2011 Topps Prime Football

2011 Topps Prime Football Box

Topps Prime Football always promises some nice hits and I can't wait to rip and review the 2011 version of the product.

Set Features:

Configuration: 10 packs per box. 6 cards per pack.

Each Hobby Box contains:

1 Autographed Relic Card
1 Autograph Rookie Card
2 Additional Relic Cards

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:

• 150 Card Base Set - 100 Veterans, 50 Rookies
  • Rookie Parallels: Gold #/699, Blue #/599, Red #/499, Purple #/399, Green #/99, Rainbow #/25, Prime # 1/1
  • Veteran Parallels: Aqua #'d /199, Powder Blue #/75, Prime #1/1
• 50 Autographed Rookies
  • Parallels: Silver #/50, Gold #/25,
• Prime Cards Group I through VI
  • Prime I Rookie QBs (7 Cards) - Book Cards featuring Wristband, Football, Home/Away Jersey Patch and Autograph (5 Relics), #/10
  • Prime I (29 Cards) - Book Cards featuring Glove, Wristband, Football, Home/Away Jersey Patch and Autograph (6 Relics), #/10
  • Prime II (29 Cards - Book Cards with 5 Relics and Autograph, #/15
  • Prime III (29 Cards) - 4 piece Relic Auto #/25
  • Prime IV (36 Cards) - 1 Jumbo Multi-Color Patch Auto, #/15
  • Prime V (36 Cards) - Book Card with 3 Jumbo Relics w/ Auto, #1/1
  • Prime VI (50 Cards, 36 Rookies 14 Veterans) - 4 Piece Relics with Auto
• Prime Rookies (36 Cards)
  • Parallels: Base Insert Not #'d, Base Relic #/318, Silver Relic #/50, Gold Relic #/25, Prime Patch # 1/1, Pikskin # 1/1
• Prime Veterans (20 Cards)
  • Parallels: Base Insert Not #'d, Silver Relic #/50, Gold Relic #/25, Prime Patch # 1/1
• Quad Combo Relics (10 Cards) - Cards featuring 4 players
  • Parallels: Base Insert (No Relic) Not #'d, Silver Relic #/50, Gold Relic #/25, Prime Patch # 1/1
• Triple Combo Relics (15 Cards) - Cards featuring 3 players
  • Parallels: Base Insert (no Relic) Not #'d, Silver Relic #/50, Gold Relic #/25, Prime Patch # 1/1
• Double Combo Relics (20 Cards)
  • Parallels: Base Insert (No Relic) Not #'d, Silver Relic #/50, Gold Relic #/25, Prime Patch # 1/1

Here's what we pulled in our box of 2011 Topps Prime Football.

Base and Veteran Parallels

As we've seen over the last several years, Topps photography is top notch. 2011 Prime is another example. The cards are a thicker card featuring a nice action shot on the front with a silver foil company logo, team logo and player name and position. The back of the cards feature the players' 2010 stat line as well as a couple comments on their 2010 season. In most packs, you will find a veteran parallel. In our case, we pulled 7 Aqua parallels and 1 Powder Blue parallel #/75. The cards are identical to the base, the only difference being the different colored foil accents. While I did not pull any base duplicates in this box, 5 of the 8 parallels we pulled from this box were duplicates of the base cards we pulled. If you're lucky enough to get 2 cards of your favorite player, that's really cool. But for set collectors or for players that aren't your guy...I hate to see duplicates in any box. Especially a 100 cards set in which you only get 36 base/parallels in a box.

Rookies and Parallels

In every pack of Topps Prime, you will receive a numbered rookie card. The most common are the silver rookies, #/930. We received 3 of these in our box. We received 2 Gold rookies # /699, 2 Blue Rookies # / 599, 2 Red Rookies # /499 and 1 Purple Rookie # / 399. As you can see above, the only difference on these cards is the color of the foil stamping. I like the numbered rookies, but like the veterans, I was a little bummed out to get 2 duplicates out of our 10 rooks. They're different parallels, but I would have preferred 10 different players instead of 8.

Inserts

There are 2 different insert sets in 2011 Prime football. Actually, there are 5, but they can be broken down into 2 groups. The first is the Prime Rookies/Veterans. We pulled 2 of the Rookies and 2 of the Veterans out of our box. A scan of each is above. Again, nice photos but with a different kind of foil stamping. The second group is multiplayer cards. They have 2, 3 and 4 player cards in this year's set. Player's are either related by team, position, or their draft status. In our box we pulled 3 Dual Combos and 3 Triple Combos. As you can see, these cards feature nice shots of all players, with their team logo in a box below them. Since there are Relic versions of these cards, you can see where the jersey swatches will go in those versions. On the back of each of these cards you'll see player info as well as sort sort of fact or facts about each player on the front. With only 20, 15 and 10 of these cards in each set...I could definitely see these sets as fun to try to collect.

Relics

The base and inserts are nice, but this is where the Prime product really excels. The hits are very nice looking cards. As you can see from the scans above, we pulled a Prime Rookie gamer of Delone Carter as well as a Dual Combo, dual relic card of Chargers rookies Jordan Todman and Vincent Brown. The dual looks to be the base and is # /398. It features an event worn swatch from each player. I like the clean-ness of the card, it is really a sharp looking set. The Carter is a jumbo swatch, gold version # /50. Again, the cards just have a nice clean look to them. Very nice work on the relics.

Auto and Relic Auto

Our first auto is the autographed version of Luke Stocker's base rookie, # /450. They faded out the bottom portion of the card to make room for a sticker autograph. The signature looks good and fits inside the sticker. The sticker, however, is slightly tilted, giving the card an odd appearance. I'm fairly certain the cards are designed for the sticker to be straight, this one is just a tad off center. The gem of this box, though, is the auto relic. We pulled a Level VI, 4-relic autographed card of Saints sensation, Mark Ingram. As if that wasn't enough, this card is also the # /25 version!! As you can see, this card really is a beauty. Featuring alternating black and white jersey swatches and a flawless autograph, this card would look fantastic in any Saints fan's collection.

Final Thoughts on 2011 Topps Prime Football

My final thoughts on 2011 Topps Prime are that the base and parallels are ok cards, but it's really the hits that set this set apart from the others. I was not a fan of the duplicates that we received, but that is really a small complaint and one that may not be shared by all collectors. And when that's the biggest complaint you have about a product, I'd say you're looking at a very nice product. Priced in the $91-95 per Hobby Box, Prime is a little pricey and all of the parallel sets would make this a tough product for set collectors. But you can not go wrong with the Relics and Autographs in this box as they are very nice. I also like that Prime is one of the Topps sets that features higher end cards without the "chroming" technique that they feature in so many of their releases. It makes the cards feel a little more "old school." Once again, I have to tip my cap to Topps for putting together another great product.


Here's how I would rate this product, based on what we experienced during our break

• Value = 4
• Innovation = 4
• Fun and Experience = 5
• Rebuy Value = 4

I rate this product an B+ for Topps. No duplicates between base and parallels and a lower price point would have made this an easy A.

NPN Information

Mail to:

NPN 2011 Topps Prime Football
PO Box 764
Pittson, PA 19640

One card per envelope and they must be postmarked by December 28, 2011 and received by January 4, 2012.

I would like to thank Topps and Trader Retreat for giving me the opportunity to review this new product.

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And keep an eye out as cards from this review and several others will be available to win in Trader's Retreat contests, coming soon!!