Panini America has released some preliminary information on its 2009-10 National Treasures Basketball cards. They won't be cheap. Much like the National Treasures football product, the set is built around autographs of players past and present. Six autograph or memorabilia cards will be part of the eight-card packs that will carry a suggested retail price of $400 per … [Read more...]
Holy Grails of Baseball Memorabilia
Some phenomenal pieces of baseball memorabilia have emerged from America's closets over the last few decades. T206 Wagner cards. Babe Ruth minor league cards. Papers from some of the earliest games ever played. The whereabouts of others, though, remain a mystery. Strange as it may seem in an era when virtually every moment is not only documented, but authenticated, … [Read more...]
Panini Signs Football Card Deal; Releases First Product
Panini America and the NFL and NFL Players Association have officially come to terms on a multi-year trading card licensing agreement. The deal covers the manufacture of football cards and stickers. In the coming weeks, Panini also expects to announce several agreements with NFL players who will serve as the face of its products on packaging and in promotions. The 2010 NFL … [Read more...]
Hall of Famer Van Buren Suing Panini
Steve Van Buren, the first player to win three consecutive NFL rushing titles, is looking to score again at age 89. Van Buren, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to league championships in 1948 and '49, is taking Panini America to court over the recent production and distribution of football cards featuring his likeness and what he says are stolen canceled checks attached to … [Read more...]
Panini Pushes Out Tebow Rookie Cards
Tim Tebow football cards will hit the market before he hits the gridiron. As NFL experts speculated where college football’s most talked about player would would be selected in the 2010 NFL Draft in New York City, Panini America was prepared to print Tebow’s card coming out of the first round on Thursday night. Tebow's first official NFL Rookie Card went into production … [Read more...]
Panini Promises to Back Card Shops
Panini America executives stunned more than 100 hobby retailers at The Industry Summit in Las Vegas by announcing sweeping, comprehensive changes to the company’s distribution network. “These are things we’ve wanted to do for 10 years,’’ said Mike Anderson, Panini VP. “We are no longer turning a blind eye to the problem that has been killing margins for hobby … [Read more...]
Panini Wooing Durant?
A report out of Oklahoma City says Panini America has started talks with Thunder star Kevin Durant about becoming the face of Panini Basketball. The Daily Oklahoman reports that Panini "recently visited Durant and his representatives in Oklahoma City" and that "a deal could be finalized soon" for Durant to become the man whose face would appear on basketball card … [Read more...]
2010 Jewish Major Leaguers Set is ‘Grand Finale’
The 2010 edition of Jewish Major Leaguer baseball cards salutes what was probably the greatest decade in the game’s history for Jewish players, with players like Shawn Green, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Marquis, Ian Kinsler, Ryan Braun and Scott Feldman rising to all-star status, and more filling rosters than in any previous decade in baseball annals. Twenty-nine Jewish players … [Read more...]
In the Game Soldiers On Without NHL Blessing
Upper Deck maintains its NHL trading card license, although the company will now have to share the right to make hockey cards with fast-rising Panini America. The NHL's decision to open its trading card business to more than one company after this season is what In the Game was hoping for, but the end result is keeping them on the bench again. In the Game isn't well-known … [Read more...]
The Dawn of Baseball Cards
The following is an excerpt from Chapter One of a new book entitled "Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession". Written by Dave Jamieson, the book chronicles how baseball cards were born and also profiles many of the men who played a significant role in how the hobby evolved and changed over the years. Among other topics, Jamieson chronicles the … [Read more...]