Eureka: 2012 Draft Class Redemptions from 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball Arrive!
To truly appreciate the heavy-metal majesty that is the 2012 Draft Class Redemptions from 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball, it helps to hold them in your hands. And in the next few days, patient collectors who've been waiting for the chance to do just that will finally be rewarded. Just this week, the finished cards -- weighty, wonderfully designed and hopefully…
Base-Set Veteran Variations Add Chase to 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball
As the golden glow surrounding last week's release of 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball continues to enchant collectors, astute set-builders and curious player collectors alike by now have discovered the existence of base-set variations for a handful of NBA veterans or retired legends. The six players in question -- Tracy McGrady, Gary Payton, Bill Walton, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry and Dikembe…
2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball Stars in a Gold-Digging Edition of Panini Unwrapped
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndFp2q1Z2MI&w=600&h=338] First things first: Panini America's Tracy Hackler and Keith Hower mined some high-quality hits from the two boxes of 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball featured in this special episode of Panini Unwrapped. And you have a chance to win them. But you're going to have to embark on a gold-digging expedition of The Knight's Lance to be eligible. We've…
The Gold Standard: Kobe Bryant Makes His Monumental Mark for Panini America
The incomparable Kobe Bryant made headlines earlier this week -- as he has so many times before during his decorated career -- by simply saying what he felt: That his Dream Team could defeat the 1992 Dream Team in a head-to-head matchup that would inevitably be "a tough one." Two days later, Bryant was in the Las Vegas hotel room of Panini…
The Panini America Quality Control Gallery: 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball (80 Pics)
Gilded. Gifted. Lustrous. Splendid. Resplendent. Aurulent. Dazzling. Sparkling. Stunning. Go ahead, pick any superlative you can think of to describe the precious-metal mojo that is Panini America's 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball. They all fit. The fact of the matter, though, is that fancy words alone really can't do justice to the dense, decadent, high-gloss finish at work on most of…
How’d Panini America Do That? Production Line Video Details Laser-Cutting Process.
On Friday we brought you 28 revealing images from our fabulous field trip last week to the Panini America printing facility. Today, we do you one better with captivating video footage of various products in various stages of production. One of the things we didn't show you in that gallery late last week? The hypnotically hip process of laser cutting…
Must-See Gallery: 28 Random Scenes from the Panini America Printing Facility
For the first time in a long time I ventured across town to the Panini America printing facility this morning -- essentially celebrating my second holiday in the span of three days. After all, a field trip to the Panini America printing facility is too much fun, too revealing, too rewarding and too fascinating to be considered work. In theory,…
Panini Peek: The First Golden Glimpses of 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball
Yesterday we shared with you a 22-card gallery showcasing the first on-card autographs that have arrived for the upcoming 2011-12 Limited Basketball. Today, we're shifting into precious-medal mode with a glimmering glance at the first autographs to arrive for the highly anticipated 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball. Here's hoping the following sneak peek -- including gems from legends like Bill Russell,…
Golden Glimpses: Panini America Sneaks a Peek at 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball
With all of its precious-metal might, 2010-11 Gold Standard Basketball erupted onto the trading card landscape last season with a shining display of gilded guile that featured, among other things, 14kt gold trading cards, trading cards embedded with 14kt gold discs and an assortment of prime memorabilia and superstar signatures that sparkles still today. But in July, 2011-12 Gold Standard Basketball…