All Fired Up

 Excuse me if I'm more than a little excited but Friday's visit to the LCS has me all fired up. In a good way.

After being told how much the stack of Chipper Jones cards and a handful of '54 Topps cards would be, the owner asked if I wanted to look at anything else. My initial response was "no"- until a stack of Chippers in the showcase caught my attention. Thinking there's probably nothing in there that I would want, I went against my better judgement and thumbed through them. Boy, was I glad to prove myself wrong. In the stack was this gem:

 

I had seen R&N China Porcelain Topps listed somewhere before but had never actually seen one, let alone know that a Chipper "card" existed. The fact that it appeared to be signed added to the excitement. After a quick search, I realized these did not come with autographed versions (nor was it a facsimile), so it was either signed in person or it's a forge; hopefully the former. I still had shop credit and he was offering me $20 off the asking price. How could I refuse?

ABOUT R&N CHINA PORCELAIN TOPPS

Produced primarily in the early to mid-1990s, R&N China manufactured these porcelain cards under official license from Topps. The concept was to replicate well-known Topps baseball cards – often iconic rookie cards or cards of legendary players – onto a ceramic medium. This gave the cards a tangible weight and a glossy, durable finish unlike anything else in the hobby at the time. Beyond single player highlights, R&N China produced various series, including "Heroes of Baseball" and "Rookie Reprints."

Many R&N China Topps cards were produced in limited quantities, often hand-numbered on the card itself or an accompanying certificate of authenticity. This scarcity can add to their appeal for certain collectors.

Some of these porcelain cards were sold individually, while others were part of curated sets, occasionally presented in collector's boxes. Companies like The Hamilton Collection were known distributors for some series.