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A Comprehensive Guide To 2023 Topps Heritage Error Cards And Variations

2023 topps heritage error cards

The 22nd edition of Topps’ Heritage Series drew inspiration from the iconic 1974 Topps set design.

Anyone who’s ever owned a pack of Heritage knows that Topps’ annual Heritage series attempts to bridge the gap between the past and present by using old iconic designs.

For the 2023 set, this goes beyond mere reproductions and even features intentional errors from the main set. This means tons of 2023 Topps Heritage variations and error cards.

Better quality control practices have all but relegated the concept of error cards to the realm of rarity. However, Topps Heritage remains the captivating exception to this trend.

These “mostly” deliberate errors are a throwback to the days when poor-quality control practices and the unpredictabilities of printing presses added an element of surprise to each card.

This article shall review all the 2023 Topps Heritage variations and error cards. We’ll discuss how these error cards add charm to the Topps Heritage Series and their value.

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2023 Topps Heritage

The Topps Heritage Series is a revered staple in baseball trading cards. Launched in 2001, Heritage annually celebrates Topps’s rich baseball history. The 2023 Topps Heritage throws it back 50 years into the past.

It showcases current stars, emerging rookies, and legends on cards featuring and inspired by the Topps 1974 design. Lovers of the 1974 Topps design will likely find enjoyment in this 500-card base set.

As is the norm with Heritage, there are also short prints with the final 100 cards (#401 – 500) combined to land at 1:3 packs.

Bryce Harper 2023 Topps Heritage

The checklist includes many of the same subset themes, including All-Stars, League Leaders, Rookie Stars, and Post Season Highlights. Topps adds a modern spin to 100 selected Chrome version cards.

Base card chrome

One hundred of the most collectible cards get the CHROME treatment. Limited Parallels

  • Refractor – #’d to 574
  • Silver Parallel – #’d to 374
  • Black Bordered – #’d to 74
  • Gold Bordered – #’d to 5 HOBBY EXCLUSIVE
  • Superfractor – #’d 1 of 1
  • Hot Box Refractor – HOBBY AND VALUE BOX EXCLUSIVES.

2023 Topps Heritage Guide to variations and error cards

There are seven different types of 2023 Topps Heritage variations, as noted on the 2023 Topps Heritage checklist. These are;

  • Image Variations
  • Error Variations
  • Throwback Uniform Variations
  • Nickname Variations
  • Name-Position Swap Variations
  • Black & White Variations
  • Rookie Short Prints

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Riley Greene 2023 Topps Heritage

2023 Topps Heritage Variations and Errors: A guide to image variations

These are the most common 2023 Topps Heritage variations. This variation is a simple traditional photo swap. The main picture is swapped with a different one.

In previous Heritage sets, these meant close-up portraits and posed shots to mimic the original sets. However, action shots were already commonplace in 1974, which this set draws inspiration from.

It can be pretty tricky to spot this variation. However, the bottom left corner on the reverse side will tell you what it is.

  • 5 Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angeles
  • 7 Adley Rutschman – Baltimore Orioles RC
  • 17 Bryce Harper – Philadelphia Phillies
  • 18 Julio Rodríguez – Seattle Mariners
  • 19 Nolan Gorman – St. Louis Cardinals RC
  • 20 Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angeles
  • 30 Michael Harris II – Atlanta Braves RC
  • 48 Riley Greene – Detroit Tigers RC
  • 64 Gunnar Henderson – Baltimore Orioles RC
  • 95 Garrett Mitchell – Milwaukee Brewers RC
  • 96 Drew Waters – Kansas City Royals RC
  • 97 Vaughn Grissom – Atlanta Braves RC
  • 110 Christopher Morel – Chicago Cubs RC
  • 135 Oswaldo Cabrera – New York Yankees RC
  • 152 Aaron Judge – New York Yankees
  • 172 Bo Naylor – Cleveland Guardians RC
  • 183 Ronald Acuña Jr. – Atlanta Braves
  • 209 Corbin Carroll – Arizona Diamondbacks RC
  • 265 Brett Baty – New York Mets RC
  • 307 Paul Goldschmidt – St. Louis Cardinals
  • 315 Mookie Betts – Los Angeles Dodgers
  • 364 Juan Soto – San Diego Padres
  • 382 Óscar González – Cleveland Guardians RC
  • 388 Francisco Álvarez – New York Mets RC
  • 460 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Toronto Blue Jays

A guide to error variations in 2023 Topps Heritage

The next 2023 Topps Heritage variations we’ll consider are the error variations. These errors mimic errors from the inspirational 1974 Topps set.

The most common errors are missing names, teams, and reverse negatives. It is noted as “Error” on the reverse side.

This error card has Mike Trout’s Position missing
  • 5 Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angeles
  • 7 Adley Rutschman – Baltimore Orioles RC
  • 17 Bryce Harper – Philadelphia Phillies
  • 18 Julio Rodríguez – Seattle Mariners
  • 19 Nolan Gorman – St. Louis Cardinals RC20 Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angeles
  • 30 Michael Harris II – Atlanta Braves RC
  • 48 Riley Greene – Detroit Tigers RC
  • 364 Juan Soto – San Diego Padres
  • 388 Francisco Álvarez – New York Mets RC

A guide to Name-Position Swap Variations

Aptly named, the Name-Position swap variation has the player’s position where the name should be and vice-versa. While most variations can be hard to spot, this is one of the most obvious.

In the standard base cards, the player’s name is on the bottom while their position is along the top. In the Name-Position swap 2023 Topps heritage variations, this is flipped around – name on the top and position at the bottom. It’s labeled as “Position” on the reverse of the card. These cards take the place of the more popular Color Swaps variations.

This error card has Shohei Ohtani’s position and name location swapped.
  • 5 Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angeles
  • 7 Adley Rutschman – Baltimore Orioles RC
  • 9 Luis Robert – Chicago White Sox
  • 12 Kris Bryant – Colorado Rockies
  • 14 Jazz Chisholm Jr. – Miami Marlins
  • 15 Byron Buxton – Minnesota Twins
  • 17 Bryce Harper – Philadelphia Phillies
  • 18 Julio Rodríguez – Seattle Mariners
  • 19 Nolan Gorman – St. Louis Cardinals RC
  • 20 Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angeles
  • 30 Michael Harris II – Atlanta Braves RC
  • 48 Riley Greene – Detroit Tigers RC
  • 64 Gunnar Henderson – Baltimore Orioles RC
  • 65 Simeon Woods Richardson – Minnesota Twins RC
  • 72 Javier Báez – Detroit Tigers
  • 95 Garrett Mitchell – Milwaukee Brewers RC
  • 96 Drew Waters – Kansas City Royals RC
  • 97 Vaughn Grissom – Atlanta Braves RC
  • 110 Christopher Morel – Chicago Cubs RC
  • 135 Oswaldo Cabrera – New York Yankees RC
  • 152 Aaron Judge – New York Yankees
  • 172 Bo Naylor – Cleveland Guardians RC
  • 183 Ronald Acuña Jr. – Atlanta Braves
  • 188 Cade Cavalli – Washington Nationals RC
  • 209 Corbin Carroll – Arizona Diamondbacks RC
  • 218 Christian Yelich – Milwaukee Brewers
  • 265 Brett Baty – New York Mets RC
  • 307 Paul Goldschmidt – St. Louis Cardinals
  • 315 Mookie Betts – Los Angeles Dodgers
  • 364 Juan Soto – San Diego Padres
  • 377 Freddie Freeman – Los Angeles Dodgers
  • 380 Pete Alonso – New York Mets
  • 382 Óscar González – Cleveland Guardians RC
  • 385 JJ Bleday – Miami Marlins RC
  • 388 Francisco Álvarez – New York Mets RC
  • 401 Fransicso Lindor – New York Mets
  • 460 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Toronto Blue Jays

A guide to Nickname variations in 2023 Topps Heritage

This variation is another easy one to spot. It simply takes out the player’s name and replaces it with their nickname. Some common examples are “All Rise” rather than Aaron Judge, “Sho Time” instead of Ohtani and “Millville Meteor” in place of Mike Trout.

  • 5 Mike Trout “Millville Meteor” – Los Angeles Angeles
  • 7 Adley Rutschman “Rutsch” – Baltimore Orioles RC
  • 17 Bryce Harper “Bam Bam”- Philadelphia Phillies
  • 18 Julio Rodríguez  “J-Rod”- Seattle Mariners
  • 20 Shohei Ohtani “Sho Time” – Los Angeles Angeles
  • 72 Javier Báez “El Mago” – Detroit Tigers
  • 152 Aaron Judge “All Rise” – New York Yankees
  • 364 Juan Soto “Childish Bambino” – San Diego Padres
  • 380 Pete Alonso “Polar Bear” – New York Mets
  • 460 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. “Vladdy” – Toronto Blue Jays

A guide to throwback uniform variations

This variation is a Heritage staple and a favorite of many collectors. It’s straightforward to spot as it showcases today’s stars in retro jerseys and hats worn during the original set being referenced.

With a pull odd of 1:10,469 for hobby packs, these are among the most valuable 2023 Heritage variations.

  • 10 Jonathan India – Cincinnati Reds
  • 18 Julio Rodríguez – Seattle Mariners
  • 22 Corey Seager – Texas Rangers
  • 25 Ozzie Albies – Atlanta Braves
  • 48 Riley Greene – Detroit Tigers RC
  • 71 Seiya Suzuki – Chicago Cubs
  • 72 Javier Báez – Detroit Tigers
  • 85 Bobby Witt Jr. – Kansas City Royals RC
  • 110 Christopher Morel – Chicago Cubs RC
  • 183 Ronald Acuña Jr. – Atlanta Braves
  • 194 Max Muncy – Los Angeles Dodgers
  • 267 Will Smith – Los Angeles Dodgers
  • 315 Mookie Betts – Los Angeles Dodgers
  • 371 Nelson Velázquez – Chicago Cubs RC
  • 421 Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds

2023 Topps Heritage Variations and Errors: A Guide To Black & White Variation

The Black and White variations round up the variations on the 2023 Heritage. These are the easiest to spot, as the color has been removed from the image. Of course, the card has other colorful areas, such as the banner.

The Black & White Variation shows the player photo in black and white.

2023 Topps Heritage Variations and Errors: A guide to rookie Short Prints

The 2023 Heritage also included five early MLB debuts as short prints. These are similar to the 2018 Topps Heritage, which included a Shohei Ohtani variation.

  • 35 Jordan Walker – St. Louis Cardinals RC
  • 57 Shintaro Fujinami – Oakland Athletics RC
  • 80 Kodai Senga – New York Mets RC
  • 108 Masataka Yoshida – Boston Red Sox RC
  • 282 Anthony Volpe – New York Yankees RC

How to spot 2023 Topps Heritage Baseball variations

It’s easy to spot these Heritage variation cards. The reverse of each card is clearly labeled. The labels show that the card is a variation and exactly what type of variation it is.

Only Rookie Short Prints aren’t properly labeled. Additionally, the rare, valuable cards will face the opposite direction, face down in the pack when you open them.

Knowing the 2023 Topps Heritage variation codes

Topps clearly labeling these 2023 Topps heritage variations has ensured no collector has to memorize these codes to determine whether their card is a variation.

However, for curious collectors or cards where the variation isn’t labeled, here are the CMP codes to identify each variation. The code is always located at the bottom of the reverse of each card.

  • Base (#1-400) – #531
  • Base SP (#401-500) – #550
  • Base Chrome – #551
  • Rookie Short Print Variation – #526
  • Error Variation – #565
  • Player Name Position Swap Variation – #566
  • Throwback Variation – #567
  • Image Variation – #568
  • Nickname Variation – #569

2023 Topps Heritage variations and errors pull odds

Here are the odds for both hobby and blaster packs (where available) for the 2023 Topps Heritage variations.

Error Variation:                              

Hobby – 1:2,930 packs

Blaster – 1:7,288 packs

Image Variations:                            

Hobby – 1:68 packs

Blaster – N/A

Name-Position Swap Variations:   

Hobby – 1:289 packs

Blaster – N/A

Nickname Variations:                    

Hobby – 1:1,954 packs

Blaster – 1:4,893 packs

Rookie Short Print Variations:      

Hobby – N/A

Blaster – N/A

Throwback Uniform Variations:   

Hobby – 1:10,469 packs

Blaster – 1:26,006 packs

Black & White Variations:             

Hobby – 1:205

Blaster – 1:511

Bottomline of the 2023 Topps Heritage error and variations guide

The 2023 Topps Heritage continues Topps’ Heritage nostalgic legacy. The 2023 Topps Heritage variations and errors closely mirror the errors in the 1974 Topps set with some additional twists.

In an age where strict quality control practices have almost eliminated the occurrence of error cards, these Heritage errors are a pleasant delight for collectors.

Few can deny the charm these “generated” error cards and variations evoke, taking us on a journey back to the unpredictability of card production in bygone years.

For value, any serious collector knows that Heritage isn’t a product you chase big hits in. However, it’s arguably the best product for its entry point, as you can find some value in these boxes.

Chrome cards and short prints error cards are already selling for impressive amounts, considering how much a Heritage hobby box costs. For boxes to chase big hits in, you would be best served looking at the 2023 Topps Sterling.

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Other information on error cards

John Bassey

John Bassey

John is a freelance writer and founder of WordCraft Consult, a consultancy that provides expert writing services and enhances youth engagement in reading. With six years of writing experience and over 300 clients, He has made significant contributions as a content writer for several brands, such as Tech Triangle, KBO Bikes, Dolls Magazine, and, more recently, Cardlines.

John has a Bachelor's degree in Statistics and an enduring passion for creating content.  He is  currently dedicated to nurturing WordCraft while advancing appreciation for collectibles and literature through highly informative articles. 
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