2010 Century Collection

Years ago Donruss had one of the best “other” releases in the Americana series, a wonderful collection of sports and non-sports personalities that included some of the coolest relics and autographs.

In January 2009 Donruss announced the upcoming Donruss Century Collection but because the company soon saw its own demise the product never saw the light of day. Fast forward almost 2 years and Panini recently surprised collectors when they released preview information of the upcoming Panini Century Collection.

I want to point out the use of Nolan Ryan’s high school basketball photo on his relic card; someone had to do some serious research to find this gem.

Schedule Release Date: December 22, 2010
Box Configuration: 5 cards per pack
SRP: $200/pack

Box Break:
2 Autograph cards
2 Memorabilia cards
1 Additional autograph or memorabilia card

My Thoughts:
Since the original inception of the Century Collection the product has changed from a $100/box to a $200/pack release. You now actually get 1 additional hit over the original Donruss planned release but gone are the base cards, the parallels and inserts. This set is now all about the hits.

Panini has put together a checklist that will draw attention from such a variety of collectors including both sports and non-sports collectors. The list includes:

Charlie Chaplin
Nolan Ryan
Scott Carpenter
Ben Hogan
Gerald Ford
Honus Wagner
Lou Gehrig
Bear Bryant
John Wayne
Joe Jackson
Marilyn Monroe
Jim Thorpe

I was fortunate enough to pull a James Cagney relic, one of my favorite actors, out of the Americana series a few years ago and I really look forward to continuing my luck with this release.

Pros:
2 Autographs and 2 memorabilia cards plus an additional auto or memorabilia card

Awesome checklist

Interesting designs

The checklist includes 2 of my favorite athletes of all time, Jim Thorpe and Lou Gehrig

Cons:
Expensive at $200/pack

Interesting designs (I know, it is a plus and a minus)

Rating:
I give this 4 out of 5 because there are pluses and minuses with the design. Some make you wonder why Panini went that way and others look complete. The checklist is also a huge plus but the price point is a huge minus.

I am not in a position where I can purchase any packs when they are released in December but hopefully around tax time I will be able to pick up some packs. This is one of those releases where you want to bust a couple of packs no matter if you like Panini or not because they did a wonderful job here.