Allen & Ginter Insert Overview Series #90

Before we begin, it’s been quite some time since my last post and that is because I’ve been updating other parts of this blog (and reading other blogs… because I like them all better than mine).  So a quick plug for those said parts of this blog.  Look up.  There are some pages there.  Yeah, they’ve been there all this time, but they were kinda messy.  At least the first two are now super neat, organized and up-to-date.  I love trading, so if you have extra Ginter, Bowman, or Topps go check it out!

On to the Ginter insert of the day!

Set: 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini Portraits in Penultimacy

            Total Cards: 10

            Stated Odds: 1/12

Bubba’s Derived Odds: I believe them.

           # of Hobby Boxes Needed to Obtain Set: 5

Favorite (Owned) Card:

It took me a while to pick my favorite of this set… mostly because none of the cards are especially good.  I guess that’s why these guys are “penultimate”.  Some other noteworthy inclusions to this set are Toto, Sancho Panza, the Hare (and the tortoise), and Mike Gellner (who is only of note because of the interesting card back… take a look).

I enjoy this kind of creativity.  It’s the guy who helped break a Ginter Code.  Give him a card back with a code!  If you’re willing to spend 5-10 minutes, it’s only a substitution cypher.  If you’re lazy, the syntax is a bit weird but it says:

While starting a baseball card collection for his two-year-old son Jacoby, Mike learned about the Ginter Code promotion and teamed up to co-champion the 2009 Ginter code-cracking effort.  Mike and Jacoby enjoy rooting for the Red Sox and collecting cards from their home in Portland, Oregon.

Notes and Comments:

First, this is our first mini set that has shown up in our review series.  This is important because I tend to hold minis at a much higher standard than I do full-sized cards.  I know that this might seem counter-intuitive since there is simply less room to put a picture and information on the card, but I feel that if Topps is going to go out of their way to make different sized cards, well, then they better be good!

Second, as you’ll soon see, 2011 was not a very good year for Allen & Ginter.  The base set was not great, collation was bad, autographs were rarer than usual, and the vast majority of the insert sets were flat out ugly (especially the mini inserts).  This set wasn’t much of an exception.

The border coloring is hideous.  I honestly think that this set might be half-way decent if not for that fact… and it’s really not so much that I don’t like the color, it’s more that the color doesn’t work with the pictures involved.  It makes for very clashy looking cards and just a set that simply isn’t pleasing to the eye.

The subject matter is quirky which is usually a plus for me and I suppose this set is pretty good in that sense.  It got me to read all the card backs, but I almost always do that anyways…  What it comes down to is who really wants a set of cards featuring second tier nobodies???  That’s why I picked Kemo Sabe.  He’s got a cool name, but doesn’t matter at all.

The backs of these minis aren’t all that good either.  I suppose they get the job done, but they’re pretty bland as well.  I guess it’s hard to have a thematic card back if the set really doesn’t have much theme in the first place.

Arbitrary Rating (out of 100): 52 (A failing grade... and its not the worst of 2011 either...)

% of Set Completed: 100%

Missing Cards: NONE!!

Extra Cards: PP1, PP2, PP3, PP5, PP6, PP7, PP8, PP9