Topps is going into the stratosphere with its 2015 Strata football product.
Base cards are out, and high end cards are in. Strata will be a hobby exclusive product when it hits the shelves February 24, with two cards per hobby box and 12 hobby boxes to a case. Each box will contain a clear cut autograph patch rookie card and a Strata autograph card, and the cards will be hard-signed.
That is a dramatic change from the format Topps has used since Strata debuted in 2012. Last year, for example, a hobby box contained 18 packs, with six cards to a pack. There were three hits, including a clear-cut rookie autograph relic, an auto card and a relic.
2015 Topps Strata Football will be heavy on autographs of young players, especially rookies. Roger Staubach and Roger Craig are two retired stars who did sign for the product. A full checklist is available for download or viewing at the bottom of this story along with links to order boxes.
For 2015, Clear Cut Autographed Relic Rookie Cards will feature up to 40 different rookies. A jumbo jersey swatch will be situated under a die-cut window, “the largest possible,” according to Topps.
These on-card autograph cards also will be issued in numbered parallels of blue, green and black. Gold parallels will be numbered to 25.
Football fans who hunt down big hits will be seeing red in the 2015 Strata set and all will be 1/1 cards. A Red Gloves parallel will feature a glove logo swatch, while a Red Pigskin Parallel will contain a football swatch. A Red Laundry Tag Parallel features a jersey laundry tag and the Red Swoosh Parallel will carry the distinctive swoosh of Nike. Finally, a Red Team Patch Parallel will feature a team logo patch relic.
A scarcer hit will be the Clear Cut Dual Autograph Patch Book Cards. Rookies are paired up book-style, with two on-card, clear cut signatures numbered to 1/1.
For further layering, Strata Signature Patch cards will feature up to 45 rookies and combine them with an on-card autograph and a jumbo relic patch. A Gold Parallel, numbered to 25, will showcase a jersey patch. A 1/1 parallel — Red Rivet Patch — will contain a team logo patch and a rivet that allows the three layers of the card to swivel and fan out. These cards will fall one to a case
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Strata Autograph Cards will feature up to 50 players in a mix of rookies and veterans. Parallels also will be numbered in blue, green and black versions, with gold numbered to 25 and reds as 1/1s.
The next level of autographs — Strata Signatures — will feature multi-layered, numbered cards featuring up to 45 players. Gold parallels will be numbered to 25.
Boxes are being sold online for around $65. Click here to see them.