2016 Topps Premier Gold Soccer Cards

Product Review

2016 Topps Premier Gold Soccer Product Review

Reviewed by Trey Treutel

Good: More affordable box layout, young talent in the autograph checklist, designs continue to improve.

Bad: Only one guaranteed autograph with the other two hits being autos or relics, not much depth among signers, and base relics are still underwhelming.

The Bottom Line: A considerable brand shift brings the hit total from ten (in 2015) to three. While that also brings down the price by half, the big-name talent found in other sets is not as accessible. However, the actual look of the cards has finally reached a good level and this price point and yield may be a better niche than the hit-loaded format of the past.

Card Design: 3.75/5.0

To me, the base design is a great improvement. While the completely obscured backgrounds can blend together, the cards evoke a simple quality that the previous, more expensive editions, could not deliver. Other than that, the stock is quite thin and the parallels are very basic. Because the main autographs use the same design as the base, this means they are on very thin stock also. Not a huge issue but worth pointing out. Other hits utilize much sticker stock.

The rest of the product stays close to the simplistic nature of the release. None particularly stand out, but they all seem to fit together quite well. More for the images than the design, Ambiance does a good job capturing the magic of the sport. I also enjoy the Premier Portraits which have metal-framed parallels.

With potentially two in a box, of the three hits, the Football Fibers Relics are not the most exciting example. This is due to the thickness of the stock which can exaggerate the impressiveness of the card combined with the fact that the relic is penny-sized and usually one-color.

Checklist: 3.5/5.0

As has typically been the case, the 2016 Topps Premier Gold autograph checklist heavily focuses on just a few clubs. This in itself is not a bad thing, but it limits the reach of a set based around a large and prolific league. Furthermore, while the base signers list does contain key names like Alli, Kane, and Hazard, most of the top-end stars, like Rooney and Ronaldo, fall only in the low-numbered insert autographs.

Helping things, while it is a very small autograph checklist, it also isn’t stuffed with relegation-level autographs to fill out the numbers.

Value: 3.0/5.0

Given the price in the $75-90 range when this review was written, 2016 Topps Premier Gold is right at that point where value is decent but not amazing. The big issue for me at this price is the fact that there aren’t two (or three) guaranteed autographs per box. With only one autograph and two base relics that could be nearly worthless, value suffers. My box did yield a second autograph instead of a second relic, and if that is the norm, then the value would tick up slightly.

The other side of that is the biggest signers being only in the limited insert autographs. While that cuts down on the big-hit potential, the tighter checklist helps alleviate the gamble somewhat.

The Fun Factor: 4.0/5.0

Now that I feel 2016 Topps Premier Gold is finally carving out a spot for itself, the fun increases. This was never a high-end set, despite what the price tag said, and the mid-end format is getting closer to where it needs to be. That may not help the monetary interest to rip and flip, but the collecting side benefits.

2016 Topps Premier Gold Soccer Hit Gallery

The box used for this review was provided by Topps.

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