2009 MLB Artifacts

This is a retail box of 2009 MLB Artifacts. It comes with 7 packs with 5 cards per pack. One card in each pack is a "Historical Moment" card, which highlights a significant event in history that changed life as we know it. This is a highly anticipated product for the 2009 season because past sets from this brand were popular with card collectors. This box was $19.99 plus tax from Wal-mart. hopefully this review will help you decide if you would like to invest in a retail box for your own collection. If you would like a bigger box (called a "hobby box") with more packs, you can purchase one from Blowoutcards.com or DaCardWorld.com. Each of those retailers sell some boxes on Ebay also.

Pack 1:
Josh Hamilton
Chris Young
Historical Moments- X-Ray Machine
Aaron Cunningham- ROOKIE
Historical Moments (18th Ammendment Adopted)

Pack 2:
Travis Hafner
Pedro Martinez
Mike Hinkley- ROOKIE
Historical Moments- U.S. Constitution Signed
George Kottaras- ROOKIE

Pack 3:
Jacoby Ellsbury
Dan Haren
Ryan Zimmerman
Historical Moments- International Gmes Begin
Mitch Talbot- ROOKIE

Pack 4:
CC Sabathia
Justin Verlander
Chipper Jones JERSEY card (not serial numbered)
Historical Moments- Germany Leaves League

Pack 5:
Aramis Ramirez
Mariano Rivera
Historical Moments- Empire State Building Built (red insert)
Luis Valbuena- ROOKIE
Historical Moments- Golden Gate Bridge Completed

Pack 6:
Ichiro
Matt Holliday
Jake Peavy
Fernando Perez- ROOKIE
Historical Moments- New Orleans Founded

Pack 7:
Alex Rodriguez
Ian Kinsler
Kenny Rigers (Retrospective insert)
Jason Motte- ROOKIE
Historical Moments- Pilgrims Land At Plymouth

The design of the 2009 Piece of History cards are only slightly different from the 2008 Piece of History cards. The overall feel is the same and the Historical Moments inserts have hardly changed at all besides having new Historical Moments highlighted.

Overall, not a bad box. The Chipper Jones jersey card is a pretty good "hit". There were a few star cards and some decent rookie cards. It was a very balanced box and that is always very appealing. A couple of inserts kept it interesting and the Chipper Jones jersey card made it a worthwhile investment for me.

If you don't like a little bit of a gamble then you probably should not invest in retail boxes anyway. But if you like a little gamble and do not mind getting some duds every now and then, perhaps, retail boxes would be just fine for you.

If you are looking for a higher number of hits and more of a money return, definitely go buy a hobby box instead of retail. Even though I got luckey with the Chipper Jones card, not every box will have a hit. Most hobby boxes have promised hits. Good luck and I hope you get great cards!