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2014 Topps High Tek Mark McGwire Checklist
The anticipation for new Mark McGwire cards was high in 2014, and card manufacturers delivered. McGwire cards can be found in the majority of Topps products, some Panini products, and in 2014 UD Goudey. But for me, Topps High Tek was the one product that I was anticipating most. Loaded with parallels and variations, this product is a player collector’s delight. However, it’s because of the parallels and variations that this product can also be a nightmare to understand and collect. So, in the attempt to bring some order for other Mark McGwire collectors, I have created a checklist for 2014 Mark McGwire Topps High Tek. There are six “Pattern” variations of the Mark McGwire base card. These are listed below from most common to rarest. Just an FYI, the odds on pulling one of the rarer patterns has not been released, nor have the card populations. It is rumored that the Shatter Stripe pattern is the rarest pattern and is seeded at one per hobby case. This would roughly put the population of this pattern at eight copies ±two. As of right now, there has only been one public sale of this McGwire pattern. HT-MMC Spiral Brick HT-MMC Grid HT-MMC Shatter HT-MMC Pipes HT-MMC Zig Zag HT-MMC Shatter Stripe There are eight levels of diffractor parallels. These diffractors can only be found in the spiral brick pattern. All diffractors are serial numbered, so there shouldn’t be any confusion as to which parallel you have. HT-MMC Spiral Brick Gold Diffractor #ed 99 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Ice Diffractor #ed 75 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Disco Diffractor #ed 50 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Clouds Diffractor #ed 25 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Black & White Image #ed 15 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Red Storm Diffractor #ed 10 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Blue Dots Diffractor #ed 5 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Charcoal Galactic Diffractor #ed 1 In addition to the Charcoal Galactic diffractor, the spiral Brick pattern has Printing Proof one of ones. HT-MMC Spiral Brick Black Printing Proof #ed 1 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Cyan Printing Proof #ed 1 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Magenta Printing Proof #ed 1 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Yellow Printing Proof #ed 1 There are also autographed versions of the rarer diffractors. These look just like the non-auto diffractors, except they have an autograph and small notation on the front lower right corner that reads “Topps Certified Autograph Issue.” HT-MMC Spiral Brick Disco Diffractor Auto #ed 50 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Clouds Diffractor Auto #ed 25 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Black & White Image Auto #ed 15 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Red Storm Diffractor Auto #ed 10 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Blue Dots Diffractor Auto #ed 5 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Charcoal Galactic Diffractor Auto #ed 1 Just like the diffractors, the autographed versions also have autographed printing proofs. HT-MMC Spiral Brick Black Printing Proof Auto #ed 1 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Cyan Printing Proof Auto #ed 1 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Magenta Printing Proof Auto #ed 1 HT-MMC Spiral Brick Yellow Printing Proof Auto #ed 1 McGwire also has a couple miscellaneous insert cards in this product. All of these are short printed inserts. 99T-MM TEKnician Diffractor #ed 50 99T-MM TEKnician Difractor Auto #ed 10 Finally, there are “Buyback” autographs. It is unconfirmed, but there are approximately five copies from the three years that McGwire previously has Tek cards (1998, 1999, and 2000). I have only seen one buyback, and it was the 1999 version (it is possible that the other two years may not exist).These cards are authenticated by gold stamp on the upper front left corner that reads “Topps Originals 2014.” 1998 Tek Buyback Auto 1999 Tek Buyback Auto 2000 Tek Buyback Auto |
Below is a visual guide of the McGwire cards I currently have in my collection. I will be adding pics as I acquire additional cards.
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