2011 Topps Marquee Box Break

With a discounted box on the shelf of my LCS, I decided to take my chances with a box of 2011 Topps Marquee. It's been around for a while, but I think it's a great product, with some phenomenal-looking base cards and a one-hit-per-mini-box guarantee, so there's plenty of great cards to pull. I purchased one "master box," which contains four mini boxes. Each of the mini boxes contains three base cards, one serial-numbered parallel, and one autograph or relic card. I did a half-case break of the product hosted by Colbey at Cardboard Collections back in August of 2011, and based on what I saw out of that, I was sure to find plenty of fantastic cards.

So without further ado, here's the video of my box, with scans to follow:

Base: Tony Gwynn, Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Brooks Robinson, Mark Teixeira, Andre Ethier, Thurman Munson, Ryan Braun, Matt Holliday, Sandy Koufax, Jason Heyward, Zach Greinke

Parallels: Andre Ethier Gold 32/99, Honus Wagner Bronze 18/199, Roy Campanella Blue 53/299, Mariano Rivera Blue 183/299

Trevor Cahill Titanic Threads 36/99
One thing I was really hoping for was one of the Titanic Threads cards, which basically takes a giant piece of fabric and slaps it right in the middle. Mine is a black jersey swatch of Trevor Cahill, who is now pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Brandon Belt Monumental Markings 268/570
Each master box promises one on-card autograph, which comes in the form of these Monumental Markings cards. Mine is a rookie-year auto of Brandon Belt. A World Series winner in 2012, Belt has maintained a permanent position with the team, playing in 150 games in 2003. 

Jason Heyward Gametime Mementos 92/199
I know there are a lot of Braves fans out there who will be drooling over this one. Heyward, one of Atlanta's biggest young stars, is featured next to three jersey pieces and one patch piece. I love how that red piece just goes right down the middle. If you're going to place a patch, you might as well do it right.

Paul Molitor Titanic Threads Jumbo Relic /10
I was very afraid of  pulling a redemption, which I obviously did, but luckily, Topps gave a three year expiration period, so this one is still good. Not only that, but it's of a baseball hall-of-famer, and if the base version of this card is any indication, he is featured as a member of the Minnesota Twins. It's also a pretty rare card, as only 10 of the autographed versions were produced.

Anyway, just as a bit of a teaser (both for you, and for me), here's a photo of the base version.

And here's an example of how they add the autograph.

I know! Pretty cool, right?

Anyway, I got pretty lucky to still be within the deadline. It has now been two and a half years since this product was first released. Hopefully, that gave Molitor plenty of time to get these cards (or stickers) back to Topps.