Why is the Mike Trout US175 so iconic????

[oplum29]

i was going to keep this in the Trout thread, but i was afraid it might get lost in the shuffle. if there has been a thread regarding this particular subject, then i apologize. i searched but didn't find anything specific to it.

can someone explain exactly how and why US175 became so ICONIC? because i don't get it. it's a regular card, it's not a short print, it's not numbered, it's not difficult to find in boxes, and Topps Update isn't an expensive brand.

you look at every sport, and with certain players, you can find the trail to how a card became iconic or a flagship rookie. Brady's Contenders for example, i think everybody gets that. for Hockey, the Young Guns is an iconic rookie set, and they are short printed (5-6 rookies per box), so seeing Crosby's values there makes sense. Griffey Jr had several rookies in 1989, but Upper Deck was THE card to get because UD was such a new set, a premium set, it became iconic. Canseco's 1986 Donruss Rated Rookie, the whole "RR" was a big deal. so with some cards, i get it....

but how in the world did Trout's US175 become iconic. was it media driven, like Beckett pushing that one rookie over the others and putting it on their cover? was it driven by the boards and certain influencers? or what?

how in the world did this card become iconic? i'd like to hear about it.

[ThoseBackPages]

it was a 50 cent card when you signed up for membership here.

[Archangel1775]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

it was a 50 cent card when you signed up for membership here.

I was gonna say, where the hell were you at, you had to have watched it go up with the multiple threads about Mike Trout and that card?

[larry25]

Because pump pump PUMP IT UP

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by larry25

Because pump pump PUMP IT UP

LOVE IT!

great card to own of a player that carried the hobby for a long time.

look at all the gamblers buying Bowman and Bowman Chrome MILB Insert Autos, hoping to land "the next Trout"

[Bcr]

The best baseball player of a generation with a limited number of rookie cards. It's fairly simple.

[csmtampa]

It was a card we used to protect cards while shipping out hits we got from the Value boxes that year

[rms13]

It's baseball. All the iconic cards are base. There are no iconic numbered, auto, sp cards

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by rms13

It's baseball. All the iconic cards are base. There are no iconic numbered, auto, sp cards

[KhalDrogo]

How do knowledgeable collectors have to ask this question?

[Remmons22]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

How do knowledgeable collectors have to ask this question?

I really can't think of a better response than this.

[MoreToppsPlease]

Originally Posted by rms13

It's baseball. All the iconic cards are base. There are no iconic numbered, auto, sp cards

Technically parallels are as iconic as their associated base.

But Griffey UD > Trout Update

No cards after Griffey UD will be as iconic as the Griffey UD, largely because people collected in 1989.

[hermanotarjeta]

It’s not iconic.

It’s simply a card for baseball investors/graders/flippers who couldn’t afford to get his 2009 bowman chrome draft auto or just simply missed out.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

It’s not iconic.

It’s simply a card for baseball investors/graders/flippers who couldn’t afford to get his 2009 bowman chrome draft auto or just simply missed out.

wrong

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

wrong

My bad, I forgot to mention the poor rookie card logo collectors.

[towerymt]

Money.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

It’s not iconic.

It’s simply a card for baseball investors/graders/flippers who couldn’t afford to get his 2009 bowman chrome draft auto or just simply missed out.

/thread

[DaveedTO]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

It’s not iconic.

It’s simply a card for baseball investors/graders/flippers who couldn’t afford to get his 2009 bowman chrome draft auto or just simply missed out.

BINGO!

[ObanMontecristo]

…there was this decade called the 2010’s, when the hobby got popular again and Trout was the best player in baseball….

[oplum29]

Originally Posted by ObanMontecristo

…there was this decade called the 2010’s, when the hobby got popular again and Trout was the best player in baseball….

yeah i get that. i know that. but of all his rookies, short prints, autographs, how did THIS one become THE card? why this one? why not Bowman, or BC, or Sterling, or Finest. why this one? because it's Topps?

again, it's not short printed, it's not numbered, it's not from an expensive brand, it's from Topps Updated Series.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by oplum29

but of all his rookies

List them to help find your answer.

Iconic cards are rarely short prints, autos, etc... There need to be enough of them for every collector to realistically open packs for them before they grow to iconic status.

It's hard to imagine how someone who has been in the hobby very long even has to ask this question.

[oplum29]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

List them to help find your answer.

Iconic cards are rarely short prints, autos, etc... There need to be enough of them for every collector to realistically open packs for them before they grow to iconic status.

It's hard to imagine how someone who has been in the hobby very long even has to ask this question.

it's not hard to imagine, it's a legit question.

some players have one rookie, you don't have a choice. some have a couple of rookies, but not short printed. and then some have rookies who have short printed, autographed, premiere brands, and yet, of all Trout's rookies...it was the regular BASE version of Topps Updated that went bonkers. this isn't a $25 card, it's worth in the hundreds raw...

from the list i found, he's got a total of 7 true rookie cards:

Bowman Chrome
Bowman Draft
Bowman Sterling
Finest
Contenders- (not MLB licensed)
Playoff Prime Cuts- (not MLB licensed)
Topps Update

you talk economics, supply and demand....again, this cards isn't short printed. isn't difficult to find, and isn't from an expensive brand. it's a regular card.

Topps is a regular brand, it's the staple of baseball cards. it's not a higher end brand like Finest for example.

that's why i'm asking, why exactly THIS card became THE card to collect. what makes it so special?

[DynaEtch]

Originally Posted by oplum29

yeah i get that. i know that. but of all his rookies, short prints, autographs, how did THIS one become THE card? why this one? why not Bowman, or BC, or Sterling, or Finest. why this one? because it's Topps?

Base Topps rookies tend to be the go-to for base RCs, this isnt surprising. Longevity, which those other brands like Finest dont have, and Topps being the 'main' baseball card set each year.

I think it's a combination of
-organic surge in value (it's not a situation of manufactured scarcity and card company stamps a card /5 to make it 'valuable'...people realize after the fact it's a desired card and go scouring old commons boxes for it).
-that there are a lot of them out there to be widely known (harder for a SSP with 10 copies to be that widely iconic)
-the hobby basically designating Trout during that decade as 'the' top dog player to get...whether totally justified or not, just how it was.
-opportunity for flippers and investors (especially to make bank off grading)
-Im surprised this hasnt even been mentioned ITT to this point, but I'll also say the visual of the card itself (which can have something to do with iconic-ness): the close up of Trout batting, it's a grabbing pose. The above par design of 2011 Topps, especially compared to other bland Topps designs of the time.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by DynaEtch

Base Topps rookies tend to be the go-to for base RCs, this isnt surprising. Longevity, which those other brands like Finest dont have, and Topps being the 'main' baseball card set each year.

I think it's a combination of
-organic surge in value (it's not a situation of manufactured scarcity and card company stamps a card /5 to make it 'valuable'...people realize after the fact it's a desired card and go scouring old commons boxes for it).
-that there are a lot of them out there to be widely known (harder for a SSP with 10 copies to be that widely iconic)
-the hobby basically designating Trout during that decade as 'the' top dog player to get...whether totally justified or not, just how it was.
-opportunity for flippers and investors (especially to make bank off grading)
-Im surprised this hasnt even been mentioned ITT to this point, but I'll also say the visual of the card itself (which can have something to do with iconic-ness): the close up of Trout batting, it's a grabbing pose. The above par design of 2011 Topps, especially compared to other bland Topps designs of the time.

I think a big part of Trout's 2011 Topps Update US175 popularity is all the parallels -- gold, black, blue (Walmart), red (Target) and the Diamond Anniversary versions (Platinum, Cognac and Hope). Prior to 2010-2011, you didn't have this many flagship parallels.

I'm not a fan of ultra-modern parallels, but this was one example of them making sense.

[oplum29]

Originally Posted by DynaEtch

Base Topps rookies tend to be the go-to for base RCs, this isnt surprising. Longevity, which those other brands like Finest dont have, and Topps being the 'main' baseball card set each year.

I think it's a combination of
-organic surge in value (it's not a situation of manufactured scarcity and card company stamps a card /5 to make it 'valuable'...people realize after the fact it's a desired card and go scouring old commons boxes for it).
-that there are a lot of them out there to be widely known (harder for a SSP with 10 copies to be that widely iconic)
-the hobby basically designating Trout during that decade as 'the' top dog player to get...whether totally justified or not, just how it was.
-opportunity for flippers and investors (especially to make bank off grading)
-Im surprised this hasnt even been mentioned ITT to this point, but I'll also say the visual of the card itself (which can have something to do with iconic-ness): the close up of Trout batting, it's a grabbing pose. The above par design of 2011 Topps, especially compared to other bland Topps designs of the time.

fantastic post! thank you!

these are the posts i enjoy reading here at BO. good one DynaEtch.