One of the innovations in trading cards here in Australia over the past 10 years has been the introduction of patch cards. Having been produced in the USA for many years, it was around 2016 when AFL (Select trading cards), NRL (TLA trading cards) and Cricket put this feature into their sets.
Patch cards have all been via redemption except for the AFL Supremacy releases, which leads us to another intriguing aspect to these cards. What kind of patch are you going to get back?
The thing with patch cards is that everyone’s tastes are different. Probably the only thing that collectors agree on is that the basic, one colour patch is at the bottom of the desirability chart.
But after this it gets interesting. Do you prefer a dash of a few colours, or something unique like a sponsors logo?
Looking at a card like the Josh Kerr card pictured, you can see that it succeeds in giving an amazing representation of the indigenous jersey worn on the night. So much colour, the design unmistakably part of the jerseys worn in the game. Surely there is no one who could say this patch isn’t amazing and take pride of place in their collection.
On the other side of the coin (or jersey) is cards that feature logos like the sponsors logo in the Corey Norman card. There are certainly collectors out there that seek to add these types to their collection, but the market is undoubtably smaller.
AFL guernsey patches are equally diverse, but when you see what Select does with the 01 serial numbered patches in their Supremacy releases, you will understand why these are the most sought after. The AFL logo from the chest of the guernsey is as iconic as it gets…… unless you’d rather black and white for a Collingwood card that is. It all comes back to personal choice.
It is one of the great parts of our hobby.
There is no right or wrong answer, everyone has their own preference, and that is so cool. Just remember when you send your next redemption in, and you are waiting for the mail to be returned, just because the patch you get is not exactly your cup of tea, it may well be the best patch in the world for someone else.
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