2001 Topps Employee Set - rarest Topps production of last 30 years?

esquiresports

I know Topps Desert Shield cards get a lot of love, and the wax boxes can bring $5000, so I started looking into what modern Topps issues (excluding test issues) are more rare than Desert Shield. The one item I have found, which appears to be several times more rare than the Desert Shield cards, is the 2001 Topps Factory Set given to employees only. Each card has special gold embossing noting it is from one of these sets. Approximately 150-200 sets were produced to celebrate Topps' 50th anniversary. That's 4% or less of the Tiffany print runs! I can't seem to find population reports for these cards on PSA, unfortunately.

It seems odd to me that this set would only bring $500 or so at auction (most recent sale), when a standard factory set brings $75-100. Perhaps it's because this set is so rare few people know it exists? The back story may not be as compelling as Desert Storm, but it's still pretty cool.

Anyone else think this set is a sleeper?

mikeschmidt

too many parallel sets in the post-2000 era-

m

mcadams

I agree they are rare, I just don't feel compelled to accumulate them. The story behind them is boring.