Charles Woodson’s First Autograph Trading Cards Since 1998 Commanding Huge Bucks
Panini America officials made huge headlines earlier this season by striking a deal with Green Bay Packers superstar Charles Woodson to produce his first autographed trading cards since 1998. Those cards finally started hitting the secondary market in recent weeks, and the sales -- like the man driving them -- are simply spectacular. Clearly, the 13-year absence of Woodson certified autographs…
Panini Unwraps 2011 Gold Standard Football (with 24-Card Break Gallery and Checklist)
Consider The Knight's Lance your one-stop destination for all things 2011 Gold Standard Football with a must-see edition of Panini Unwrapped, a 24-card gallery featuring every card in the two-box bust and the official product checklist, all included after the jump. Oh, and you can access additional coverage of this unique product here, here and here. (more…)
The Bling’s the Thing: Panini America’s New Football Set Sparkles with Diamonds, Gold
Traditionally speaking, sports trading card production during the last 100 years or so has required -- almost exclusively -- two fundamental resources: Ink and paper. Leave it to Panini America to throw tradition for a loop by introducing two more precious materials to the manufacturing mix: Diamonds and gold. Indeed, when the company's new 2011 Gold Standard Football set releases to the masses later this week (in packaging designed…
The Panini America Quality Control Break: Two Boxes of 2011 Gold Standard Football
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6xvn-n2b7Q&w=585&h=327] While we patiently await the arrival of the Panini America marketing allotment of 2011 Gold Standard Football, we felt now was the perfect time to share this special episode of Panini Unwrapped shot last week on location at the Panini America printing facility. In the interest of full disclosure, these two "loop five" boxes were pulled directly from the…
The Panini America Quality Control Gallery: 2011 Gold Standard Football (49 Images)
For millions of Americans, returning to work earlier this week following the long Thanksgiving break was a painstaking grind. But that wasn't the case for me, especially after I received the following text message from Panini America NFL Brand Manager Carlos Torrez at 7:20 Monday morning: "Gold std FB qc @ 8 am sorry for late notice." Translated, Torrez was telling me that the quality control process for…
Before the Signatures: The Gold Rookie Card Parallels from 2011 Gold Standard Football
You'll have to excuse Joe White if he seems especially over-stressed and under-rested these days. It's White, you see, who's responsible for coordinating and executing every one of the seemingly countless signings required to ensure Panini America's 2011 NFL Rookie Card lineup remains as on-card intensive as possible. And right about now, White's in overdrive, absolutely engulfed by the whirlwind of dates and times and shipping information…
Panini America Insert Inspection: 2011 Gold Standard Bullion Brand Logos Signatures
When the Panini America NFL product development team began creating the brand new 2011 Gold Standard Football release months ago, there were inherent benefits to having a road map to study in 2010-11 Gold Standard Basketball. But in an effort to tailor the exciting new product to a rabid football audience, the team took some creative liberties that should pay huge dividends when the product…
Double Standard: Dual-Signed Stunners to Appear in 2011 Gold Standard Football
Among the bevy of gilded goodness Panini America officials have planned for the premiere edition of 2011 Gold Standard Football later this fall, perhaps none will be more coveted by hardcore collectors than the stunning Double Standard dual-signed insert that brings to market some of the most potent penmanshipped pairings in recent memory. From rare signers such as Charles Woodson and Troy Polamalu…
Panini Peek: 2011 Gold Standard Football
The prospects for America's most passionate sports card prospectors just keep getting better. Panini America started the industry's great collecting gold rush late last season with the inclusion of real 14-karat gold Golden Tickets in 2010 Playoff Contenders Football. Those precious-metal pieces of history fueled an absolute feeding frenzy that paved the way for similar innovation in 2010-11 Playoff Contenders Hockey and helped launch the stand-alone…