A big 1/1 without a big 1/1 price? Yep, thanks to Topps wall art

Pulling a 1/1 card isn't as hard as it used to be these days, but finding a cool trivial piece that is a 1/1 -- but isn't -- isn't all that easy.

(Wait, what?)

Well, it isn't that easy on the cheap, but this collector managed to pull it off thanks to the Topps wall art line and the fact that these are a little more overlooked vs. the standard cardboard despite being a much bigger deal.

My recent addition? An Ozzie Albies 2018 Topps Heritage Rookie Card -- just jumbo-style.

I'm not sure how many standard-size Albies I've pulled from the countless Heritage packs I've killed this year -- organization of it all is scheduled for sometime in 2023 -- but this is one card where I've set them all aside (somewhere) for inspection at some point since I like this simple piece of cardboard enough to get one graded. Why? He's a non-traditional young slugger right now and that's interesting to me considering he's not the formulaic 6-foot-2, 235. He's slowed since a blazing-hot start -- he's got just 16 homers now -- but he's still in the Top 10 this season and perhaps No. 1 in the most-unlikely to be found there. (His career high before this season? Nine at Triple-A Gwinnett last year -- and that was an anomaly of a season.)

In a recent wave of new wall art, I noticed that Topps had started using premium prices for the obvious hot rookies -- charging a little more because they can (and probably helping subsidize a lot of the work that goes into offering cards of guys who won't sell a thing all year long) -- and Albies was one of those premium rookies. I often pick off wall art of a certain few players at the end of a season when the sale prices kick in, so this new pricing development for a player I'd been watching wasn't good. But then I looked up this one and noticed it was still standard price ($24.99) with its 1/1 Gold ($99.99) still available, too. Perhaps it's because this one is a dual-player card and you have to search a little harder to find it (filtering by brand and team) vs. just searching for a name. I figured now might be that time on this one if it changes.

Now, about that whole 1/1 thing? Well, from what I've seen the serial-numbering on these pieces is essentially print-to-order where if you're the first to order on the first day than you typically get card No. 1. (That was the case for all I purchased for my player in the past except for one -- and that still burns as it doesn't match the rest.) So when this one arrived? Well, I got a fun surprise if you know your Braves uniform numbers.

This Albies jumbo (1/99) matches his uniform number (No. 1) out on the field. I know many collectors bemoan the whole "eBay 1/1" world, but I'm definitely in the camp that a uniform number is absolutely one of those numbers that matters a little bit more than the rest.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com