Buzz Break: 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team cards (hobby box)

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there’s a box you’d want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team & Hopefuls cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 181
Base US set completion: 
48 of 48 (100 percent)
Base USA set completion: 
45 of 45 (100 percent)
Duplicates (both sets): 36

Winter Olympics arrival means it’s time to watch Topps cards heat up

Imagine a world where New York Yankees star Aaron Judge had just a single product where you could find his one Rookie Card and one rookie autograph — okay, okay, throw in some parallels of them and maybe a variation or two to make it a more realistic scenario.

What might those sell for? How tough would that wax become over time? It’s something to ponder.

That hypothetical is much, much closer to reality for Olympic athletes and the heavy focus on the few cards they do have gets amplified a million times over during the Olympic Games, no matter whether they are of the summer or winter variety. While we’re still on the cusp of this year’s Winter Olympics, some of the notable first-time autographs already are selling very well — but there’s clearly room for more as they become true household names. One of those likely names belongs to 17-year-old snowboarder Chloe Kim, who’ll appear on the cover of ESPN The Magazine‘s Olympics Issue dropping on Friday when the Winter Games open in South Korea.

The Kim 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team & Hopefuls Gold autograph (/25) you see here already sold for $199, which seems low compared to the hype that already comes before she takes to the halfpipe and her dominating success in the Winter X Games. It’s also impressive considering it comes from a box guaranteeing ink that’s presently less than $75.

But it’s not alone.

Chloe Kim’s new Topps cards and autographs should be in big demand

When Topps‘ new Winter Olympics card set arrives next Friday, it will feature one new athlete who’ll likely become a household name with her autographs in big demand once the action begins.

She’s Chloe Kim and she’s a 17-year-old already being called the “new face of American snowboarding” who is “poised to become the most-famous Korean-American female athlete in history” according to Bleacher Report writer Joon Lee.

But don’t take his word for it.

“Watching her at a young age was like watching Shaun White,” said Tommy Czeschin, a former coach with U.S. Snowboarding, in the story. “She was leaps and bounds better than anyone her age, her height, anyone she would ride with.”