Mining & Pining: An Early Exploration of 2010-11 Panini Gold Standard Basketball

If I could be recast in card form as any basketball product in the entire collecting universe, I think I’d want to be the breath of fresh air that is 2010-11 Panini Gold Standard (and I’m not just saying that because I work here). The uniquely themed high-end offering, due out May 25, is unapologetically lustrous from beginning to end — packed with enough luster to sparkle well past its rookie season.

Yesterday we gave you a behind-the-scenes look at how the product’s peerless packaging came about. Today, compliments of a fresh batch of proofs from the veritable goldmine known as the Panini America Routing Table, we offer an extended glance at a handful of Gold Standard’s myriad compelling inserts, including Gold Rings, Gold Nuggets and Golden Age.

Simply, you won’t unearth another product on the sports card landscape that is as consistently true-to-theme as this one. It wears its precious-metal mantra proudly and stands out — and alone — because of it. As you can plainly see from the pre-productions proofs that follow, that is unmistakably a good thing.

Stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for additional updates on 2010-11 Panini Gold Standard Basketball.