• Home
  • First Bowman
  • Blog
  • Podcast
    • Thad Bosley
    • Norman Smiley
    • Tyrone Nesby
    • Online Sites
    • NFL Team Addresses
    • MLB Team Addresses
    • NHL Team Addresses
    • NBA Team Addresses
    • WNBA Team Addresses
    • NWSL Team Addresses
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Privacy
Menu

WaxPackHero

  • Home
  • First Bowman
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Player Collections
    • Thad Bosley
    • Norman Smiley
    • Tyrone Nesby
  • Resources
    • Online Sites
    • NFL Team Addresses
    • MLB Team Addresses
    • NHL Team Addresses
    • NBA Team Addresses
    • WNBA Team Addresses
    • NWSL Team Addresses
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Privacy
×

Please note, I include affiliate links within this post to support the maintenance and development of this site.

2020-21 SP Authentic Hockey Review and Box Break

Michael Sommer August 30, 2022

The fine folks at Upper Deck provided me an opportunity to open a box of 2020-21 SP Authentic Hockey. In this post I’ll share both the results of that box break and my overall thoughts on the product!

Overview

SP Authentic is a staple in the hobby world. The brand dates back to the 90s and has plenty of fans. The checklist layers a variety of subsets and can create some confusion for set collectors. It’s not necessarily easy to determine what is considered a complete set. Hobby boxes contain 18 packs with five cards in each pack. At the time of release the boxes were retailing for about $250-$300 on eBay.

John Leonard was the Future Watch auto in my box.

The first 100 cards are considered the “base set”, and it is completely made up of veterans. The next 16 cards are called the “base celebrated moments set”. These unnumbered cards fall one in six packs. The next 31 cards are the “base future icons set” and these cards are serial numbered to just /199. Finally, cards 148-232 are the ‘base future watch rookies” set and are numbered to /999. This is where it can get a bit complicated for set collectors. About 75% of these are autographed and the remaining cards are serial numbered only. Several parallels exist for all these tiers of base cards.

A variety of insert cards also exist for collectors to chase.

First up is a massive 100 card 2000-01 Retro set. There is a Spectrum parallel for the card in this set which is numbered to /100. There are 15 Retro Future Watch cards which are numbered to /500. The Spectrum Fx insert set creates a Bounty Program chase element. These inserts fall into a variety of scarcity tiers:

Veterans 1:18 packs

Future Watch Level 1 1:36 packs

Future Watch Level 2 1:90 packs

Future Watch Level 3 1:360 packs

Future Watch Level 4 Bounty Reward

There is also a ten card Top Performers set which falls 1:30 packs and a 21 card True Leaders set which falls 1:8 packs. In addition there is an unannounced Acetate Young Guns set but the specifics are still a bit vague since it was a surprise!

Box Break

I enjoyed opening this box. I did not hit anything huge, but I did end up with three autos in my box instead of two!

I also received a Brayden Schenn base auto

In my opinion, the base cards look really nice. The player is featured overtop of a greyish white background. What I really like about the design is that the players photo has a glossy finish that really pops on the matte white/gray background. It looks awesome in person but I think it’s hard to do it justice in a photo.

The three autos I received in my box were a Sign of the Times Marc Staal, a Brayden Schenn, and a John Leonard Future Watch. All the autographs were on-card which is nice. If given a choice, I’d take on-card autos over stickers every day.

The only parallels in my box were the common red base parallels. They were ok, but didn’t really do anything for me. The Top Performers and True Leaders inserts were ok, but nothing about the design of those cards was notable in my opinion. However, I really like the Retro set. It provides a nice 100 card complement to the base set. I think collectors could have a lot of fun putting together the 100 card base set and the 100 card retro set. I got the one expected Spectrum Fx card which looked kind of cool, and if you are a die-hard, the bounty chase will be a challenge. I think this is a creative twist that Upper Deck has in place and I hope we see more of this type of program in the future!

Wrapping It Up

Overall, I really enjoyed this product. The base cards look really nice and there are a variety of both hits and inserts to chase. My only real complaint is around how the lines between hits and base set numbering are blurred. I prefer a clean line between what is in the base set and what is a hit or insert. I’d also say that the prices at release are a bit higher than I’d like based on what the product is designed to be. I think $275 a box is a bit steep and would be more comfortable if they were in the $150 range.

Have you opened any of these? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Here are examples of the red parallel, Retro, a Retro Future Watch, a Retro Insert, and a Spectrum Fx insert.

Also, if you haven’t heard, I have a podcast called the WaxPackHero Sports Card Minute!  It’s available here directly on the site at the Podcast link at the top of the page, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and Amazon!  Check it out, let me know what you think, and tell your friends!

In Breaks, Set Review Tags 2020-21 SP, 2020-21 Upper Deck, Hockey Cards
← 1991 WWF Playing Cards2020-21 Upper Deck Stature Hockey Review and Box Break →

Autographed Collectibles and Memorabilia

Search Posts

COMCSPONSOR.jpg
Featured
Apr 24, 2025
The Diamond King
Apr 24, 2025
Apr 24, 2025
Apr 5, 2025
I Tried Live Selling?
Apr 5, 2025
Apr 5, 2025
Mar 1, 2025
Barry Sanders: Then and Now
Mar 1, 2025
Mar 1, 2025

Index and Recent Posts

  • Set Review 171
  • Checklist 83
  • Breaks 76
  • Memories 63
  • Industry 58
  • Making Money 23
  • site review 8
  • Book Review 2
  • 1
Featured
Jun 9, 2020
Topps Living Set Stats
Jun 9, 2020
Jun 9, 2020
Featured
Apr 17, 2025
2024 Cryptozoic A Christmas Story
Apr 17, 2025
Apr 17, 2025
Mar 16, 2025
2025 Topps Hobby Rip Night Set Review and Checklist
Mar 16, 2025
Mar 16, 2025
Jan 25, 2025
20 Most Expensive Barry Sanders Cards: 1998 vs 2025
Jan 25, 2025
Jan 25, 2025
Jan 15, 2025
Collecting College Cards?
Jan 15, 2025
Jan 15, 2025
Jan 8, 2025
1993 Nabisco All-Star Autographs
Jan 8, 2025
Jan 8, 2025
Nov 14, 2024
1980-81 Arby’s University of Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Card Team Set
Nov 14, 2024
Nov 14, 2024
Oct 30, 2024
2022-23 O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey Cards
Oct 30, 2024
Oct 30, 2024
Oct 23, 2024
Harold Miner: A Look Back at the 90s Fan Favorite
Oct 23, 2024
Oct 23, 2024
Oct 14, 2024
1965 Donruss Spec Sheet Auto Racing Set
Oct 14, 2024
Oct 14, 2024
Oct 10, 2024
5 Awesome Aaron Judge Cards
Oct 10, 2024
Oct 10, 2024
COMC is a proud sponsor of WaxPackHero.com!

COMC is a proud sponsor of WaxPackHero.com!

 
Sidebarebay.jpg
 
  • December 2017 3
  • January 2018 9
  • February 2018 8
  • March 2018 9
  • April 2018 6
  • May 2018 4
  • June 2018 3
  • July 2018 2
  • August 2018 1
  • October 2018 2
  • November 2018 1
  • December 2018 1
  • January 2019 6
  • February 2019 5
  • March 2019 6
  • April 2019 7
  • May 2019 5
  • June 2019 3
  • July 2019 6
  • August 2019 7
  • September 2019 5
  • October 2019 4
  • November 2019 5
  • December 2019 5
  • January 2020 6
  • February 2020 5
  • March 2020 5
  • April 2020 5
  • May 2020 5
  • June 2020 3
  • July 2020 2
  • August 2020 4
  • September 2020 5
  • October 2020 3
  • November 2020 3
  • December 2020 3
  • January 2021 4
  • February 2021 3
  • March 2021 4
  • April 2021 2
  • May 2021 2
  • June 2021 4
  • July 2021 1
  • August 2021 1
  • September 2021 2
  • October 2021 2
  • November 2021 3
  • December 2021 1
  • January 2022 2
  • February 2022 4
  • March 2022 2
  • April 2022 1
  • May 2022 2
  • July 2022 1
  • August 2022 1
  • September 2022 1
  • October 2022 1
  • December 2022 4
  • January 2023 2
  • February 2023 1
  • March 2023 1
  • April 2023 1
  • June 2023 2
  • August 2023 1
  • September 2023 1
  • October 2023 2
  • November 2023 2
  • December 2023 6
  • January 2024 7
  • February 2024 4
  • March 2024 2
  • April 2024 2
  • June 2024 1
  • September 2024 4
  • October 2024 5
  • November 2024 1
  • January 2025 3
  • March 2025 1
  • April 2025 1

Join Our Community!

Subscribe today to make sure you don't miss a post as we celebrate this hobby we love!

We respect your privacy.

Thank you!

Affiliate Links

Some posts may include affiliate links, which share a commission with the blog at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I believe in; if they have an affiliate program, I add it, and if they don't I recommend them anyway. 

Privacy and Affiliate Notice

© Copyright 2024 WaxPackHero - All rights reserved