Panini Digs Into the Past for First Ever National Treasures Baseball Issue

Buttons, bat knobs and booklets will be among the prizes a month from now when the first-ever edition of Panini National Treasures Baseball releases.

The high-end brand has been a fixture in other sports but this year, Panini has fought off the lack of an MLB license to produce a veteran-heavy set of cards that won’t contain big league logos but will deliver eight autograph or memorabilia cards per pack, including at least one on-card autograph and one booklet card.

National Treasures baseball will include the first-ever memorabilia cards of such long ago legends as Wee Willie Keeler, Jake Daubert, Goose Goslin, Pete Reiser, Dave Bancroft, Heine Groh, Willie Kamm and Billy Southworth.

Among the highlights collectors will find:

Triple Crown Winners: Memorabilia cards honoring Triple Crown champions from 1901 through 2012 — including Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Walter Johnson, Jimmie Foxx and more — numbered to 99 or less.
Buttons: Unique memorabilia cards incorporating buttons from jerseys worn by the likes of Satchel Paige, Rogers Hornsby, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson and more numbered to eight or less.
Bat Knobs: 1/1 cards featuring oversized bat knobs cut from game-used bats wielded by Hall of Famers Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Ted Williams and more.
Legends Booklets: Fold out cards with a cut signature on one side and an oversized piece of memorabilia on the other. Among the big hits: Jim Thorpe, Dizzy Dean, Hack Wilson and so many more on cards numbered to 25 or less.
Legends Booklets I.D. Tags: The player I.D. tags from game-worn jerseys give the Legends Booklets a rare 1/1 version, featuring Jackie Robinson, Nolan Ryan, Reggie Jackson, Carlton Fisk and more.
Hall of Fame Logo and Membership Signatures: On-card autographs from the greatest baseball players in history.
Jumbo Die-Cut Prime Signatures: These will feature legends and current superstars with an oversized piece of prime, game-worn memorabilia and an on-card autograph.
Rated Rookie Signature Materials Gold: On-card signed, jumbo-memorabilia Rookie Cards featuring young superstars such as Matt Moore, Will Middlebrooks, Brett Lawrie and more numbered to 25.
Rookie of the Year Jumbo Prime Materials Gold: A tribute to A.L. Rookie of the Year Mike Trout includes a huge swatch of game-worn memorabilia and an on-card autograph and is limited to 25.
Rated Rookie Prime Materials Gold: Jumbo-material Rookie Cards. Bigger pulls will include Yu Darvish and Bryce Harper numbered to 25.