When it comes to 2011 Platinum, there are parts I love and parts I really dislike. I love the main box hit Rookie and Vet patch autos, hate the combine uniforms and rainbow foil base cards. Hell, I have even gotten attached to the chrome die cut cards that look really cool for what they are. All of these pale in comparison to some of the bigger hits.

First off, when you see the design of the rookie patch autos, its easy to see that they were built to have logo parallels. Well, the logo parallel cards have started to pop up, and they look AWESOME. The design is so well done, that the logo looks perfect in place of the patches that normally appear on the cards.

Kendall Hunter 1/1 NFL Logo Auto Red

Leonard Hankerson 1/1 NFL Logo Auto Red

That’s not all, as there are also 1/1 superfractor versions of each of the rookie subjects, and the Cam Newton that just hit made my jaw drop. I think if you have a space big enough for a jumbo patch swatch, you better use it well for the best parallels of the cards. So far that looks to be the case.

Cam Newton Jumbo Patch Auto Superfractor 1/1 Logo

There is also a new element in Platinum that hasnt been done in any card series for a long time. Possibly since 2006 Exquisite Football, and that is hard signed printing plates. I am not a fan of printing plates AT ALL due to their visual appeal, but these are definitely interesting. I know they will be significantly less valuable than the actual 1/1s, but at least they are not stickered plates.

Christian Ponder Hard Signed Printing Plate Auto 1/1

Cam Newton Hard Signed Printing Plate Auto 1/1

Lastly, like 2011 Finest, there are 1/1 superfractor hard signed rookies, which could get a little tiresome if they are going to be in the next 8 products. I am not going to argue with any hard signed card, but these arent at the top of my list so far for the stuff Topps has done this year.

Jake Locker Hard Signed Superfractor Auto 1/1

Von Miller Hard Signed Superfractor Auto 1/1

Platinum is a risky break due to all the high numbered rookies, but this softens the blow a little.