Collect call: 2012 Topps Supreme football

Posted Mar 6, 2013 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Apr 6, 2013 at 07:50 PM

There are some nice, subtle design twists in the 2012 Supreme football set released by Topps. With only four cards — one pack— per hobby box, this high-end set has the potential for nice patch cards, printing plate 1/1s, quad relic cards, and dual, triple and quad autographs.

So what’s subtle? Parallel cards can be found by looking at the sides of the card front. Base cards have white trim down the bottom half of the front; parallels, like the parallel of LeSean McCoy that I pulled, can be blue, violet, sepia, green or even a red 1/1. The McCoy card was a blue parallel and was numbered to 96.

The other subtle look is the background on the card front. Veterans are positioned against a background that is a cross between gold and burlap, while rookie cards have a gray background. The cards are printed on thick stock and there is plenty of gold foil stamped on the card front.

With a price tag that can range from $90 to $95 and even higher, Supreme is a product that you must approach carefully. There is plenty of risk/reward here. If you hit a big card, it’s a keeper. If not … well, the buyer always must factor in that possibility. Since a hobby box has just four cards, you are basically paying $23 to $25 per card depending on the deal you got. Is it worth the gamble? It depends on what you’re lookiing for.

The hobby box I opened contained one veteran card (Roddy White), one rookie (Robert Turbin) and one parallel (McCoy). The hit card was a redemption auto relic (base card) of A.J. Jenkins. That was kind of deflating, since when a collector opens a box of cards, he likes to see the big card immediately, rather than wait several weeks. Nothing like opening a pack and getting an immediate jolt.

The card backs are very clean, and the players’ 2011 and NFL career statistics are printed on a mustard-colored background. The rest of the card back has a whitish-gray look, framed by a deeper gray.

I watched several box breaks of Topps Supreme online and really enjoyed the different types of cards that were pulled — a patch card, several autographs and an autographed printing plate.

So, there are some really hot boxes out there. As a collector, you always roll the dice. But if you enjoy the risk/reward factor and the thrill of the chase, then this might be a set to follow.