On the Radar: 2014 Crown Royale Football

Crown Royale has had its ups and downs over the years, but for the most part it has been a pretty solid product for Panini. The main reason why I say it has been solid and not a horrific gore-fest of a car accident is because of the Silhouettes. These cards are one of, if not THE best cards Panini makes, with huge success in all but one year.

Here are some of my favorite cards from previous years:

2013 Crown Royale Colin Kaepernick Auto Silhouette

2013 Crown Royale Drew Brees Auto Silhouette 1/1

2013 Crown Royale Andrew Luck On Card Auto 1/1

2011 Crown Royale Peyton Manning Kings of the NFL Auto Patch

2011 Crown Royale Ladanian Tomlinson Auto Silhouette

This year’s Crown looks good. The silhouettes look to bring their normal cool factor to the product, with more on card autographs to make them extra awesome. The rest of the cards that arent silhouette based are pretty much the standard ugly crap that comes in every Panini box, and I am not kidding when I say that it doesnt matter all that much. No card in this product will matter unless it is a silhouette.

Funny that these cards (which were created in 2010 football) have transitioned to both Basketball and Hockey and become that much more successful. This is really Panini’s Strata, where the box hits are really the only cards that matter. Just like with the Silhouettes here, the Strata shadowbox cards and clear cut autographs are all that matter.

Sadly, in 2012, the year that Crown needed its usual flair, was the year with such a turd of a design. This disgusting design was so bad, it took away the majesty and made it a watery pile of crap. I think they learned their lesson, and instead went back to making variations on the one style everyone loves. Prices on those 2012 cards reflect this and then some. Im not crazy about the giant metal thing that cuts the card in half this year, but ill live.

For the first time in 2013, we saw Veteran silhouette on card autos make their debut. They were stickers in the past, and Panini took a risk with a rookie class that couldnt hold their own weight. All of them were redemptions, with some still unfulfilled, but the ones that got done were as good as expected. I hope we get that again this year with more live cards. Thanks to the need to get cards done for Flawless, it might happen.

Although I wouldnt be sad if they folded the Crown Silhouettes into another higher end set, Ill make due with what it is right now.

One thought on “On the Radar: 2014 Crown Royale Football

  1. I just dont get what they do with their designs.

    The 2010 and 2011 designs are their best FB card by far. Full image of the player which bisects the jersey hindering those who like to swap out the swatch, small company brands, logos etc, clean back ground that really makes the player stand out, and prominent player name and team.

    Then in 2012 going forward they paninied it up. Now its back to the legless players that only take up 1/4 of the card with a big line cutting the card in half with a bigger crown logo right in the middle. Its like they have two teams working on these cards with beginner photo shop experience. The top and bottom half teams get together and just overlay the bottom half so that it shrinks or wipes out all the things that are important for the card…

    Im collecting football cards not panini logo cards…

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