This Week in Cards

Card collectors have a nice mix of new products to choose from this week. They span several sports. A pair of Hollywood hobby heavyweights also weigh in on the action.

2011-12 Panini Dominion Hockey

The final set of the 2011-12 hockey season is here. Even with the lockout now official, there’s no denying the high-end hits and massive variety Dominion promises. Every box comes with six total hits including an Autographed Rookie Patch. Like the recent 2011-12 Panini Prime, low-numbered memorabilia cards and autographs will be a huge draw. The checklist goes deep into current rosters and has a lot of retired signatures as well.

2011-12 Panini Dominion Hockey Checklist

2012 Topps Prime Football

2012 Topps Prime Football got a surprise bump in release date, coming out Friday instead of next week. It’s largely a rookie-focused hits product that delivers an autograph, autographed relic and two additional relic cards per box. Lots of parallels help keep individual card runs low. A potential dark horse in the set could be the Primetimers inserts. Although they’re inserted 1:5 packs, the 100-card checklist makes individual players tough to pull.

2012 Panini Prominence Football

In an attempt at something different, key first-year players have five different rookie card variations. All are autographed continue with the regular base set. Although numbering differs from player to player, all cards for any given rookie are the same (ie all of Robert Griffin III’s rookies are numbered to 70, Andrew Luck to 80, Russell Wilson to 150, etc.). All the designs are distinct from one another and should provide some added incentive to player and team collectors looking for a full run of their favorites. They also lend themselves to set builders who might want to focus on one design at a time.

2012 Panini Prominence Checklist

2012 SP Authentic Golf

2012 SP Authentic is the first golf set from Upper Deck in several years. The set boasts the first Ernie Els autographs. In fact, there are lots of key signatures, particularly when you get into the multi-signature inserts. A couple of the most exciting pairings are Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods with Michael Jordan.

2012 SP Authentic Gold Checklist

2012 Topps Star Wars Galactic Files

At 350 cards, 2012 Topps Star Wars Galactic Files is the biggest set for the space saga to date. Every box has a sketch card and either an autograph or manufactured patch card. The base set also has a couple of low-numbered parallels. Because of the huge checklist, most boxes are delivering one of the Red parallels that are numbered to 35. The autographs checklist is very strong, featuring several key stars. A pair of Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) cards have already sold for $1,300 and $899. A Harrison Ford sold for $5,400.

2012 Rittenhouse Quotable Star Trek Voyager

Voyager isn’t the most popular installment of the Star Trek franchise, but Rittenhouse’s latest set goes big with its autograph lineup. Signatures fall three per box with much of the main cast a part of the checklist. Notable guest stars signing 2012 Rittenhouse Quotable Star Trek Voyager include Academy Award nominee, Viginia Madsen, Andy Dick, Kristanna Loken and John Rhys-Davies.

2012 Rittenhouse Star Trek Voyager Checklist