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A flip stock baseball card is a parallel card where the stock is reversed and printed on opposite sides. That is, the typical glossy front finish is on the back of the card, and the rougher vintage cardboard feel from the back is on the front. (Thus, the card stock is “flipped.”)
Flip stock cards are usually found in Topps Heritage products, and are not only rare, but also hard to spot given the cards themselves look identical to their base counterparts, but with the stock reversed.
My first Topps Heritage flip stock. Subtle but still awesome. /5 pic.twitter.com/TrpOnKKfee
— oldman28guy (@oldman28guy) March 21, 2023
This is always a good time to refresh and remind ourselves that while opening packs of cards is the ultimate enjoyment, some of the most valuable cards from Heritage might be lurking! So, you want to give yourself the best chance of finding those great cards by being informed ahead of time, and especially double-checking any big stars and rookies, just in case.
Just how rare and valuable are we talking?
Well, each flip stock is /5 and 1:1,007 hobby odds. Here are some recent sales:
- 2023 Heritage Flip Stock Aaron Judge $165
- 2023 Heritage Flip Stock Wander Franco $105
- 2023 Heritage Flip Stock Pete Alonso $120
Honestly, for being /5 I’d expect even higher prices, but the fact that the card doesn’t look different is probably a contributing factor.
It’s a similar situation with 2023 Topps Series 1 most valuable cards and the best rookies from Series 2—vintage stock and advanced stat parallels and really difficult to spot if you’re not looking for them.
2020 Topps: Corey Seager – Vintage Stock (#/99)
— #StackTown Sports Cards (@stacktowncards) June 9, 2023
$14 pic.twitter.com/VIW7Hc96Dr
(Briefly, vintage stock parallels have a different Topps logo on the front of the card and are printed on a rougher stock, while advanced stat parallels have the same front of the card as their base counterparts, but a different back with “advanced stats.”)
So, all in all, pay attention! You might only pull something like this once or a couple of times in your life, so be sure to double check before one slips through the cracks.
