Video & Gallery: Hand-Collating Begins for 2010-11 National Treasures Basketball

It doesn’t happen often, but there are times when I see something so utterly spectacular that it renders me virtually speechless; literally without the words to adequately describe the abundant beauty before me.

It happened on my wedding day almost 16 years ago. It happened again Thursday.

To be sure, nothing that I’ve ever encountered in my 34 years as a collector could’ve prepared me for the tongue-tying, Technicolor wizardry of witnessing every prime memorabilia card in 2010-11 National Treasures Basketball stacked majestically on two sprawling tables inside the Panini America printing facility, ready for the hand-collation process that will send to the gems to their final destination.

I only hope that the following images and behind-the-scenes video detailing the hand-collation process can compensate for my wordless wonderment. A word of caution: You may want to grab a seat now. The scenes that follow are graphic in nature and may leave you feeling faint.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbY2EotUvXE&w=585&h=363]