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2011 Topps Prime Football
$10 Per 6 Card Pack
10 Packs Per Box
12 Boxes Per Case
Product Highlights
- 4 Numbered Autograph/Relic Hits In Every 10-Count Hobby Box - 1 Autograph Relic Card, 1 Autograph Rookie Card, 2 Relic Cards
- NEW Rookie Autograph JUMBO Relic Cards
- NEW Rookie Autograph Variation Cards
- NEW Rookie JUMBO Relic Cards
- NEW HOBBY EXCLUSIVE Rookie On-Card Red Zone Autographs
- HOBBY EXCLUSIVE Numbered Rookie Variation Base Cards
- HOBBY EXCLUSIVE Numbered Base Card Parallels
Product Description
AUTOGRAPH ROOKIE CARDS - 1 PER BOX!
AUTOGRAPH RELIC CARDS - 1 PER BOX!
RELIC CARDS - 2 PER BOX!
INSERT CARDS - 1 PER PACK!
What We Pulled
Base Cards
The base cards mimic the same design scheme as last year's base cards almost to a tee. A full body action shot of the player takes up the whole card, with the Topps Prime logo in the upper left corner. At the bottom is the player name and team name in silver foil, all in front of a small team-colored section. All of it is see through, so the card still retains its full body shot. The back is a simple affair, with full 2010 stats and a small blurb on the player's best statistical season. The cards are printed on thicker stock, almost comparable to the thin game used cards of the past. The simple execution of the base set is an immediate plus. The fully body shots mixed with Topps' always spectacular photography results in some great looking cards. This is especially great as most products today have overlooked base sets. Out of a possible 100 cards, we were able to pull 28. 3-4 boxes and a couple of trades should put you at a complete set.
Rookie Cards
These are the same as the base cards, with the exception of the Rookie Card logo added in the lower right corner. All rookie cards are limited to 930 copies. As been the trend with recent Topps Football products, rookie cards are located throughout the whole base set among the veterans, instead of the traditional rookies at the end of the set. Out of 50 rookies, we were only able to pull a Jeremy Kerley. Lots of trading and box breaking will be required to chase the rookies.
Parallel Cards
It is parallel cards galore in Topps Prime! Last year this product had five levels of parallels; this year Topps Prime zooms past five and lands at more than double of that. Yes, eleven different parallel levels! The only things distinguishing the base cards from all the parallels are the obvious adding of serial numbering, and the silver base foil color being different colors. Do they look nice? Well yes. Is it a little overkill? Well yes as well, but being a product that is more about hits rather than the main set and parallels, this can be overlooked. Oddly enough, the parallel levels are either veteran only or rookie only. The Veteran parallels are Light Green (unnumbered), Aqua (#ed/199), Powder Blue (#ed/75), and Prime (#ed 1/1!). The Rookie parallels are Gold (#ed/799), Blue (#ed/699), Red (#ed/599), Purple (#ed/499), Green (#ed/99), Silver Rainbow (#ed/25), and Prime (#ed 1/1!). In our box, we were able to pull 17 parallels: seven Light Green, one Powder Blue, two Gold, two Blue, two Red, two Purple, and one Green.
Insert Cards
All inserts have the same parallel levels: Gold (#ed/50), Silver Rainbow (#ed/25), and Platinum (#ed 1/1)!
Prime Rookies/Veterans
No, these aren't base cards, these are two insert sets you will find in Topps Prime. There isn't much difference between these sets and the base set, with the exception of a small design change at the bottom of the card. The difference between the Prime Rookies and Prime Veterans set is very minimal; you'll notice that the bottom design of the Prime Veterans is flipped on the Prime Rookies set, and vice versa. Uninspiring insert sets, they would've worked as a base set design though. We pulled three Prime Rookies and two Prime Veterans, including a Silver Rainbow parallel.
Dual/Triple/Quad Combos
Now these cards I like. These inserts bring together two, three, or four football players of either the same team or position. The Dual and Triple Combo cards take shots of both players, along with the player's name and position, with the product logo and team logos showcased in the middle of the card. The players are set against a sky backdrop, which make the players look imposing and larger than life. The quads take up the whole card, with a player at each corner of the card, and four team logos in the inner center of the card. I like these insert sets, they look very impressive and for a lack of a better word, "neat". We pulled two Dual Combos, two Triple Combos, and one Quad Combs.
Memorabilia Cards
As like other sets in the product, the memorabilia cards come with three parallel levels: Gold (#ed/50), Silver (#ed/25), and Prime (A Patch parallel #ed 1/1!)
Rookie Jumbo Relics
A somewhat-parallel of the Prime Rookies insert set, this set features very generous swatches of event-worn memorabilia. A near full body shot of the player, set title at the bottom of the card, and player and team name near the middle comprise the card. The product logo and the Rookie Card logo are located in the upper left corner. We pulled one of Daniel Thomas, serial numbered to 318 copies.
Dual Combo Relics
This is a complete memorabilia parallel of the Dual Combo insert. Two memorabilia swatches are in place of the team logos. We were able to pull one of the Cincinatti Bengals' new passing attack of Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, serial numbered to 398 copies.
Autograph Cards
Base Autographs
This is a parallel of the base set, with an autograph sticker applied to the front of the card. As like other sets in the product, these autograph cards come with three parallel levels: Gold (#ed/50), Silver (#ed/25), and Prime (#ed 1/1!). We pulled one of Eagles rookie RB and Kickoff Return Specialist Dion Leiws, serial numbered to 250 copies.
Autograph Relic Cards
And now we arrive at the main attraction of the product. There is one Autograph Relic Card guaranteed per box. There are 6 different levels of the set, which range from Prime I, a booklet card with six different pieces of memorabilia (Glove/Wristband/Football/Patch/Home Jersey/Away Jersey) and numbered to 10, to the basic Prime IV, a card with 2 pieces each of home and away jersey and with varying serial numbering. These cards are very impressive and will prove to be immense hits to chase and trade for. We pulled a Prime IV card of top rookie A.J. Green, serial numbered to 199 copies.
Final Thoughts
First off, the base set looks stunning. Kudos to Topps for keeping it simple. The parallels are overkill and and the insert sets (the Prime Rookies/Veterans sets in particular) are boring, but that can be forgiven. I love the Prime Rookies Autograph Relics, they are amazing cards. The Booklet ones should be cards that collectors are after for a good while. I also like that most hits from one box are nice. It might not be that way for every box, but for the most part there can't be much let down since there is at least one Prime Rookies Autograph Relic card per box. All in all a nice sophomore effort for Topps Prime.
Pros
• Nice simplistic Base Set
• Prime Rookies Autograph Relics are great cards to go for
• Many great Hits from a box
Cons
• Too Many Parallels!
• Uninspiring Insert Sets
Ratings
Value = 5
Innovation = 4
Fun and Experience = 4
Rebuy Value = 5
I give this product an A- for Topps!
NPN Information
NPN 2011 Topps Prime Football
P.O. Box 764
Pittston, PA 18640
Hand print your name and complete address on a 3x5 card and use a #10 envelope.
Canadian residents answer this question: 8 plus 4 times 4 subtracted by 33 = ?
Postmarked by 12/28/11
Limit to 1 entry per household.
Only one card per envelope, mailed separately.
I would like to thank Topps & Card Collectors World for giving me the opportunity to review this product.
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