Sports Card Release Calendar 5/5/21 – 5/20/21
It’s a mix of high end and low end on the docket of upcoming products as the sports card release calendar moves through into the fifth month of 2021.
Here’s a look at what’s coming to local shops, online retailers and your favorite breakers.
5/5
2021 Topps Tier One Baseball
An annual favorite of those who like autograph and relic cards but prefer not to deal with base cards or spend a big chunk of their paycheck, Tier One arrives with plenty of on-card autographs.
Each hobby box (currently $180-$190 on eBay) offers two autographs and one memorabilia card with a checklist of current and former players.
2020 Panini Flawless Football
On the other end of the financial spectrum, Flawless comes in a metal briefcase that checks in at around $5,800 on the lower end right now. The briefcase holds ten cards, all numbered to 25 or less including six autographs, 2-3 memorabilia cards and a base card or two (the ones with gem stones). There’s also a First Off The Line version with some exclusive content. The strong 2020 rookie class should mean Flawless will be a hot commodity, even at current prices.
New in 2020 are Quad NFL Shield Autographed booklet cards, with four NFL shield patches along with on-card autographs.
2020-21 Panini Crown Royale Basketball
With roots in the 1990s, Crowne Royale is famous for its die-cut cards. While it’s not really a hits-oriented product, each box will have one autograph, along with a memorabilia card (plus two inserts or parallels and four base cards). Silhouette Patch Autographs are among the top cards.
Boxes are selling online for $400-$475.
5/12
2020-21 Panini Impeccable Basketball
Look for give on-card autographs, three base or base parallel cards and one Silver/Gold insert or Stainless Stars card per box. Rookie Jersey Autographs and 1/1 cards with gold or silver bars are among the big draws for Impeccable.
Boxes start online at around $2,000.
2020 Score Football
Score is the traditional start of the 2021 NFL-licensed football card season and this year’s product is set to arrive a little earlier than last year. We’ll get rookie cards of the freshly minted 2021 draft picks, but they’ll be shown in their college uniforms, of course.
Most hobby boxes will load four autographs, 90 rookie cards, 10 parallels, 36 inserts and card from Panini’s Tom Brady Tribute set. Among the chase cards are short-printed lenticular inserts, Intergalactic and Base Dynamics.
Hobby boxes are currently listing for around $330.
2021 Upper Deck Artifacts Golf
Pro golf cards are back after a lengthy absence, with Upper Deck driving the cart. Each hobby box promises eight packs of four cards featuring PGA and LPGA players. Look for four serial-numbered cards, three memorabilia, autograph, Aurum or Diamond Relic cards plus one more hit or serial-numbered card.
Keep an eye out for the first set of Legendary PGA Tour Course Relics cards featuring course-used sand and dirt
from the famed TPC Sawgrass. Some cards will be autographed.
The cheapest eBay price right now is $1,050.
5/19
2020-21 Panini Contenders Basketball
The long-running brand returns for another late-season array of Rookie Ticket Autographs and other content. For the first time, look for Rookie Clear Tickets of top rookies featuring hard-signed autographs on Acetate.
Boxes will have 12 packs with 10 cards in each. Hobby boxes (currently around $600) will hold two autographs, two parallels and eight inserts or insert parallels per hobby box, on average.
Among the other products set for release are Impeccable Soccer (5/7); Trilogy Hockey (5/12); Prizm Baseball (5/12) and Topps Chrome Bundesliga Soccer (5/19).
