Source: Panini
July 10, 2009 - With the National celebrating its 30th Anniversary at the end of the month, officials at Panini America are excited to announce their plans for the show. While some of the faces may look familiar, the new Panini colors will be on display for the FIRST time in Cleveland, OH at the National Sports Collectors Convention.
"This is the industry's marquee event and we're excited to be setting up for the first time at the National," said Marketing Manager Scott Prusha. "The enthusiasm over what Panini America's bringing to the industry continues to build and I think collectors are going to be impressed with the splash we plan to make at the show."
Panini America will be continuing the tradition of holding the wrapper redemption. Collectors bringing FIVE un-opened packs of any 2009 Panini hobby product (or box of any Retail product), will receive a one-three card pack. Included in the packs will be updated Donruss Elite rookie cards, basketball and even Americana cards.
The set will consist of twenty-one different Donruss Elite rookies, all utilizing NFL photography. To differentiate the cards from the original release, they will be serial-numbered XXX/499 or XXX/999. Randomly inserted in the packs will be Blue and Red Aspirations parallels (XX/50) and Gold Status parallels (XX/25). A Black Turn of the Century parallel will contain certified AUTOGRAPHS from some of the same players, serial-numbered to 10 or less.
New to this year's program, so of the same rookies will be featured on updated inserts from Donruss Elite, including Elite Series, Prime Targets, Zoning Commission and Chain Reaction.
Players included in the set are: Aaron Curry, Brandon Pettigrew, Brian Robiskie, Chris "Beanie" Wells, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Donald Brown, Glen Coffee, Hakeem Nicks, Jeremy Maclin, Josh Freeman, Kenny Britt, Knowshon Moreno, LeSean McCoy, Malcolm Jenkins, Mark Sanchez, Matthew Stafford, Michael Crabtree, Mohamed Massaquoui, Percy Harvin, Jason Smith and Mike Wallace.
Instant win cards will also be inserted in the packs. The cards will be redeemable (only at the National) for signed 8 x 10 Prestige rookie cards from 32 of the participants at the 2009 NFL Players Rookie Premiere.
Rounding out the promotion will be inserts from a few basketball greats and celebrities from Donruss Americana '09. Included on these cards are Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, Tyler Hansbrough, as well as Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Bill Walton, among others. Americana legends include James Caan, and the great Ric Flair. Look for some of these player's cards to have autograph versions, too.
