Buzz Break: 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team cards

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team & Hopefuls cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery of highlights for what was in this one.

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 181
Base US set completion: 
48 of 48 (100 percent)
Base USA set completion: 
45 of 45 (100 percent)
Duplicates (both sets): 37

Inserts & short-prints: 48
Commemorative Insignia (1) – Shani Davis (/50)
Lindsey Vonn Career Milestones (2) – Lindsey Vonn
For Pride & Country (4) – Keith Gabel, Aja Evans, Jard Goldberg, Madison Hubbell
For Pride & Country U.S. Flag parallel (1) – Erin Hamlin (/99)
Did You Know? (8) – Long-track Speedskating, Snowboarding, Freestyle Skiing, Alpine Skiing, Figure Skating, Skeleton, Bobsled, Curling
Podium Image Variation (1) – Erin Hamlin (card numbering notes these)
Gold parallel (both sets) (1) – Adam Rippon (/25)
Silver parallel (both sets) (6) – Chloe Kim, Danelle Umstead, Jeremy Abbott, Aja Evans, Karen Chen, Evan Bates
Bronze parallel (both sets) (24) – Chloe Kim, John Daly (both), Meryl Davis, Shani Davis, Gracie Gold, Adam Rippon, Heather Bergsma, Alex Shibutani, Devin Logan, Steven Nyman, Declan Farmer, Julia Mancuso, Elana Meyers Taylor (both), Vincent Zhou (both), Jamie Greubel Poser, Jon Lillis, Brittany Bowe, Charlie White, Madison Hubbell, Zachary Donohue, Madison Hubbell

Autographs/Memorabilia: 3
Autograph (1) – Zachary Donohue (/30)
U.S. Flag Autograph parallel (1) – Meryl Davis (/25)
Relic (1) – John Daly (/99)

What's Buzz-worthy: With the Olympics this year postponed and the Topps cardboard to go with it not happening (for now), I figured this one's appearance in the big sale would make this one worth a rip. Why? Not so much the news developments for more competitions or cardboard -- though both do put more emphasis on past stuff for collectors -- but rather the box price and what these can deliver. The was a solid box -- it gets an A+ out of me -- with three low-volume hits (one a parallel version), a commemorative Relic also on the rarer side, two more numbered cards and a variation in the mix. It was similar to my previous box break back when this one arrived but even better -- and it's also an A+ box that can be topped as there are some signers here who will pay for your box and more if you land them. (Chloe Kim autos, for example, are around $150.) ... As said before, this is an interesting one with essentially two base sets (US-# and USA-#) that are loosely portraits and action photos but you can't really limit them to just that. They're not the same size, either, (not parallels) in this Hobby-only product, and there were no blasters this time -- so there's not as much of it to go around compared to some of the Topps sets that came before it. If you're a flipper, this one could be a money-maker, too, at times at its present low price. Not all autos will get the price of a box back, but a lot of the signers here don't appear elsewhere and you never know when a collector might be looking for a rarer card from somebody here and hadn't seen it since arrival. If you want to add some unique stuff to an autograph collection, this kind of a product is a no-brainer.

Product Grade: A-
Box Grade: A+
Fun Grade: A-

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