Tag Archives: memorabilia

Review: 2012-13 Panini Absolute Memorabilia Basketball

  By Sports Card Blog | January 24, 2013 - 8:08 am | ,
Leave a comment

A full season of NBA products has Absolute Memorabilia coming to basketball this year, and it features all the things about Absolute that you love. Rookie autographs, sweet memorabilia cards, and other big hits that only this product can bring you. Each box has four packs with each pack containing an autograph or game used memorabilia card. Also included are the Spectrum inserts which you can find nice low numbered cards as well. Let’s see what we pulled.

Design:4 and half stars blue

Designing this year’s Absolute Memorabilia is nothing earth shattering from Panini, but it does have points taken from last year’s Limited product. They share a similar design with foil team colors and similar set up in the layout of the cards. I’m all for the team colors foil, but at least keep it to the same brand. The one thing I like about changing designs is that it keeps a similar theme across one product. For instance, you wouldn’t have a ticket design for anything other than Contenders. Other than that, it is a solid foundation this year. The one thing I found strange was the GIANT sticker used for the Fat Lever autograph. More room for autos is nice, but that would look so much better on card.

Checklist:4 stars blue

The checklist for this product is much better than other Panini products this year as the double rookie class isn’t as prominent compared to other cards you could receive. While I did receive two rookie autographs (one is a redemption), I pulled two other autographs with one from a retired player and one from a current veteran in the league. When I pull current players, I always shed a tear of happiness as the hobby doesn’t have to be so rookie centric.

Value:4 stars blue

The value of the product is one that is hit or miss with this type of product. The one thing I am really impressed with this year was I received four autographs in my box. To me, in a product like this the hits are all about how much ink and how many colors your memorabilia cards are. When you pay as much as you might for this product ($127 at DA Card World) you want to find some value. Four autographs is always good in my book and when only two are rookies, you got my attention. Pretty nice collation in this box, so I hope others are similar.

Overall:4 stars blue

Overall, after missing out on last season of Absolute, Panini has come back with a solid offering for basketball fans this year. The design of the product is nice, despite the similarities to last year’s Panini Limited product. The checklist is improved over other Panini products this year as you aren’t bombarded with the double rookie class and have some decent veteran and retired autographs. The best part, in my opinion, was that I received four autographs in my box. At that kind of price, the more ink the better in my opinion. Good work to Panini on the product this year.

Thanks to Panini America for providing this product for review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook. Make sure to follow them for awesome giveaways.

You can find the full checklist and more information on Cardboard Connection.

Make sure you Subscribe to us on YouTube to view the breaks and here is what we pulled:

Not shown: Redemption for Jae Crowder RC Auto

Related Posts

Review: 2012-13 Panini Limited Basketball

  By Sports Card Blog | January 16, 2013 - 4:31 pm | ,
Leave a comment

The Limited product from Panini continues on this year, including some of the same types of hits and rare memorabilia cards that you come to expect from this long-time Panini/Donruss product. With at least 3 hits per one pack box, you will be able to find some autographs and memorabilia from some of the top young players, superstars, and retired legends of the game. With the double rookie class, you’ll be able to find top autographs from some of your favorite rookies and sophomores. Let’s see what we were able to pull in our box.

Design:4 stars blue

The design of the product is actually pretty nice overall. The one thing I absolutely love is the base cards. Similar to last year’s product, the foil background behind the player is tinted in their team’s team colors. That little addition just really makes the card come together. It looks especially nice on the Rondo base, which I don’t take a picture of for some reason. Although small, I love the change of the logo of the product to an Old English style “L”. It looks like something that would fit in very well with basketball culture. The inserts are nothing really eye catching or new to Panini products in terms of design. They aren’t terrible, it’s just something you’re used to as a Panini collector. I think a new style insert could really transform the product.

Checklist:4 stars blue

Now the double rookie class is something that I find to be sort of a detriment towards sets this year. It seems like every rookie has an autographed card and that puts a damper on finding veteran autographs in a product like this. While Kendall Marshall was a top 15 pick, and as was my redemption of Kawhi Leonard, this product contains a lot of rookie cards. Luckily, my memorabilia card was of Celtics GM Danny Ainge from his playing days. It was cool for me to pull Ainge as he used to babysit a good friend of mine. But other than that, I’d still like to see more veteran content in this product. However, you can’t complain about two top 15 first rounders.

Value:4 stars blue

The value of the product is difficult to discern as Limited has always been a hit or miss product. Even more so in the double rookie class as you have more chances to pull rookies (or sophomores) in the league. You can find the product currently for $87 a box over at DA Card World, which is actually a decent deal compared to past years. With the amount of rookie cards from the past couple of years Panini has been putting out this year, at that price it’s probably worth a shot at a Kyrie or another big name rookie.

Overall:4 stars blue

Overall, this is a solid product from Panini, but nothing earth shattering. I still think Panini needs a big makeover on the Limited line, but this product can still hold its own in the basketball realm. The design is nice with the team colors incorporated into the foil, but I’d like to see more out of the inserts. The checklist, while okay with the double rookie class, feels a lot like one of those rookie only products. I’d like to see a guaranteed veteran autograph in a product like this as I’m not a big rookie collector. But the value, with the lower price, is a better than past years and it’s worth a shot if you want to try and pull a big name right now.

Thanks again goes out to Panini America for providing this product for review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.

You can find the full checklist of this product over at Cardboard Connection.

And check out the images below for our hits, or subscribe to us on YouTube to sell the box breaking video.

Related Posts

Preview: 2012-13 Upper Deck SP Game Used Hockey

  By Sports Card Blog | January 15, 2013 - 3:26 pm |
Leave a comment

A press release about 12-13 Upper Deck SP Game Used hockey from Upper Deck came out today:

Carlsbad, CA (January 15, 2013) – Just days before the puck drops on a new season for the NHL®, Upper Deck is pleased to release 2012-13 NHL® SP Game-Used; a super premium hockey card release that collectors are eager to experience. The product has been revamped from years prior and has a lower price point per pack, but does not compromise on the quality cards that have made it a hobby favorite. Collectors can find five packs in every box that contain at least one autograph card and four other memorabilia or autograph cards.

“SP Game-Used has been given a nice makeover that we think collectors are going to love,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck’s Hockey brand manager. “We have challenged our teams to come up with compelling new inserts that will bring collectors closer to the game and we believe they have succeeded. By improving the value collectors can find in packs, we think they will have a much more exciting pack-opening experience this year!”

There are a bevy of new insert sets that will have collectors clamoring to crack these packs. First up are the “Draft Day Marks” autograph cards that profile talented rookies and veterans on the day they were drafted. Collectors can chase these cards to put together the entire set that will spell out the player’s last name. Rookie cards have always been a staple in the product, but now there is better collectability with Rookie Cards limited to each player’s jersey number with a twist being that the last card in each print run is a one-of-one-autograph for young stars like Chris Kreider (New York Rangers) and Sven Baertschi (Calgary Flames). And with “Supreme Patches,” “Supreme Sticks,” and “Supreme Skates” collectors find out first hand where SP Game-Used gets it’s name as they can find game-used memorabilia cards with very compelling pieces of jerseys, sticks and skates players used in actual games. The skate cards in particular are going to be an exciting new addition for collectors as it marks the first time Upper Deck has produced cards like these. And to create some serious high-end buzz, collectors can also find rare 1-of-1 NHL® Shield variation cards that include the NHL® logo from game-used jerseys on the card.

One of the most unique additions to the SP Game-Used brand for this season is an artifact used in Games 3, 4 and 6 of the 2012 NHL® Stanley Cup® Final. Upper Deck was able to procure the actual net from the goal from those games and will be including special Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils cards with swatches of the net embedded in them. Special autograph variations will include authentic signatures on swatches derived from the leather net skirt from key players in the series like Adam Henrique, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty, Martin Brodeur and Wayne Gretzky who dropped the ceremonial puck before Game 3. Also look for ten different 1-of-1 “Jumbo” packs cards featuring large swatches from the oversized NHL® shield patch taken from the net skirt.

Just in time for the start of the NHL® season, Upper Deck is pleased to release 2012-13 NHL® SP Game-Used which is currently available on store shelves.

–

Hey, it’s about time Upper Deck changed up the product after the horrible offering last season. Let’s hope these changes really do enhance the product for collectors.

You can find this product online at DA Card World for about $107 . You can also find more information including the checklist at Cardboard Connection.

Related Posts

Preview: 2012 Panini Limited Football

  By Dan Gladstone | January 8, 2013 - 10:05 am |
Leave a comment

Panini is back with another year of Panini Limited Football, which has become a staple of the hobby.

The popular Materials Phenom autographed rookie cards are back! These cards feature on-card autographs and include a die cut to represent each players team. Collectors are always after these cards and they are sure to be after them once again this year.

A new feature this year is the Hog Heaven autographed set. That may sound familiar, and it should. Donruss had a set in one of their products years ago. These cards will feature authentic Football swatches that are signed in silver.

Don’t forget about Limited calling-card rookie cards to return as well. It’ll feature on-card autographs with team-name die cuts and large memorabilia swatches.

Each box contains 1 pack with 7 cards. In each box, it will contain 3 autograph or  memorabilia cards.

You can find the product at DA Card World for around $100 a box when it releases on January 16, 2013.

You can also find the checklist on Cardboard Connection and more information on the official Panini blog.

Related Posts

Review: 2012 Panini Absolute Memorabilia Football

  By Sports Card Blog | January 5, 2013 - 1:52 pm | ,
1 Comment

2012 Panini Absolute Memorabilia football is in stores just in time for the end of the 2012 football season. That means you’ve had time to see the rookies and breakout stars of the season and find your favorite players in this product. Absolute Memorabilia is a four pack per box product that features 4 autographs/memorabilia cards, an insert and a few base cards as well. It often features some of the nicer rookie cards of the season where you can find some big hits like the popular NFL shield memorabilia cards, laundry tags, and jumbo patches. The popular subsets return as well with the favorite Tools of the Trade insert returning. Want to see what’s in a box? Check it out below.

Design:4 stars blue

The design of the product you can see resembles that of previous years as far as the base design goes. With just enough tweaking, I think it is a solid base to go off of and Panini does a pretty good job in that department. My only issue remains to be the color/usage of the foil on the cards. The lettering doesn’t really match with the flow of the rest of the card causing it to look a little out of place. The color fung-shui is just a little off to me. The updates to the insert sets are interesting and do take a little getting used to, while the autographed rookie cards look fantastic this year. Not to mention, the on-card autographs on the rookie cards look fantastic on the foilboard. I wasn’t sure how they would look, but the thin pen actually stands out really well.

Checklist:4 stars blue

The checklist for Absolute continues to be solid, although I don’t see that much has changed since last year as far as the rookie odds compared to the veteran odds. It was very nice to pull a great veteran prime memorabilia card in Hakeem Nicks, but the odds for just rookie autographs again appears higher. I do rate the checklist a half star higher than last year however, due to the quality of the rookies and some of the bigger hits you can find this year.

Value:4 stars blue

Again, value is a tough indicator in a box like this because it is extremely hit or miss. Just as well, this product is much better bought by the box than bought by the pack because of the one hit per pack odds and the price of the single pack. Currently, the product sits at $155 per box at DA Card World which is around where you would expect it to fall after all these years and the solid rookie class. However, it is still a tough break as it is a hit or miss product at that price, especially if you purchase by the pack. I think this year, you may find more hits than misses with the class of rookies and the checklist.

Overall:4 stars blue

Overall, the product isn’t much changed from last season. You still get the rookie autographs and the occassional veteran autograph. The design is somewhat changed, even a bit in a better direction. The checklist is what you’ve come to expect as well. And the price hasn’t changed. So without much of a change this year, you are generally going to get the same score as last year. I do admit, the rookie autographs still look much better than in years past and I like the autograph on the foilboard. It’s definitely worthy of your penny, but only purchasing by the box.

Thanks again to Panini for providing this product to review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can find the full checklist of this product at Cardboard Connection.

To see the video break, make sure you subscribe to us on YouTube. Here are the cards…

Related Posts