Panini America is beginning regular releases of Mickey Mantle cards under its new deal with the family.
The company announced the exclusive agreement in early April but until Monday had only produced two cards–one a giveaway and the other through its print-to-order Eternal platform.
The first card was handed out to attendees at the Industry Summit 
in Las Vegas and was numbered to 200. Dozens were sold on eBay in the days following the convention. The second card was offered through Eternal with 230 produced during a one-week sales period.
This week, they began a weekly series of “Mantle Monday” offerings through Eternal, highlighting milestones in Mantle’s New York Yankees career. The first commemorated his 1951 debut while next week’s card will include text on the back referencing his first home run.
The base cards are $9.99 each (less in quantity) and will offer an ongoing chronology of Mantle’s career with a new card released each week for 1
5 weeks. The cards are serial numbered according to the number of orders received. Gray, Blue (# to 7) and Black (1/1) versions are more expensiv
e.
Without an MLB license, Panini has to remove team logos or trademarks from any MLB photos it uses.
Panini has also indicated Mantle cards would make their hobby box debut in 2017 Donruss Optic baseball, set to arrive July 19 with preview images showing a Mantle card and parallels but the checklist has yet to be released.
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