Got a penny?

About a month ago, Matt of Diamond Jesters wondered in one of his repack haikus whether anyone has ever scratched the back off a 2013 Topps Heritage card.

2013 Topps Heritage is an homage to 1964 Topps, which is entirely absent from my collection. However, I do have quite a few from the Heritage version of that set, and after finding a suitable duplicate (actually a triple), I decided to get to scratching.

2013 Topps Heritage #245 Jordan Pacheco

You've seen this card before, which arrived via trade from Waiting 'Til Next Year. That was in April 2016, so at the time, the Cubs were still mired in their 108-year championship drought. 2016 also happens to be the last year that Jordan Pacheco appeared in the Major Leagues. As far as the image, I just uploaded it again rather than point to the same file, because Blogger's photo management tools leave a bit to be desired.

2013 Topps Heritage #245 Jordan Pacheco (Reverse)

Here's a scan of an unspoiled example. The Magic Answer is hidden in a small area of white, but if you tilt it just right under the light, you can see the answer without having to "defile" (Matt's word) your card. That isn't really any different from a thousand other baseball card products, usually of the shiny variety. 2014 Stadium Club Rainbow Foil, 1995 Select or other foil-heavy sets, 2017 Topps Gold Label, refractors from any given year in which Topps does not label a refractor under the card number, etc....

You get the idea. But let's just pretend like it's 1964 and you're not used to shiny cards that aren't quite shiny enough in just the right spot. Topps recommends rubbing a nickel or a dime in the magic area to reveal the answer.

I deviated from the recipe a little and used a penny. It reminded me of a particularly amusing moment from Band of Brothers. Anyway, I am reasonably certain that any coin will work. Heck, use a gold American Eagle if you're so inclined.

The question on Pacheco's card is, "Who were the 2012 comeback players of the year?"

I'll take Magic Answers for one cent, Alex.
 

2013 Topps Heritage #245 Jordan Pacheco (Reverse)

Thanks to our trusty 1998-D penny, we now know that Buster Posey and Fernando Rodney earned the awards in 2012. Buster Posey suffered a gruesome leg injury in 2011 that led to the rules we have today about blocking the plate. He not only recovered, but helped the Giants win the World Series in 2012, part of their even-year magic that has since subsided. Fernando Rodney also had an excellent 2012 as the Rays' closer, but he's basically my least favorite active player, so that's about all I have to say about him.

Even after being scratched, the drawing remains somewhat faint. I might be a little more interested in exploring the Magic Answers in this set if they weren't already somewhat legible under the right light, but I expect that this Pacheco card will be the only one in my collection that sees the edge of a coin.

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!