Topps couldn’t have timed this release any better. Roger Federer – king of the Tennis world for the last decade – wins the sports most prestigious championship and the next day his 2012 Allen & Ginter Framed Autograph makes it’s first appearance on eBay. Not to mention it looks like he’s holding the Wimbledon trophy too! It’s almost as if Topps had the cards made yesterday, but actually they were probably manufactured during a time when most people in the tennis world were talking about Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
How Sick Is This Card If You Love Tennis?
Shoot, you can be a casual fan like me and love this card. I don’t follow the sport outside the major championships, but in my mind Pete Samras retired and Roger Federer took over as the guy you think about when you think about excellence in the sport. What makes this card special is that Roger Federer was looking like he was going to let the young kids take over in Tennis – but then wins Wimbledon and takes over his #1 ranking in the sport. Even when his contemporaries like Djokovic and Nadal do eventually take his thrown as the best player in the world, Roger reminded us that he’s been on top of this sport for a long time.
eBay Seller: brentandbecca
Where art thou, on-card Roger?
Ace Authentics has been making tennis cards for as long as anyone. I saw plenty of sticker autographs for sale on eBay, but very few on-card autographs of this tennis legend. Since I follow the tennis card market less than I follow the sport, it might just mean that collectors aren’t selling the on-card stuff … but sticker autographs look far more common. That should make this card stand out to Federer fans if he doesn’t ever go on a signing binge after his career is over.
Most of Roger’s autographs were selling in the $130 – $175 pre-Wimbledon win … so the sellers near $1,000 original asking price for the Allen & Ginter autograph is probably a little out of the range, but you never know.
I thought the en-cased autograph tennis balls were cool. Some for sale were match-used.
We’ve Got A Relic!
On top of the Autograph version, and the regular card – you’ll also find “relic” cards of Federer as well. The cards back is very vague to say the least about the origins of the relic piece – but it’s still a pretty cool card.
Roger Federer is definitely the best tennis player ever. He has so attractive gamestyle, so I’m impressed from his technique and shots. Definitely love watching his matches.