The Most Unexpected Signee in Topps Allen & Ginter's 2026 Baseball Card Set Is Abraham Lincoln
The autograph was cut from an original document and joins a 51-card run that includes Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.
Summary
2026 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball includes a one-of-one card containing an authentic Abraham Lincoln signature
The autograph was removed from an original signed document, authenticated, and set into the card rather than signed directly on it
Lincoln is part of the set's Cut Signatures run, where every card exists as a single copy
2026 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball includes one of the most unusual chase cards of the season: a one-of-one card built around a genuine Abraham Lincoln signature.
The card is made differently from a standard autograph. Lincoln obviously couldn’t sign a 2026 trading card, so Topps uses a method called a cut signature. A genuine autograph is carefully removed from a historical item, such as a letter, legal document, or check, and then embedded into the card. Topps says these signatures are sourced from original materials and authenticated before insertion, so the card holds a real piece of the 16th president’s handwriting rather than a reproduction.
Lincoln’s card is part of a 51-card Cut Signatures checklist, and every card in it is numbered one of one. The run leans on baseball history, with names like Babe Ruth and Willie Mays, alongside historical figures such as Lincoln and Winston Churchill. The rest of the set is built for broader collecting. It includes a 300-card base set, Signature Minis with rare Chrome and Metal parallels, and limited-edition Rip Cards. Those are cards collectors can tear open to reveal a second card sealed inside.
This isn’t the first time Topps has featured Lincoln this way. The company included a one-of-one Lincoln cut signature card in 2009, so the 2026 card returns to an idea the company has used before.
The Allen & Ginter name has its own history. The brand takes its look from 19th-century tobacco cards, originally produced by a Richmond, Virginia, tobacco company as collectible inserts in cigarette packs in the late 1880s. It kept the vintage styling and small card format that collectors associate with that era.
Lincoln also has an unexpected link to baseball. During the 1860 presidential race, a Currier & Ives political cartoon showed Lincoln and his rivals as ballplayers, with Lincoln holding a bat after beating them at “the national game.” It’s a small historical coincidence, but it makes his presence in a baseball set a little less random than it seems. The card is ultimately a historical artifact inside a sports product, and collectors will value it for both.
The 2026 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball arrives October 7 online, with pre-orders open now.
