This week I talked about how much 1/1s have been devalued due to contrived scarcity, especially in regards to how common they have become in the use of product construction. With that, I believe it goes without saying that collectors are looking for something fresh, a card that connects them more to the player than just a swatch of jersey. One way that companies have tried to make cards special is with inscriptions to accompany the autograph on the card, usually only possible when done with hard signed examples.

Back in 2008 and 2009, Upper Deck broke through the wall with inscription sets in both Ultimate collection and Exquisite, but the success quickly disappeared with the loss of their license. There had been awesome inscriptions sprinkled into sets in other sports, but football was just getting started before everything blew up. Although they still made inscriptions for 2010 Exquisite NCAA, they didnt have the same kind of punch. At the same time, Topps created one of the most highly collected and rare sets of the last few years with 2010 Five Star, building an entire line around extensive inscriptions of some of the NFLs top rookies and star players. The inscriptions chosen were so well thought out, that in some cases, even the lower tier rookies were commanding a lot of money.

Here are some examples:

2010 Five Star Quotables Tim Tebow Auto Inscription

2010 Five Star Quotables Jim Brown Auto Inscription

2010 Five Star Quotables Mark Sanchez Auto Inscription

2010 Five Star Quotables Rob Gronkowski Auto Inscription – This might be the most expensive card ever sold for a tight end, wow.

I have said numerous times that my favorite card in my entire collection comes from the Five Star “Quotables” set, and that will most likely not change for a long time. Because the players in the set each took the entire large space on the card to write their inscription, the cards look amazingly well done.

To me, the use of these types of add ons will heighten collectors’ connection to their favorite players. If you look at how much the Cam Newton 1/1 Finest Superfractor auto sold for, its obvious that the added text to his autograph made it almost as valuable as his Chrome superfractor auto, something that RARELY ever happens with comparisons between finest and chrome.

If I were the companies out there, I think its worth considering how much extra value an inscription based subset can add to a higher end product. Donruss was able to have success with its Famous Nicknames set in 2007 National Treasures, but has stupidly not put a priority on obtaining hard signed signatures since then for any product. In fact, since that set, Panini has yet to offer a hard signed set with Veteran autographs in it. They have had the opportunity to get some inscriptions on the stickers but with the limited space, it doesnt accomplish the same effect.

Five Star quotables will be back this year, and I cannot wait. Although Peterson wont be making another appearance, I am excited to see what else Topps has up its sleeve. I know that they are planning big things, and I am definitely going to drop the cash on the table when the product comes out. National Treasures solicitation is weeks, if not months late, which means that Panini must be finally getting that hard signed cards important through their thick skulls. Who knows, maybe it wont look like a 400 dollar box of Prestige for once.

In the end, I think that even though they add cost for a company to produce when getting their products fufilled, inscriptions have the staying power and the adaptability to have staying power beyond just their inclusion in the collecting lexicon. If you dont believe me, look at how much money each player charges for inscriptions when they sign at shows, and how many times the attendees shell out the extra money. Its worth it, and I am one of the people who will always pay the extra cash.