[melcmd]

On to 2012 Certified Freshman Fabric Autos.

This was the last year I decided to try to put together a BGS graded set. It was also one of the more disappointing. The card stock wasn't great and there were too many damaged cards and rolled edges. I also didn't like the retina burning emerald design. I did like the Black set....a lot. I thought the Gold set looked best in hand.

Due to the grades returning, I got discouraged. I didn't want to spend the amount of money I did with 2010, so I reached a compromise. If the card was numbered to 5 or less, I accepted whatever grade I got. At least the card was protected. If another happen to come along that would grade better, I would consider adding it.

If the card was numbered to 25, I would shoot for 9.5's but no less than 9.0's in the set. Still a challenge.

Some of you have seen some of these ungraded. I had gotten away from grading these but will resume now. The set went to 39 each. I have a number waiting to be sent off to BGS.

You will see how tough it was getting superior grades in the Emerald set.

2012 CERTIFIED GOLD FRESHMAN FABRIC AUTOS:

[melcmd]

2012 CERTIFIED EMERALD FRESHMAN FABRIC AUTOS:

















Up next stuff I've never posted in any form......2013 Certified

[coltsfansince85]

SOOO sick, so clean! Sorry about the drool on those Lucks

[melcmd]

2013 Certified Freshman Fabric Autos

I really hated this product. Panini gutted this classic with a makeover without the NFL logos and the quad memorabilia cards. Combined with really awful card stock and an unappealing rookie class, people just didn't buy this product. The singles I picked up graded poorly for the most part (very few 9.5's). There also weren't a lot of Emerald cards being pulled, so I started working on the Emerald set.

Here are a few I did get graded. My goal was to get at least one card from each player in the set, no matter what color. I have about 30 sitting in a box that I might get graded at some point if I ever get motivated. Feel free to comment or share any you might have.

2013 Certified Emerald Freshman Fabric Autos:










I picked up a couple of Black Freshman Fabric autos.....nothing special, but a few are worth sharing. I also threw in a Certified Gold FF that I had graded.

[melcmd]

It's been a while since I updated this post. I thought it was a better idea to wait to post 2014 and 2015 because they were still in progress. I've learned in the past that if I post what I'm looking for, they start showing up with asking prices 4 x what they are worth (or what I'm willing to pay).

Here are some of the better highlights from 2014. A nice looking group of cards in hand even though the design is no longer traditional. These cards tend to grade well. Unfortunately, many were never found/released because of the Panini point/rebate system was put into effect. in fact, I've only seen one Odell Beckham and it was the Cert Black (which I missed out on).

2014 Certified Freshman Fabric Autos

Blue

I picked up a few because they looked nice. I limited it to the QBs that mattered since they only were numbered to 25.

[phinzphan1372]

What will it take to wrestle the Thomas from ya? .... this is 1 of the last big cards of his I'm missing

http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/phnzph...t=6&page=1

[melcmd]

NOTE: 2014 is the year I gave up breaking cases and a lot of boxes. I think I was just showing my frustration with Panini changing a product I've enjoyed for so long for the worse. The new point system did not help because inherent in this method is some cards would never ever show up on the market. I wasn't going to give Panini any more money to accrue points for cards that should have been released or not in the product in the first place.

Instead, I decided to start buying singles and trying to get at least one low numbered and highest graded card I could of each player from across the rainbow of Cert FF Autos.

Here are a couple of the Gold (with the Bridgewater thrown in to balance the scan). I only have the other three players in the Gold. All are numbered to 10.

---

2014 Certified FF Green Autos Graded (#/5)

[melcmd]

I am always looking to upgrade to a BGS 9.5 because I would like to one day a have a complete 9.5 set.

[melcmd]

The remaining are images prior to grading. The Mason, Bridgewater, Ebron and Sankey all graded 9.5 but there was an error with the slabs at the last grading I sent in and I haven't sent them back for the corrections yet.

Surprisingly, I have most of the cards in the Green/Emerald set with the exception of Allen Robinson, Charles Sims, Jadeveon Clowney, Khalil Mack, Paul Richardson, Tajh Boyd, Tom Savage and Odell Bechkam, Jr.

The Tre Mason is not listed on the Panini Checklist. Of the Green, I stand at 31/39 in hand! I just bought the Charles Sims on E-Bay, so I'll soon have 32/39 in hand.

[melcmd]

Finally, the 2014 Certified Freshman Fabric Black Autos. I had not planned on buying any of these this year unless the price was low. I couldn't justify paying a lot for the 1/1's without the NFL logos. That's why I missed out on the Odell Beckham which, in retrospect, was a bargain at $295 (before he blew up)!

I did end up picking up 8 after all , including the Jarvis Landry (which had a defect on one corner that looked like it had been cut off). I returned the Landry to the seller who later sold it in auction for a 3rd of what he sold it to me without him showing the defect in his photo on the auction (it was big...).

The graded first......





The ungraded: