Card of the Day: Brian Hoyer 2014 Topps Strata #81

2016 Topps Strata Baseball Box Break & Review

Adding a Strata Signature Patch card to your collection can be a major accomplishment.  They scream what the heart and soul of this product is about.  The regular Strata Signatures without the relics come in at a close second.  Topps continues to make these cards eye catching, and something that you’d want to look at.

One of the cooler elements of this brand is the ability to find out where and when that specific relic was worn.  Topps introduced this to collectors in Strata last year, and it really caught on.  Its not something you see done with every product, but Strata and The Mint have received this treatment.  Each relic comes with a hologram and serial number.  All you need to do is enter that serial number into this database.  From there, it will tell you which game that relic was worn in.  Very awesome!

The checklist seems to be what collectors complain about the most.  Not every team is represented.  I think there is only one Phillie in the whole set – Aaron Nola.  Compared to 2015, everything looks to have been cut back a bit.  One major addition are the Cut Signatures.  These look really neat, but given that they’re all numbered one-of-one only a handful of people will pull one.

On-card autographs, great design, and online MLB authentication is what this product has going for it.  Although not much has changed since 2015 Strata, Topps has a winning formula that creates some exciting looking cards.  If Topps brings this product back next year, I’d like to see a more expanded checklist.  These thick, acetate heavy gems continue to rank very high in collections.

Here is what I pulled:

Auto/Relic

• Clayton Kershaw Clearly Authentic Auto/Relic Redemption

Auto

• Anthony Rizzo Strata Auto

Titans ’15 Topps Strata Auto Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to Joseph C Zagrapan on being the lucky winner of the Tre McBride 2015 Topps Strata RC Auto #’ed/800.  Once Joseph C Zagrapan sends me his mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP.  Thanks!

Titans ’15 Topps Strata Auto Contest! – NOW CLOSED

This contest is for a Tre McBride 2015 Topps Strata RC Auto #’ed/800.  Good luck!!!

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:00 p.m. EST.
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post.
• You can enter once per day.
• The winner will be selected at random.
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering.
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over.
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again.
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

2015 Topps Strata Football Box Break & Review

One of my favorite mediums that I like to see card companies use is acetate.  Some collectors think it might be overused today, but I can’t get enough of it.  There are right and wrong ways a company can use acetate.  Topps for the most part has always seemed to use it correctly.

When you’re making an autographed card using acetate, you almost always want to make sure the card is hard-signed.  Stickers on acetate just don’t mix.  Even the clear ones.  Inserting signed chunks of acetate into a card as a replacement for stickers is no better.  You simply cannot use acetate in the design process and treat it as if its just another card.  A lot of time and thought needs to go into how the acetate will be used.  If this isn’t done, the cards will come out terrible.

From a design standpoint, the acetate cards found in 2015 Strata Football are right up there in quality.  Especially when it comes to the auto/relics.  Strata Football this year follows it’s baseball counterpart when it comes to configuration.  Gone are all the base cards.  Boxes now contain (2) autographs and that’s it.  It gets straight to the point very fast.  I always wanted to try a box of Strata Football before, but I just didn’t want the excess base cards.

The price point is right on target, with boxes costing less than $60.00.  Its one of the most affordable, quick thrill, on-card autograph products you can buy.  The reason why its not that expensive is because of the checklist.  Its comprised mainly of rookies.  Two of the biggest rookies, Amari Cooper and Todd Gurley, are redemptions.  The last few redemption cards I’ve redeemed have gone very smoothly, so it shouldn’t take that long for these to start shipping.

I think the biggest problem collectors have been complaining about is what the box states.  It says “1 Strata Signature Patch Card + 1 Strata Signature Card”.  Not everyone will be pulling a patch.  A jumbo jersey is more likely.

2015 Strata Baseball has a nice feature that allows you to lookup when and where that specific relic was used.  This did not migrate over to football.  I bet this would’ve been implemented if Topps and the NFL planned to continue their relationship.

An expanded checklist with more veterans would’ve made this last version of Strata Football a little better.  Visually the cards look great, and I like the reconfiguration.

Here is what I pulled:

Auto/Relic

• Dorial Green-Beckham Clear Cut Auto/Jersey Black Parallel #’ed/50

Auto

• Tre McBride Auto #’ed/800

Kimbrel ’15 Topps Strata Jersey Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to FeelTheAwakening on being the lucky winner of the Craig Kimbrel 2015 Topps Strata Clearly Authentic Green Parallel Jersey #’ed/75.  Once FeelTheAwakening sends me their mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP.  Thanks!

Kimbrel ’15 Topps Strata Jersey Contest! – NOW CLOSED

This contest is for a Craig Kimbrel 2015 Topps Strata Clearly Authentic Green Parallel Jersey #’ed/75.  This piece of jersey was worn on 5/29/15 against the Pirates.  Good luck!!!

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, January 22, 2016 @ 8:00 p.m. EST.
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post.
• You can enter once per day.
• The winner will be selected at random.
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering.
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over.
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again.
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

2015 Topps Strata Baseball Box Break & Review

Strata Baseball has finally gotten their own standalone product.  Not only that, but it’s configured just to my liking too.  Unlike football, Strata baseball cards could only be found in flagship products that contain tons of base.  2015 Strata Baseball gets straight to the good stuff without all those excess cards.  The next version of Strata Football I hear is going to be configured the same way as well.  Keeping those familiar Strata designs while making this a one pack per box product is really the best way to go.

Ever since Strata was introduced, the most eye appealing cards have been the shadowbox “hits”.  These multi-layered cards are insanely good looking.  Scans of them may not always come out the best.  You really need to see them in person to appreciate the whole overall design.

Probably one of the most talked about features within 2015 Strata Baseball are the MLB Authentic hologram stickers.  Each and every relic in this product has one of these holograms.  The holograms contain a code that can be entered into the MLB Authentication Referencing System.  After you do this, the system will tell you when and what game that jersey was worn in.  This is way better than any written COA.  Topps did this for every relic too.  Not just the fancy patches that people would try and fake.  Even the plain white colored jerseys get this treatment.  Topps even took the thoughtful step of adding a clear acetate coating to the relic cards.  This does two things.  It prevents the hologram from falling off the card entirely.  If the hologram does come lose from the relic it will simply be locked in that area.  It also stops people from removing the hologram to place on a fake relic of their own.  At first I didn’t recognize that the clear coating was even there.  I went to touch the piece of jersey and got blocked.  Authentication like this is something collectors have been wanting for years.  I’d like to see this done with every single product.

Here is what I pulled:

Relic

• Craig Kimbrel Clearly Authentic Green Parallel Jersey #’ed/75 – jersey was worn on 5/29/15 against the Pirates

Auto

• Greg Maddux Strata Auto Black Parallel #’ed/50

Card of the Day: Dale Murphy 2014 Topps Update Strata Bat Auto

Card of the Day: Bob Lemon 2014 Topps Series 1 Strata Cut Signature