Rarest Allen & Ginter Card Surfaces

I do believe that the DNA relic of the Wooly Mammoth is the rarest card from 2008 Topps Allen & Ginter. I know the card had its own lettered tier in the DNA relics.

For a few thousand, it can be yours.

Personally, if I wanted some wooly mammoth hair, I would hit up this guy for $7.95.

The seller tells us that he thought the card would be another Paul Konerko jersey card. Understandable considering the odds on the card are 1:264,312 packs.

The Abe Lincoln DNA relic is also currently on eBay.

Others included in this year's Allen & Ginter DNA Relic set are:

-Alexander Hamilton
-Andrew Jackson
-Carcharodontosaurus
-Charles Dickens
-Meteorite
-John Adams
-John F. Kennedy
-Jacqueline Kennedy
-King Edward VII
-Ludwig van Beethoven
-Megalodon
-Ronald Reagan


Please notice the lack of actual baseball players. They didn't even include any sports figures.

Starting last year with three George Washington hair cards that got notoriety in the card world after the first was pulled from eBay, Topps may have started the next big thing. The DNA relic concept is a novel idea, and I give Topps credit for it, but why haven't they really made an effort to acquire DNA relics of legendary baseball players like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle or Jim Thorpe?

I suppose they are trying to get some historical memorabilia collectors to join the baseball card world, but I don't see how someone who collects old guns and other pieces of US history will be interested in a new baseball card release except for these cards. Just because Abe Lincoln was a fifth cousin twice removed from someone's family doesn't mean they want all the Raul Ibanez and Ivan Rodriguez cards that will come with a box of Allen & Ginter they buy trying to get some of Lincolns cards. All that person is going to do is go on eBay and bid on the Lincoln cards. No aviation buff or shark extraordinaire is planning on buying packs of Allen & Ginter in hopes of pulling a card from their area of expertise.

I know that the original Allen & Ginter cards weren't just of baseball players, but in today's market, the idea of non-baseball sets has been overdone to the max and is showing no signs of letting up.

Here's to hoping Topps at least produces some sports related DNA relics in 2009.