Early Preview Images Of 2012 Panini Americana

Panini has released some early preview images of the upcoming Americana release, titled Americana Heroes & Legends, set to hit store shelves July 11, 2012. There has been no information regarding price but they are changing the pack out, now there will be 18 packs per box with 10 cards per pack (a change from 2011’s 4 packs per box w/ 5 cards per pack). Each box will contain 3 autographs/memorabilia cards along with 9 inserts and 1 parallel.

The Summer Olympics are set to open in London in late July so Panini worked in Olympic athletes in to the set including autographs and memorabilia from Winter and Summer Olympians. There is also an insert/subset called USA Medals which will feature medal winning Olympians with an actual piece of gold, silver or bronze embedded in to the card.

One of the highlights of the set is a special Eisenhower card #/4; the card features an actual General Star from Eisenhower’s uniform along with a cut signature from the General/Former President. Eisenhower eventually became a 5-Star General before the end of World War II so I am guessing Panini could only obtain 4 stars for these cards.

Drawing Lines

Are the lines of the hobby becoming blurred in relation to what is considered a sports card? Recently there have been releases that were entirely non-sports related as well as some sports sets containing both base cards and inserts that are not related to sports in any way.

I ask this question because according to the Razor Twitter site they will be releasing the 2009 Razor Poker set within a couple of weeks. Poker may be entertainment to some but by no means is it a “sport” to any.

In the last few years we have seen releases that include actors, presidents, hoaxes, criminals, DNA, insects and pieces from various locations. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of these cards and have picked a number of them, in fact one of my favorite all-time hits was when I pulled a James Cagney jacket swatch from a pack of 2007 Donruss Americana. I do think that Donruss got it right when they created the Americana release, this gives collectors the opportunity to pull some interesting hits but it remains a set for a specific type of collector.

I can only imagine what it would be like to pull a George Washington Cut Signature or a piece of Lincoln’s hair but that is not why I buy Legendary Cuts, I want my hits to be of legendary ball players. I would rather pull a Gehrig Cut Signature or a Cap Anson hair strand. Just my 2 cents.