Topps Project 2020 surpasses half-million cards sold (so far) with this Griffey a record-setter ... what's its key to success?

The Topps Project 2020 baseball card of Ken Griffey Jr. that you see here has obliterated the sales records for the company's online offering of 20 memorable baseball cards re-imagined by 20 different artists.

This creation from artist Keith Shore -- a re-do of Junior's 1989 Topps Traded Rookie Card -- sold a record 99,177 copies in just two days, obliterating the previous high of 34,950 sold for one of the Mike Trout cards earlier this spring. (See all past cards in the series here.)

With today's numbers finally revealed, the overall volume of cards sold in this ongoing series has surpassed the half-million mark (650,102) less than a fourth of the way into its release -- two cards are offered every weekday via Topps.com until all 400 are done. Meanwhile, the re-sale prices on a number of these cards have reached into the thousands of dollars (despite having an original price of just $19.99) -- and that's left people pondering the possibilities of what happens when pop art meets the pop of the bat.

It doesn't hurt here that artists are often their own best marketers, right?

"Absolutely. The goal of Project 2020 was to appeal to the fans of the artists," said Jeff Heckman, Topps' Director of E-commerce. "Therefore the social media presence of the artist was an important factor in choosing the artist. We wanted the artists to have fun with the Project and engage with their community. So far, the engagement and interactions with the artists has been amazing."

Heckman fielded a number of other questions about Project 2020 ... keep reading for an exclusive Q&A.

Project 2020 launched with this Ichiro Suzuki card by Ben Baller on March 25. It sold just 1,334 copies.

How long was this idea in the works?
"It came together at the end of last summer. The team was working to brainstorm new ways to expand our online business. I have always been fascinated with how sneaker and fashion collaborations tapped into new markets for these brands like Nike, Adidas, Louis Vuitton, etc. Our goal on Topps.com is to constantly look to find new audiences for trading cards or reconnect with lapsed collectors. With 2020 being the start of a new decade and Topps celebrating the best cards throughout the decades, I thought we could highlight these milestones on Topps.com. Therefore, we decided to let artists reimagine 20 of our most iconic Topps baseball cards."

This 2011 Mike Trout by Ermsy sold 2,911 copies -- the first Trout card in the series. 

Was finding the artists a challenge? Or were there a lot of options?
"It wasn’t an easy process. We have worked with some artists in the past but nothing on this scale. We started with a group of artists/designers that we liked and who had worked with companies on similar collaborations. We had our partners at MLB help us with some of the introductions. It took several months to finalize the list. There were some artists who were tied up with other projects and it didn’t fit into their schedule. Once the new year started, we started to get agreements signed with a number of artists. The last agreement we signed was at the end of February."

The first Ken Griffey Jr. card for Project 2020 came from by King Saladeen and sold just 2,504 copies.

What considerations were made for having a mix of varying visual styles?
"We wanted to find a unique group of artists that could bring their own approach to the cards. I don’t think that we intentionally looked to find such a great mix of artistic styles, but we are fortunate to have such amazing, unique and diverse artists working on these cards. I know that it is a lot of fun for the team working on Project 2020 to see the artwork the artists send to us prior to launch. It is really incredible and inspiring to see the final artwork for the first time."

This Ben Baller take on Mike Trout's 2011 Topps Update RC had been the record-holder at 34,950 sold.

The half-million cards sold mark has been hit … has this one exceeded expectations?
"Absolutely. I probably had the highest expectations for what Project 2020 could become and it has far exceeded my wildest expectations in two months. In the beginning, we were very unsure how the program would perform as the pandemic hit right when we were trying to launch the product. We cancelled a kick-off event and delayed the launch a week. However we knew the art was really incredible and everything was based around the year 2020, so we decided to move forward at the end of March. Everyone at Topps has been thrilled with the response to Project 2020. MLB was excited for this program early on and we had a number of events planned with them throughout the year to promote it. It is possible we may still be able to have some the events later in the fall if the situation improves."

Derek Jeter's debut in the series came via King Saladeen and came with more attention -- 9,873 sold.

Sale highs seem to be for more modern players — was that expected? Does it lean itself toward a second Project? (The world needs a 20-artist take on the “bat down” Ronald Acuña Jr. card ... )
"I had a good feeling that Jeter, Trout and Griffey would be very popular based on their standing in the hobby. We don’t have any plans to repeat Project 2020 with modern players next year. However, we are working on new art-based concepts where modern players would be featured more prominently."

Rickey Henderson's card from Blake Jamieson sold 3,819 copies.

We’re only a fourth of the way into the checklist ... are there any surprises to come printing-wise?
"In terms of the cards, we don’t have any surprises planned at this point. The artists are the ones who come up with the surprises. The artwork has been amazing since we started and it has only gotten better as the Project has unfolded. I know that the artists have told me how much fun they have had working on Project 2020 during these unprecedented and challenging times. I think that has been reflected in the quality and evolution of the artwork."

Sophia Chang's take on Ichiro Suzuki's 2001 Topps Rookie Card sold 6,207 copies.

With the success of this series, would we see the pieces revisited as larger wall art like Topps Living Set lithos?
"Yes, I think this is likely to happen closer to the holiday season. We are working through the logistics right now."

Ben Baller's Rickey Henderson card celebrated some hometown ties and sold 15,741 copies.

Any other thoughts you’d like to add?
"It is hard to describe how amazing the response has been to Project 2020. It is incredible to see so many different communities come together to discuss, interact and collect these cards. There are a lot of hobby collectors buying the cards but it has brought new audiences into the trading card community. It has been a fun ride and I can’t wait for the next few months."

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>> TO SEE STATS ON ALL PROJECT 2020 CARDS AND A FULL CHECKLIST AND GALLERY CLICK HERE <<

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