2012 Topps Finest Football Cards

Product Review

2012 Topps Finest Product Review

Reviewed by Tim Hlavac

Good: Loaded with something for all collectors, set builders have a manageable 150-card checklist, Refractors, Autographs and Autographed Patch cards look especially good.

Bad: In 2011 there wasn’t a single numbered autograph card that exceeded 599 copies. In 2012, there are plenty of autograph cards numbered to 1,353 and above. There is also a major imbalance between the number of top players and less-desirable signers.

The Bottom Line: Finest is one of my favorite football card brands. 2012 Topps Finest Football lives up to past sets. It combines attractive cards, plenty of rookies and lots of high-end opportunities at a lower price than several other similarly themed releases.

Card Design: 3.5/5.0

Keeping with the Finest tradition, all cards feature in-action portraits and are printed on a thick card stock adorned with a beautiful chrome finish. From the base cards to the Refractors, relics and autographs, you'll be hard-pressed to find an ugly card.

The base card design is among the best in the business and certainly one of the best uses of Topps' chrome stock.

2012 Topps Finest Football has lots of other beautiful card designs, particularly with the inserts.The Refractors look great, especially the Die-Cut Atomic Rookie Refractors. The look alone adds value to the product. It's because of all the potentially awesome chase cards that I end up purchasing a box of this product every year. This is despite the fact that I've never had much luck as far as big pulls go.

2012 Topps Finest Football has a couple of issue, though. One was a considerable amount of a powdery residue on my cards. Besides being unpleasant, some of that residue was not very fine and scratched the sensitive foil surface. The collation of the base rookies in my box wasn't great either. I received doubles in a box with only 60 cards. This does not sit well with the set builder side of me.

Checklist: 4.0/5.0

The checklist is extensive, ranging from the big-name prospects to young stars to veterans. The base set is comprised of 150 cards (100 veterans and 50 rookies). Finest's checklist doesn't dabble in retired players, which is refreshing and gives it the type of continuity a lot of set builders prefer. Another nice thing about opening a box that only contains 60 cards is that you don't get overwhelmed by junk inserts. I'll take a Refractor over a generic insert any day of the week.

Landing an autograph of a top player in 2012 Topps Finest Football can be tough. In 2011 one of the players to sign the most was Taiwan Jones. He had about 1,650 total autographs. That meant, on average, for every Cam Newton autograph that was pulled there were five Taiwan Jones autographs. In 2012, one of the players to sign the most is Ryan Broyles. He has about 3,600 total autograph cards. So, for every Andrew Luck autograph, there are about 14 Ryan Broyles. That's an increase of nearly three times.

Value: 3.5/5.0

At around 100 dollars a box, I would expect more out of a box. Even with the potential to hit an Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III autograph, the odds are really stacked against you. The second tier of prospects, like Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill, and Brandon Weeden, is solid but their values may not justify the box price. Some might disagree with me since the potential is there, but if you buy a bunch of boxes and don't get a big hit, you may feel disappointed.

The Fun Factor: 4.0/5.0

I love Finest's mini-box format. It's fun to feel like you're opening two boxes at once. Very few products at this price range offer the level of craftsmanship, continuity, and overall excitement as Finest does. I could have gotten better hits but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. O recommend that anyone with an interest in football cards give it a shot. Unlike the box value, the fun factor is certainly there on this product regardless of what hit cards you pull. This is not a hit-only type of product, so one would really have to enjoy base and inserts in order to fully enjoy the overall product.