Panini Peek: 2012 Golden Age Baseball

The future of Panini America Baseball is about to embark on a glorious trip back in time, to the golden age of baseball collecting and a checklist that includes the likes of the Loch Ness Monster, Watergate journalist Bob Woodward, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb and cards embedded with wood salvaged from the Titanic.

The future of Panini America Baseball is about to embark on a glorious trip back in time, to the golden age of baseball collecting and a checklist that includes the likes of the Loch Ness Monster, Watergate journalist Bob Woodward, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb and cards embedded with wood salvaged from the Titanic.

Panini America’s 2012 Golden Age Baseball, slated to arrive in late November, also features mini parallels with card-back variations, a unique selection of box toppers including mini pennants patterned after the 1916 Ferguson Bakery Pennants, and BuyBacks of original classic cards from the 1930s and 1940s.

2012 Golden Age Baseball (six cards per pack, 24 packs per box) will be comprised of 150 base cards (including 25 SP variations that fall roughly two per case), 150 mini tobacco card parallels with back-color variations, 50 Historic Signatures, 40 Museum Age memorabilia cards and one Triple Crown Winners Signature card.

Other highlights of the product include:

  • A box break that should yield one Historic Signatures autograph, one Museum Age memorabilia card, 24 Mini Parallels, two Headlines, two Batter-Up, one Newark Evening World Supplement, one Ferguson Bakery pennant or 5 by 7 Movie Poster box topper (a limited number of the Movie Posters will include memorabilia from the depicted actors).
  • Each case should deliver one original buyback card from the 1930s or 1940s, with several Hall of Famers dotting the checklist.
  • History-riddled memorabilia inclusions such as Museum Age Titanic cards embedded with pieces of pine wreckwood from the ship and memorabilia cards featuring the infamous 1919 Black Sox.
  • A unique Triple Crown Winners tribute card featuring autographs from the three living Triple Crown jockeys.

To be sure, the Golden Age of Americana means different time periods for different people. But this new product mixes the best of baseball’s past with great athletes from other sports and personalities from other professions. We’ll have much more on 2012 Golden Age Baseball in the coming weeks.

But until then, here’s an extended first look at some of what the product has in store . . .

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37 Replies to “Panini Peek: 2012 Golden Age Baseball”

  1. As frequent readers of the comments section of this blog would like agree, I am typically on board with pretty much any Panini release in a rah-rah type of way. This will be a distinct departure from that. I have had way past my fill of these throwback style releases, there are already WAY too many of them and in my opinion they should stay in the past. First off, if I buy a pack/box/case of baseball cards I want to see BASEBALL PLAYERS in them. Not historic figures, not horse racing, nothing but players and manager affiliated with the sport. Second, these mini cards are more of a headache than they are worth since they don’t store easily in traditional holders and are almost impossible to read without a magnifying glass. Finally, Titanic wood??? That seems almost distasteful in some way, that was a worldwide tragedy. I appreciate the work you put into this Tracy but I will not be buying or supporting this release at all.

  2. Amazing drool Oscar worthy product! How did u guys get pieces of the titantic? That awesome. Another great baseball product

  3. Although from reading in this comment section this may not be for every collector don’t get me wrong nothing against any ones views on this product….I like products like these …able to get some old school player memorabilia with the likes of the 1919 black Sox (Shoeless Joe Jackson) and a melange of actors and actresses memorabilia and sigs more gravy for my liking …pieces of historical events or even oddities I am all in for …this is the kind of product I like busting with family members it has a little bit of everything…and a little back through time appeal…..A+ for me..

      1. Hobby, retail, or both. Price point sounds pretty good.

        In all things baseball. Tracy do you know when we will see Cooperstown or Signature Series. I am guessing the release schedule looks like Cooperstown, Signature Series, Golden Age and Elite????

  4. I know some folks get up in arms about non sports stuff being included in sets, and even though I am not the biggest fan of the trend it’s not like there aren’t a ton of other options with straight sports cards.

    That said I really like the relic. It has a nice old school look. The autso look clean and nice as well.

    1. We will sell this item out!!! our customers are big supporters of prouducts like this. the only negative item is going to be the last 25 cards that are sp’s (only two per case) we have loyal setbuilders who will upset with that. I can’t wait…. AWESOME

      1. I can see this selling like crazy as well. I know I will seak out some of the relics!

        This more than anything else is a real shift for Panini, it will bring in a new group of collectors!

        Any old school Pirates included in the checklist?

      2. Just talked to Brand Manager Mike Payne about this. The SPs are alternate versions of the regular base cards. So there will be two versions of those cards: The regular base-set card and the SP variation. Hope that clears things up.

  5. While others may not like this product because of the amount of NON-baseball content, I would not be a big fan because of the baseball-centric aspect of it. I’ve thought for a while that Topps A&G was a joke because it claims to be a baseball product, but has so much non-baseball content. I’ve actually bought it just to get the non baseball stuff, and give the baseball to the local kids in the shop. Upper Deck’s releases of Goodwin’s Champions and World of Sports was much more in the “all inclusive” vein that I was interested in, but frankly, the products kinda stink. This is just as non-interesting to me, althouugh I’m anxious to see what kind of “oddball” content is going to be coming out of these boxes.

    On a different subject, I’m also not very comfortable with the idea of pieces of the Titanic being “hits” in a sports card product, to be bought, sold, and traded. The Titanic was a horrible catastrophe, and the wreck is actually a burial site, the final resting place for over 1500 bodies. 1500 souls who’s decendants can still track thier lineage to these lost lives, who’s grandparents may still remember great uncle or great aunt, who were lost on the Titanic. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but how far does this put us from including pieces of the World Trade Center or Columbine in an upcoming product….It’s not that different

    1. To Brent, yes you are right about having items of catasrophes out there. But have you seen how many items such as The Berlin Wall sections,The coin they sell on tv that is made of steel from the Trade Towers you could go on and on. People just want a piece of history they can hold. I think of it as honoring those lost.

  6. I just went back through the images, that Triple Crown Triple auto is epic! That thing could be crazy on the secondary market. It’s like having Ruth, Mays and Aaron on the same card.

  7. I hear what people are saying about this type of product. I say if you like it, great. If not, don’t buy it. For example, I am really not at all into basketball cards. I might buy a pack or two here or there or buy some 76ers cards to display on my Philadelphia card wall that I have in my classroom, but that’s it. Doesn’t mean that I hate the idea of basketball cards, just not my thing. If any company puts out a product that a lot of people like, they will likely do more of that type of card in the future. If it doesn’t go over well, they probably won’t re-do it or will have major changes to it before it is re-done.

    Some of the more memorable cards I’ve gotten have been in this type of product. Got a Bruce Lee fur coat mem card a few years ago, go the spelling bee champion auto in A&G a few years back, recently got a Tiger Woods shirt card. It’s fun to have a little variety to go with the mainstream sports cards that are out there.

  8. I know that there is a split in the collector world about sets of this nature but I do not understand why some collectors get so upset about a product like this. If you do not like non-sports cards included with sports cards than do not purchase the product. Stick to buying singles of just the athletes that you like within the set. There are plenty of products out there that I would not purchase but because I have certain players I collect I will just buy the cards that I want.

    Personally I like that Panini is willing to offer sports-only products as well as mixed product, they are able to make more people happy this way instead of ignoring a portion of the collecting demographic.

    A quick question though, the Titanic is listed on the card front as “1937, I am guessing this is just a mock up right?

  9. I opened a box of 2012 Golden Age Baseball and Rec’d the Holy Grail out of a pack. It was a 1933 Goudey # 53 BABE RUTH RC. It was unbelievable. I got it on Christmas eve. Early Christmas present for me.

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