29-Year-Old Finishes off 2021 Topps Inception Red Set
It takes a great deal of determination and drive to follow through on a project that lasts four years. But card collector Ben Pessah-Berlin has the perseverance of a champion. The 29-year-old recently completed the 2021 Topps Inception Baseball Red parallel set, which has a 100-card checklist. He chose to collect 2021 Topps Inception due to the artistic, vibrant backgrounds on the cards.
“The color of those cards — and maybe it doesn’t always show on pictures and stuff — just looks so neat in person,” Pessah-Berlin said. “On like a thicker stock, they have a premium feel to them as well. I got a couple in hand at a card show, and I was like, ‘Wow, these cards are really neat.’“ The price point was also a compelling aspect, making it more viable to hunt down a complete set.
“With me having a family and on somewhat of a budget, they’re not crazy expensive cards,“ Pessah-Berlin said. “Obviously, like the Ohtani was a little more expensive. For the most part, they’re relatively reasonable and it was really fun for me to do that. Beautiful looking cards.”
Pessah-Berlin decided to go after the red parallels, which are numbered to 75, because he wanted to make it an attainable goal. He dedicated a binder to the set and loved watching it fill up.
“Looking through those cards and just wanting to get that next one was really a motivating factor for me,” he said. “I had a daughter two years ago, and I want to show her this cool, completed set that I did that took me a long time to do. It’s something that my dad, when he was little, he worked on the ’71 Topps set. That was a 752-card set. I remember him telling me about that.”
Getting Started
Being a New York Mets fan, the first 2021 Topps Inception Red card Pessah-Berlin purchased was of Pete Alonso in May 2021. He picked up a few more Inception cards on COMC, eBay, and at local shows.
“Once I got over 10 to 15, I was determined I was going to do it,” said Pessah-Berlin, who lives in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. “I knew it was probably going to take a while, but I’m in this hobby for the long term. I’m not going anywhere, so I figured if this takes me one year, two years, three years, I’m going to finish it one way or another.”
Pessah-Berlin had a checklist of the set printed out and would cross off the cards he picked up. By early January 2023, he had collected 70 of the cards. That grew to 86 five months later. Then he hit a rough patch for the final 20 months of the project. Jorge Soler of the Kansas City Royals wound up being the final card he needed.
“I had 99 out of 100 and I was just looking for that one card,” Pessah-Berlin said. His lucky day finally came on February 4, 2025 when an eBay seller listed a Soler for auction with the starting bid at 99 cents.
“I messaged them and I’m like, ‘Can I just give you $20 for this card right now?’” Pessah-Berlin said. “It’s probably not worth $20, but I’m not letting this card slip through.”
A Sense of Accomplishment
Once Pessah-Berlin had the Soler in hand, he slid it into the final open spot in his binder. He felt accomplished — complete.
“I think the last time I did a 15-mile stretch on the Appalachian Trail, besides that, I think as far as a lone accomplishment, it was like the next best thing,” he said. “It was just such a long time in the making. To go through the binder and just see the completed set — just all the years of trying to scour the internet and card shows to find these cards. Pure joy as a collector for sure.”
With the 2021 Topps Inception Red set in the books, Pessah-Berlin has turned his attention to two other projects he started at the same time. He’s working on the 2003 Topps Chrome Baseball Black Refractor set, which are numbered to 199. As of early March, he’s picked up 192 of the 440 cards. Pessah-Berlin is also building the 2013 Topps Finest UFC Gold set, which is numbered to 88. He’s checked off 70 of the 100 cards. However, he has some big ones remaining, including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Ronda Rousey.
“They’re kind of projects that other people probably aren’t doing, and they’re limited as far as numbered sets. But they’re just cards designed that I really like,” Pessah-Berlin said. “It’s just something neat to keep me involved with The Hobby.”
The UFC set Pessah-Berlin is working on is stored in the same binder as his completed Inception set. He keeps that accessible on his desk.
“I look at it from time to time,” Pessah-Berlin said. “It’s a good reminder of how to enjoy The Hobby. There are so many ways you can enjoy it that’s meaningful for however you want to do it.”
