2003 Topps Pristine Factor Bat Relics

Set size: 15 cards

Front Design: The shiny Finest-like card front has a horizontal foil-etched pattern of blue lines that fades into a black border. A photo of the player is placed over the blue lines, with the set name, player's name and position in white over the black bottom border. The bat piece is contained in the "O" from the set name.

Back Design: The set name is repeated at the top, with a cropped blue-tinted version of the front photo placed in the O. The player's name and "factor" (highlight/reason) for appearing in the set follows, succeeded by the "authentic bat" notification. The card number is in a red box in the lower-left corner.

Parallels and Similars: There is a refractor parallel of the set, serial numbered to 25 copies.

Distribution: Pristine Factor bat relics were inserted 1:9 packs of 2003 Topps Pristine, a high-end release that focused mainly on uncirculated cards..

Thoughts: The cards appear to be made from the same card stock and printing processes seen in the Finest line. The background reminds me of a TV with no reception, but it's a fairly clean design. The photos on Pristine always appear plastic and two-dimensional, partly due to the card stock and partly due to the lack of context background to add some depth to the photo. Alex Rodriguez, Mike Piazza, and Nomar Garciaparra are the standouts in the checklist, making this a fairly simple relic set to collect, if it your style of design.

2004 Topps Pristine Refractors

Set size: 190 standard-sized cards, issued in "uncirculated" form (in a hard case sealed with a Topps sticker)

Front Design: A player image appears over a background containing his name and a 3D-styled track design.

Back Design: The backs contain a black and white photo, player name and position, prior-year and career statistics, vital stats, and a career biography, integrated with the same 3D track design from the front.

Parallels and Similars: This set is a parallel of the regular Topps Pristine issue, and a gold refractor version also exists. These refractors are labeled as such, and the gold refractors are labeled as well as deckle edge-cut.

Distribution: Pristine was released in an interesting tri-pack configuration. Each tri-pack contains one uncirculated card - this could be a refractor or one of a number of low-numbered relic or autograph parallels. The regular refractors are most-likely pulls, though gold refractors appear one per box. Veteran refractors (cards 1-100) are serial numbered to 49. First year players were more complicated, each with three cards in the set. For instance, Howie Kendrick appears on cards 125 (common), 126 (uncommon), and 127 (rare). Refractors were limited based on the rarity of the card - common refractors numbered to 999, uncommon to 399, and rare to 49.

Thoughts: The Pristine sets came out at the height of the grading craze, and several Topps sets were released with "uncirculated" versions. In the end, the holders protect the card but for collectors who don't want holders it means sacrificing the integrity of the card. I've had cases where the stickers have partially come off, which would allow me to access the card and reseal the sticker. The set is one of the unremarkable upper-tier money makers that most collectors won't remember, and the common/uncommon/rare concept must have been developed to permit a large number of rookie cards to be included in packs while still providing a chance at rarity. I've never been excited about the Pristine concept or its design.

Additional Images: Card back: