Image Swap Cards? Yes!

The first thing I thought when I saw a 2012 Topps Heritage image swap card was that I had finally gone off the deep end. I heard the famous Twilight Zone theme music playing in my head. I thought I needed stronger lenses in my spectacles. I swore I would never drink Dr. Pepper before lunch time again. I visualized calling my sister Susan and apologizing for every time I pooh pooed her reference to senior moments. I’ve looked at the 1963 Topps cards for a long time. It was one of the rare sets that I completed collecting back in the day, ans I know it well, but I had never seen one of these. What was  I looking at? 

It seems that those folks at Topps are full of surprises, and I thought I had seen them all before. Short printing key cards to induce an annoyed public to continue to purchase packs in an unceasing, unending but ultimately fruitless search to complete a set was nothing new. Entering some kind of sweepstakes or contest where the chance of winning were equal to the 1962 New York Mets chances of winning a World Championship that season seemed old hat. Issuing the same cards with different colored borders was introduced not too long ago so it too elicited nothing more than a knowing yawn.

But now I was looking at a genuine, bona fide surprise from Topps that I liked! Shades of the 1969 Miracle New York Mets danced in my head as I realized that from time to time the unexpected delight really does occur. My research yielded the story. Topps had given twenty-five cards the image swap treatment, where the position of the images have been “swapped” from the regularly issued card. You can see in the cards just below that in the regular card, shown on the left, the smaller black-and-white image is in the circle at the bottom of the card. The image swap card moves this black and white image into a position of prominence as the primary photo on the card, and the regular card’s primary photo is “swapped” to the circle. I’ll give you a few examples, and sign off for now. Enjoy the ballgames, everybody.