Back in 2005, the hobby was a much different place. Jersey cards were still valuable, patch cards were rare, and logo patches were limited to 1/1 cards. It was an era VERY MUCH UNLIKE we are in now. For some reason, Panini fails to realize this fact, and continues to put out product after product thatmarkets as if the calendar reads 2005 rather than 2012.
Because 2005 was the last time a product like Timeless Treasures actually mattered, im honestly not sure why Panini shoehorns products like this over the course of their card season. Their product line blurs together with cards that cant be discerned from one another, and from the looks of it, Timeless Treasures is another crappy product that falls under this umbrella. Just like Plates and Patches, Limited, and god knows what other products they have planned for this year, Treasures is a tinned product with 3 hits per box. Only one autograph is guaranteed, and if the Basketball breaks from previous years are any indication, it is a better idea to light your cash aflame than to buy into this absolute dog of a product.
During the coverage of the rookie premiere, I knew that this was coming, because Panini previewed those hideous signed pieces of letters being autographed. I have no idea how these A) make sense in football B) look even remotely visually appealing, and C) are going to be worth anything. The bottom line is that these are the most common hit in the product, and they look and are awful in every way.
Moving onto the insert sets, we get the best of the best as usual, and really that isnt saying much about the quality of this set. Basically, all these cards will have swatch only parallels that will look as bad as ever, and that has always been my issue with Panini products. Its like they never do anything different, and I get the feeling that I am not the only one that is bored with/absolutely despises their offerings.
More lame set names, more ridiculously terrible design work, more stickers. They may claim that these rookie leather cards are hard signed, but as we have seen from Topps, we know what “hard signed” does mean. These are cop outs. This is turning into a finish that is miles ahead for Topps and even Upper Deck, and Panini is panting and walking the whole race.
Here are the cards:
Nice of you to applaud Panini over on the Knight’s Lance 😉 This set is a poor man’s National Treasures mixed with Classics. Like many Panini products, I like the concept and some of the singles, but probably not enough to buy a box. The rookie leather cards are a nice idea, but the leather looks more like motor-boat seat material than a piece of football. Somewhere between this and Sweet Spot’s Pigskin Sigs lies a well-done card. Why not use a smooth, football-like material with silver or gold pens? This couldn’t be the same material left over from TT Basketball, could it? Also, anything considered and priced as “super-premium” should get the on-card auto treatment.
Yay! Leaf Limited in a tin, just what the market needed! More crap that will assist in saving money for me. At least the Classic Cuts look good. However, I’m sure they’ll f* that all up, too, and hack off pieces of a cut signature making it, essentially to a true autograph collector, absolutely worthless. … right in line with nearly their entire brand.
Michael vick signed the little.garbage leathers at my store this weekend as well as 480 stickers for panini. I have pics if interested