Rare Air: First Amelia Earhart Memorabilia Trading Card Drawing Big Bucks, Curiosity

But National Treasures has always been about much more than just legends and current superstars from the world of sports. It's also about honoring history-makers and pioneers off the field as well. So when you have an opportunity to make something as remarkable as, say, Amelia Earhart's first memorabilia trading card, well, you do it.

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Simply stated, last week’s celebrated release of 2012 National Treasures Baseball included some of the most historically significant trading cards ever produced, including bat knobs, buttons, booklets and cut signatures honoring the greatest baseball players to all time.

But National Treasures has always been about much more than just legends and current superstars from the world of sports. It’s also about honoring history-makers and pioneers off the field as well. So when you have an opportunity to make something as remarkable as, say, Amelia Earhart’s first memorabilia trading card, well, you do it.

So when Panini America Brand Manager Ben Ecklar set out to construct 2012 National Treasures Baseball, he kept a spot open for Earhart, the American aviation pioneer who in 1932 became the first woman to make a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

But how, exactly, do you make a meaningful memorabilia card of a subject who never swung a bat, wore a jersey or donned a glove? In the rare case of Panini America and Earhart, the company acquired original wing fabric from the Lockheed Vega 5B aircraft that Earhart piloted on that historic 14-hour, 54-minute flight. For the record, she flew the same aircraft from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., later that year, becoming the first woman to make a nonstop transcontinental flight.

Panini America produced five Remarkable Rarities insert cards incorporating the wing fabric. In addition, there’s also a 1/1 version that includes a piece of wing fabric and a cut autograph. In the week since 2012 National Treasures Baseball released, just one of the Remarkable Rarities cards has surfaced on the secondary market, and it sold for $461.78.

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13 Replies to “Rare Air: First Amelia Earhart Memorabilia Trading Card Drawing Big Bucks, Curiosity”

  1. Awesome inclusion. I can’t wait to see what the autographed version goes for. I wish there was more than 1 auto, so that I might have a decent shot at getting one.

  2. Excellent write-up on these unique cards, I want to congratulate all the collectors who are lucky enough to pull them and wish them sky-high prices if they choose to sell them. Thanks Tracy!

  3. That is simply remarkable Panini for being able to produce such a piece of History like this. My hats off to you. And thank you for brining this to my attention as I didn’t know about these cards. Now it’s time for me to do some “High Flyin” Searching to grab a box and see if I can’t “Land” on of my own for my “Airstrip” of Baseball Card Collectibles! Thank you!

  4. In all seriousness, that card could easily bring in more cash if sold to the right buyer- Museums in perspective as well!

  5. Part of collecting cards is trying to capture a piece of history (usually sports history) that we remember and treasure. There is no doubt that Amelia Earhart has earned her place amongst the best of Americana collections. That 1/1 cut auto memorabilia would belong in any collection for anyone who truly understands what this hobby is all about.

  6. Do you know how I can purchase a piece of Amelia Earharts Vega fabric.

    I noticed some on trading cards on this site . Do they have COA

    Cheers and thanks PauL

  7. Do you know how I can purchase a piece of Amelia Earharts Vega fabric.

    The Smithsonian had some in posters a while .ago. Does anyone know if one for sale?

    Cheers and thanks PauL

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