2003 Topps Chrome Series 2 Silver Refractors

[TpocketT]

Does anyone have any particular insight about these cards as far as print run and or potential value? It appears like the population is extremely small - there are 0 copies of the ken griffey jr. silver refractor in PSA and BGS pop reports, and I have discovered that I have one. Only looks like 27 silver refractors have ever been graded by PSA. They are not numbered. Zero sales on a KGJ on eBay in the last year. Only about 10 or so other silver refractor sales through eBay in the last year, in fact.

It sounds like these were a retail-only redemption. Seems like this may be one of the most scarce KGJ refractors there is?

http://baseballcardpedia.com/index.php/2003_Topps_Chrome#Silver_Refractors

[towerymt]

This might explain it?

http://baseballcardpedia.com/index.php/2003_Topps_Chrome

All 220 Series Two base cards were available in a retail-exclusive Silver Refractor. Unfortunately, all Silver Refractors packed out as redemptions. Each redemption card featured a number on the front which represented the card in the set that one would receive in exchange for mailing in the card. These cards expired May 31st, 2005.

The redemption cards were not returned to the sender once mailed in. While there was no official print run on these, the retail-only redemption distribution made these scarce.

[Hollywood42]

The only context I have on this is what I came across while working on rainbow of the the Mauer/Morneau card from this set, which was also in Series 2. So this is somewhat anecdotal as a result, but maybe it will help with some context. But over the past 2ish years I had been hunting really hard for copies of the black refractor /199 and the Xfractor /57 to complete my rainbow (already had the others including the silver), and both the black and Xfractor took a long time to pop up

The blacks have been easier to find, as you'd image with a nearly 4x print run than the Xfractor, but there was still a long stretch of months where none were popping up. And the Xfractor took a really long time for one to surface, and then when one finally did, I couldn't pay up for it. I was lucky enough to be able to land the Xfractor (as well as the black) earlier this year, but I think I only ever saw those 2 Xfractor copies in the ~2 years I had been really hunting. A handful more blacks appeared in that time

During that time, numerous silver refractors had popped up. I wasn't counting them since I already had a copy, but they were certainly popping more than copies of the blacks or Xfractors. The silvers weren't all over the place by any means, but they weren't that hard to find either. Completed eBay listings show 3 different copies of the Mauer/Morneau sold since September, with the non-PWCC listings going for $20 and $40. In contract, I paid $100 for my black refractor, and a little over $200 for my Xfractor. Both those purchases were this past summer. I can also share that I paid $15 for a gold refractor /449 and $16 for my silver, both in spring 2020

Obviously a big difference between the silver and the black/Xfractor are that the silver isn't numbered, so nobody knows exactly how many are out there. The Xfractors, which again took a long time for me to track down a copy of and have rarely surfaced, were inserted 1 per hobby box. Unfortunately the odds for the silver redemption cards aren't known, but based on the info in BB Card Pedia, it seems like it's possible they could be scarcer? However that doesn't at all align with what I had noticed while hunting the Mauer/Morneau, the silver is not that hard to find, the black /199 is a little tough, and the Xfractor /57 is very tough

Hope that context for at least one other card from the set helps

[Hollywood42]

I'll also list BO member tkraft24 as another potential resource for information here. He is the absolute man for Indians refractors and I've talked to him about this set in passing before. I seem to remember that a copy of the silver of the Brandon Phillips/Victor Martinez was hard for him to find. He might be able to share some more context on how difficult that was to find in relation to some of the other parallels for his Indians collection

[TpocketT]

I'll also list BO member tkraft24 as another potential resource for information here. He is the absolute man for Indians refractors and I've talked to him about this set in passing before. I seem to remember that a copy of the silver of the Brandon Phillips/Victor Martinez was hard for him to find. He might be able to share some more context on how difficult that was to find in relation to some of the other parallels for his Indians collection

Thanks man, super helpful! I did notice the Mauer selling more than once in the last year. Turns out I have a copy of that silver too (and black!). Looking at for sale now though, there does seem to be a decent # of other silvers listed on ebay, including a chipper - will be watching that to see what it goes for, if it sells.

[bigunitcards]

I've only seen 1 Silver RJ come up for sale in the past 8 years. Doesn't seem to be much understanding of the rarity of these for marquee players, I won it at auction for like $15 but was willing to go $100+ because there are just none out there. Nearly the same story on the Black /199, inexplicably few pop up for a print run that high.

https://sportscardalbum.com/c/6ufsk1gpx250.jpg (https://sportscardalbum.com/card/6ufsk1gp)

[66_Fiat]

Is "Silver" slang for refractor? Is this a bleedover term from the BK forum?

[bigunitcards]

Is "Silver" slang for refractor? Is this a bleedover term from the BK forum?

No, 2003 was a blue bordered card and so was the base refractor. These Silver Refractors actually had a silver border.

[mjohnatgt]

https://img.comc.com/i/Baseball/2003/Topps-Chrome---Base---Silver-Refractor/412/AJ-Pierzynski.jpg?id=ec7fe53a-5edf-4590-b78c-b8720fc19845&size=original&side=back (https://www.comc.com/Cards/Baseball/2003/Topps_Chrome_-_Base_-_Silver_Refractor/412/AJ_Pierzynski/15303418)
2003 Topps Chrome - [Base] - Silver Refractor #412 - A.J. Pierzynski
Courtesy of COMC.com (https://www.comc.com)

And their backs specifically state they are Silver.

[theplasticman]

These are tough. I finally found an Erstad about 2 years ago.