SCF Official Review: 2011 Bowman Platinum

[Enigma]

First and foremost, I'd like to thank our sponsors at Topps for providing us with this box.



20 packs per box
5 cards per pack
Current Retail Price (online): $84.99 - $99.99

Product Description

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:
Bowman Platinum Baseball returns with 100 new hot prospects on sizzling Chrome technology and Hobby Exclusive Autograph and Parallel cards!
- 2 Prospect Autograph Cards Per Box
- 1 Autograph Relic Card Per Box
- 1 Multi-Autograph Card Per 12-Box Case
- New! 1 Team USA Baseball On-Card Autograph! Available via redemption. 1 Per 12-Box Case!
- Each pack contains 4 Bowman Platinum cards Plus 1 Chrome Prospect cards.
- All Chrome Autographs Signed Directly on Each Card!


CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS

PLATINUM CHROME AUTOGRAPH CARDS - 2 Per Box!
Forty-one outstanding Minor League players sign their names directly to each of their Platinum Chrome cards and paralleled as follows:
- Super-Fractor: 1/1. Hobby Only!
- Printing Plates: 1/1. Hobby Only!
- Red Refractor: Numbered to 10.
- New! Gold Refractor: Numbered to 50.
- Blue Refractor: Numbered to 99.
- Green Refractor: Numbered to 399.


PLATINUM REFRACTOR PROSPECT CARDS - 1 Per Pack!
100 top MLB® Prospects on Refractor technology.


PLATINUM REFRACTOR PARALLEL CARDS - 2 Per Box!
- Super-Fractor Parallel: 1/1. Hobby Only!
- Printing Plates: 1/1. Hobby Only!
- Red Refractor: Numbered to 25.
- New! Gold Refractor: Numbered to 50.
- Blue Refractor: Numbered to 199.
- Green Refractor: Numbered to 599.
- X-Fractor: 1:4 packs. New!


AUTOGRAPH RELIC CARDS - 1 Per Box!
Each of these numbered cards feature a signature and game-used memorabilia from a star veteran or popular rookie player.
- Super-Fractor Patch: 1/1. Hobby Only!
- Red Refractor Patch: Numbered to 10.
- Gold RefractorPatch: Numbered to 25.
- Blue Refractor: Numbered to 99.
- Green Refractor: Numbered to 199.


MULTI-AUTOGRAPH CARDS - 1 Per Case!
Dual Autograph Relic Cards: Twelve veterans and rookies appear 2 at a time with 2 autographs and 2 relics on cards numbered to 89.
Available in a red version numbered to 10 and a 1/1 Hobby Only Super-Fractor version.

Dual Autograph Cards: Two prospects pair up each with a signature on numbered to 89 cards.
Available in a red version numbered to 10 and a 1/1 Hobby Only Super-Fractor version.

Triple Autograph Cards: ree is better than one on these cards featuring 3 players and 3 signatures and numbered to 89.
Available in a red version numbered to 10 and a 1/1 Hobby Only Super-Fractor version.

New! Hexagraph Book Patch Card: is three-panelled book card features six rookies with six autographs and a Rookie Card logo patch numbered to 10. Hobby Only!

Hexagraph Book Card: Six players, 6 autographs adorn these numbered to 10 popular book cards. Hobby Only!

New! 60th Anniversary Autographed Cards: 3 Subjects Continuity program featuring autographed cards sequentially numbered to 60. Hobby Only!


BASE CARDS - 4 Per Pack!
100 top MLB® veteran and rookies on rainbow foilboard.


BASE PARALLEL CARDS - 7 Per Box!
100 rookies and veterans:
- New! Ruby: 1:20 packs.
- New! Emerald: 1:10 packs.
- New! Gold: 1:5 packs.

WHAT WE PULLED



Base - 71/100 (71%)
Dupes - 1
Gold (5)
Emerald (2)
Ruby (1)



Prospects (11)
X-Fractors (5)
Green /599 (1) - Anderson Feliz
Blue (1) - Austin Hyatt



Franklin Morales Jersey/Auto /1166



Alex Wimmers Auto (on-card)



Dickie Joe Thon Auto (on-card)



2011 Team USA Collegiate National Baseball Team Auto Redemption



FINAL RATINGS

Base - 4/5
Design - 4.5/5
Fun - 3.5/5
Value - 3/5
Rebuy - 3/5

Total - 17/25 (68%)

Year in and year out, Topps churns out wonderful products for prospectors under the Bowman name. It's a great way to get associated with the stars of tomorrow, sometimes before they become household names. Bowman Platinum combines a mix of veterans and prospects in their base set with 100 of each. The players are displayed on a vibrant chrome card that accentuates the subjects. There are three parallel levels for the veterans (none of which are numbered) and six for the prospects.

Looking for insert sets? Well, keep looking as Bowman Platinum does not have any. However, you will find two autographs and one autograph/relic in each box. Case hits will range from dual autographs to six player autograph and some will include relics as well. As always, there is a mix of on-card and sticker autos.

Bowman Platinum stands out with its full-body player photos and excellent use of the foil board on the cards. The rich colors are eye-appealing. However, there are some letdowns. For starters, the lack of serial numbering on the veteran parallels. Three different levels, yet there is no way to differentiate print runs other than knowing the odds of getting one in a pack. In addition, why create an x-fractor if you don't plan to number it while numbering all of the color parallels?

And to make matters worse, the value of your purchase is diminished with a change in pack total. Last year, you received 24 packs in a box as compared to 20 this year. Sure, it can be argued that this increases the value of the Prospects, but not really since they are not super limited in any way. It's really hard to justify to consumers to buy a product when you take away from it and expect the same price.

Once again, I'd like to thank our wonderful sponsors at Topps for giving us the opportunity to open and review this release. For more information on all their products, visit them today at www.topps.com.