Ultimate Checklist: 2002 Topps 206

Grand Gallery: I was actually able to add a ton of this set since I first posted about it last month. Thank you very much, variety of Granderson collectors with extensive photobuckets of cards. We're only missing the Sweet Caporal Black variation, so I've subbed in the front instead. Of course, all the fronts look the same so... My original post and thoughts on this set can be found below the gallery, but I must say that I really like tobacco cards with back variations. I just think they're neat.

#425 Curtis Granderson	#425 Curtis Granderson Mini (All Styles)	#425 Curtis Granderson Polar Bear (back)
#425 Curtis Granderson Sweet Caporal Blue (back)	#425 Curtis Granderson Sweet Caporal Red (back)	#425 Curtis Granderson Uzit (back)
#425 Curtis Granderson Sweet Caporal Black (front)

Original Post:

Hey, Topps T-206 is out. That makes this as good a time as any to go back to the old standby: The Ultimate Checklist posts. Remember those? I use them to chronicle all of Curtis Granderson's cards from the beginning of time to, well, now. With 2009's Topps T-206 now here, it gives me good reason to show off Topps 206 from 2002, back when Curtis was but a rookie card.

2002 Topps 206 #425 Curtis Granderson RC Polar Bear Mini

I only have one of the cards from this set--and it is a mini variation. The base card looks the same but is full size. There are also a slew of parallels that all look the same, but for different tobacco companies promoted on the back. The parallel versions from that 2002 version were the Polar Bear version that I have:



--this is the most common mini variation--as well as three versions of Sweet Caporal back (Black, Blue and Red) and Uzit. I don't have any of these and couldn't find any good pictures of them until...the Cardboard Junkie profiled all of these cards the other day and showed wonderful pictures of the backs.

In general, I like the Topps 206 series--I think that this would easily be the best set for Granderson rookie cards but for one thing. They use the exact same picture as the Bowman and Bowman Chrome releases. Too bad. For all the grief I give the card companies for using the same pictures nowadays, it seems as though things used to be even worse. Granderson rookie cards exist across four sets, and three of them use the same picture. Sigh.

On the plus side, there are a bunch of mini tobacco cards out there just waiting to be collected, and I don't think that anyone can complain too much about that.