Explaining the 3-Tiered Base Set and Parallels
Understanding Topps Finest Baseball’s Tiered Base Set and Parallels
Since its debut in 1993, Topps Finest has established itself as a pillar of premium baseball card collecting. In 2024, Topps Finest returns with eye-catching designs featuring some of the hottest rookies and biggest stars in baseball. In addition to the premium cards, Finest has incorporated a tiered base-card structure, complete with tier-specific parallels. We offer this guide to help you understand, navigate, and appreciate the added depth and excitement the base-set tiers and tier-specific parallels bring to collecting this year’s installment of Topps Finest Baseball.
What’s 2024 Topps Finest’s Three-Tiered Base Set?
The concept of tiered sets is not new to The Hobby or to Topps Finest. 2024 Topps Finest Baseball brings it back in a nostalgic nod to Topps Finest sets of the 1990s. The entire 300-card base set is divided into three 100-card tiers. These are Base Common (1-100), which has the most available base cards; Base Uncommon (101-200), which is moderately scarce; and Base Rare (201-300), which is scarce. In addition to card numbering, you can identify each tier according to card design.
Base Common
Base Uncommon
Base Rare
What are the Parallels in 2024 Topps Finest’s Three-Tiered Base Set?
Each base-set tier includes the same parallels. The key difference is the drop rate for unnumbered parallels and the total serial-numbered refractors. For example, Sky Blue refractors are #’d to 325 in Base Common. However, in Base Uncommon, Sky Blue refractors are #’d to 250, and Base Rare Sky Blue refractors are #’d to 150. As you move from Common to Uncommon to Rare, the number of specific parallels becomes fewer.
Base Common Parallels
Refractor– 1:5 Packs
Checkerboard Refractor- 1:2 packs
Oil Spill Refractor- 1:131 packs
Sky Blue Refractor – #’d to 325
Purple Refractor – #’d to 250
Blue Refractor – #’d to 200
Purple Checkerboard Refractor – #’d to 150
Blue Checkerboard Refractor – #’d to 99
Green Refractor – #’d to 75
Gold Refractor – #’d to 50
Orange Refractor – #’d to 25
Black Refractor – #’d to 20
Red Lava Refractor – #’d to 5
SuperFractor – #’d 1-of-1
Base Uncommon Parallels
Refractor– 1:12 Packs
Checkerboard Refractor- 1:4 packs
Oil Spill Refractor- 1:316 packs
Sky Blue Refractor – #’d to 250
Purple Refractor – #’d to 200
Blue Refractor – #’d to 150
Purple Checkerboard Refractor – #’d to 99
Blue Checkerboard Refractor – #’d to 75
Green Refractor – #’d to 35
Gold Refractor – #’d to 25
Orange Refractor – #’d to 20
Black Refractor – #’d to 15
Red Lava Refractor – #’d to 5
SuperFractor – #’d 1-of-1
Base Rare Parallels
Refractor– 1:48 Packs
Checkerboard Refractor- 1:12 packs
Oil Spill Refractor- 1:790 packs
Sky Blue Refractor – #’d to 150
Purple Refractor – #’d to 125
Blue Refractor – #’d to 99
Purple Checkerboard Refractor – #’d to 75
Blue Checkerboard Refractor – #’d to 49
Green Refractor – #’d to 25
Gold Refractor – #’d to 20
Orange Refractor – #’d to 15
Black Refractor – #’d to 10
Red Lava Refractor – #’d to 3
SuperFractor – #’d 1-of-1
This pattern, moving from more common to increasingly scarce, holds for all color parallels within each tier. However, the specific increments might vary to fit the overall design and rarity scheme. Gold refractors, for instance, follow this decrement pattern: #’d to 50 in Common, #’d to 25 in Uncommon, and #’d to 20 in Rare.
