a gut feeling with the arrival of 2017 Topps Update previewing last week and its date now known on the release calendar — but the old Topps Traded sets of the 1980s and even recent years of Topps Update also seem like fertile collecting ground, too, especially if you’re into graded specimens.

Here’s a year-by-year rundown of notable Rookie Cards from past Traded and Update sets …

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Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (June 4)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Albert Pujols’ 600th home run, rediscovering Mike Trout Rookie Cards, Jimmy Piersall, busting WWE NXT, finding cards at Goodwill and more.

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