2012 FUTERA UNIQUE CARD REVIEW

Most avid collectors around the world probably already know and have samples of the 2012 FUTERA UNIQUE card collection. However, like often is in North America, we get soccer just a bit later. But thanks to our contacts at Futera we received some examples which we can review here.

The high end products are not sold in packs,but rather a box. Each box has at least 1 HEROES card - a subset of 40 players and Limited to 365 copies each. We got 2 African players:

Chelsea's Michael Essien of Ghana

and Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o who now plays in Russia.

The base set is 200 cards which are subdivided as follows:

# 1 - 10 The Goalkeepers

# 11 - 57 The Defenders

# 58 - 116 The Midfielders

# 117 - 160 The Strikers

# 161 - 190 The Greats

# 191 - 200 The Next

The last two groups include retired players (Greats) and up and coming young stars (Next). The base set also comes in a 'Ruby' parallel which are limited to 295 of each players.

Futera continues its memorabilia cards with ARCHIVE set of 24, 16 single swatches and 8 double swatches of jersey cards. Our example was the Sweden and AC Milan strikers ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC featuring his a shirt swatch from his Inter Milan days.

These cards are limited to only 225 of each card.

On the successes of their online game which allows collectors to play using the codes on the reverse of the cards, Futera has included a new subset. The MANAGERS is a set of 10 cards limited to just 240 and coated in 24 ct. gold plate.

We were happy to pull the legendary Liverpool man KENNY DALGLISH.

We were not able to get any autograph cards which were distributed in 4 styles - Brown, Mint, Blue and Silver. Each player was able to sign up to 60 cards in each color. However, some only returned as little as 49 from some choices. (For complete list see here)

The next to last most coveted cards are the 1 of 1 autograph cards. For collectors, this is truly the greatest card to own of your favorite player. These regularly command hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. One of the criticisms, however, is the sloppy and illegible signatures on many of the examples. 

Another item we did not get to see in person is one of the ten cards known as The MYTHICALS.

These cards, we are told, have 5 encrusted diamonds and are gold plated. Each card is only one of 10 in the world. The list of players:

• 1. Franz Beckenbauer
• 2. George Best
• 3. Eusebio
• 4. Claudio Gentile
• 5. Diego Maradona
• 6. Roger Milla
• 7. Pele
• 8. Socrates
• 9. Lev Yashin
• 10. Dino Zoff

What we like about Futera Unique set: 

The photos are pretty nice with these cards. Since the players are pictured with their National sides, there is no worry of a transfer from your team. The base set cards are also great to get autographed. 

What we do not like about the Futera Unique set:

The cards are not easily available in the North American market. They are sold on the secondary market on the internet. The worrying aspect is many of the sellers are in Asia - a place know for its counterfeit products.

FUTERA ... Out of This World cards

Last posting I featured a great new set from ITG of Canada. This time it is even better ...
Futera cards of the UK (near England for the geographically challenged) have just released their 9th annual series of World Football cards. The company began in the late 1990's with club sets that included Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Celtic.

The release began some of the most coveted sports collectables in recent years with their 1/1 autograph cards. (that means only one card like this exists in the entire world) Now if you follow baseball, hockey or basketball there might be a few million of you. However, since soccer - football is world wide - the hunt for these treasures is massive for the billions who love this game.

For Americans it's special as the cards depict players usually with national team jerseys - only an exclusive few make these limited sets. Two to three Yanks have been included with sets in the past few years. Recent sets have included Landon Donovan, Kasey Keller and current # 1 goalkeeper - Tim Howard (above).

Some of the more interesting memorabilia cards have been produced by Futera. For the collectors who are weary of jersey cards that come from photo shoots or practice gear - rest assured, these cards tell you exactly from which team / season the jersey originates. The back of the above card of superstar "Ronaldinho" lets you know the swatch comes from his rookie season with Paris St. Germain.

The newest twist on card collecting comes from what is on the back of these cards. Futera has developed online gaming for card collectors. Entering the digital numbers on the reverse of the cards, collectors add to their fantasy teams over the internet. Periodic winners get exclusive cards made by Futera and other prizes.

There are chase cards that feature current HEROES ... (like England / Chelsea Captain - John Terry and Holland / Arsenal gunner Robin Van Persie above).

The old boys are not to be outdone as the most sought after chase cards are the LEGENDS which show all-time greats like two former New York Cosmos - Pele' and Franz Beckenbauer.

So all around the world - at shops or online, from the Brazil's Greatest (Pele') to the Newest ( teenager - "Pato" at top), this set has it all. Made for the collectors and the gamers and the fans of the sport - 2009 FUTERA is out of this world.

Warning - this is a high end product - not for the faint hearted of finance. The HEROES card have a brisk selling price of $15 - 20 on the secondary market, while the LEGENDS can demand from $50 to $300.

The 1/1 cards that make it to the second hand auctions range from $100 to $500 for "average" players. Superstar 1/1 autographs (if anyone would give them up) would fetch well into the thousands of dollars price range - AC Milan's Gattuso bringing $450 last week on ebay.