ARLINGTON, TX – FEB. 3, 2010 – In celebration of Super Bowl 44 in Miami, Panini, a leading manufacturer of licensed collectibles, NFL and NBA trading cards, put out a bounty valued at more than $1,500, for the collector who pulls the NFL Limited 2009 Pro Bowl Combo Materials card featuring Super Bowl quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Drew Brees (sequentially numbered #44 of 100). With a week left before the offer expired, collector Dawn McNew of Lehigh Acres, Fla., contacted the Panini offices to let them know the card all of America was searching for was part of her 1,000+ card Peyton Manning card collection.

“I am a huge, huge Peyton Manning fan and I only collect Peyton Manning cards, which is how I ended up with the card. I simply collect as many Peyton Manning cards as possible,” admitted McNew. “I saw the offer advertised on the Panini website and since I knew I had two versions of that card, I thought it would be worth checking my collection to see if I had #44. It was surely a great feeling to see one of my cards with the sequential numbering #44/100.”

In all, the physical education teacher at Lehigh Senior High School, estimates her Manning card collection to exceed 1,000 different cards, including two of the Manning-Brees Pro Bowl Material cards. An Indiana native, who moved to Florida seven years ago, she purchased the #44/100 Manning-Brees card for $11 on Nov. 12 on eBay where she does most of her collecting. She also shops at NASCAR Sports & Collectibles in Bonita Springs, Fla.

“When Dawn admitted that she was unsure if she wanted to part with the #44/100 version because it was part of her Manning collection, we knew she was a true collector and exemplified everything great about collecting,” admits Scott Prusha, Marketing Manager for Panini. “As a result, we decided to amend the bounty and return card #44/100 to her along with the year supply of Panini NFL cards and an exclusive Manning-Brees #1 of 1.”

The Manning-Brees card, a part of the Pro Bowl Combo Materials insert set in Panini’s 2009 Limited NFL brand, was released in October. It has a limited print run of just 100 sequentially numbered cards, and according to Beckett, is valued at $20. The offer, made by Panini on January 27, remained open to collectors until the opening kick-off of Super Bowl 44, on Sunday, February 7 @ 6:28 pm ET.

“From the hundreds of emails we received about this offer and the response on chat boards, blogs and websites, it is apparent that collectors had fun with this bounty,” said Prusha. “We’re so pleased that we will be able to reward a collector for their support of Panini NFL cards.”

The Panini Group, established almost 50 years ago in Modena, Italy, has subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectables and is the leading multi-national publisher of comics, children’s magazines and Manga in Europe and Latin America. Panini has distribution channels in more than 100 countries and employs a staff of over 800. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net or www.paninigroup.com.

The cards look fantastic. My only thoughts on them are as follows

A) I wish I would  be able to afford the Matt Ryan, I won’t be able to.
B) I really hope with something this high a price point nothing fades with the blue sharpie autographs.
C) I hate the Mannings.

So look for Exquisite to hit stores soon!

Upper Deck Unveils Crowd-Pleasing Lineup of Football Giveaways at Super Bowl XLIII Festivities

Company’s interactive booth at ‘NFL Experience’ will be a popular destination once again for show attendees!

North Las Vegas, NV (January 21, 2009) – The AFC and NFC champions are now primed and ready for Super Bowl XLIII. The AFC’s defensive juggernaut Pittsburgh Steelers are ready to square off against the NFC’s high-flying Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Feb. 1, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. And the off-the-field action at this year’s NFL Experience interactive theme park and football card show surrounding the league’s biggest game will be just as intense as the Upper Deck Company is ready to stoke the fires of passionate football collectors with its dazzling lineup of booth activities, giveaways and prizes.

During each day of the show – on Jan. 24 and 25, and again from Jan. 29 through Feb. 1 – Upper Deck will be a major presence at the 18th Annual NFL Experience. To get things rolling, the industry leader will be giving away assorted single trading cards from its 2008 NFL SP Rookie Edition and NFL SP Authentic launches from earlier this season. Participate in any of Upper Deck’s interactive games and you could win various prizes like Upper Deck sample packs, fat packs, pull-string backpacks and more. Daily raffle prizes will be awarded during each day of the show; winners need not be present to win.

As one of the league’s only football card manufacturers, Upper Deck will once again be conducting its popular foil pack wrapper redemption program during the course of the show. Fans who purchase three packs of any 2008 Upper Deck football products with the exception of Upper Deck First Edition can exchange their three foil packs for one of four exclusive Upper Deck NFL Experience trading cards spotlighting standout players from the hometown Buccaneers: Antonio Bryant, Derrick Brooks, Jeff Garcia and Aqib Talib. Collectors should bring their unopened foil packs to the booth, open them and keep their cards and get a show exclusive in the process. Upper Deck only wants the foil pack. In addition, Upper Deck will be conducting a second level of wrapper redemptions for a special set entitled “The Franchise” highlighting six NFL rookie standouts from this past season including: ROY Matt Ryan, Jonathan Stewart, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Joe Flacco and Darren McFadden. To obtain the entire six-card set, collectors need to simply purchase five packs of any 2008 Upper Deck football products at the show (with the exception of Upper Deck First Edition) and bring their unopened foil packs to the booth for redeeming purposes. Supplies are limited, so time is of the essence.

To get football fans in the competitive spirit, Upper Deck will have its personalized trading cards station up and running during the second week of the show (Jan. 29, 30 and 31) where armchair quarterbacks young and old, male and female can get their very own personalized NFL Experience trading cards produced from Upper Deck. This popular function will also be free of charge to show attendees who will only need to wait a few minutes before walking away with their very own football card.

Lastly, Upper Deck will be proudly displaying its Toy ‘R Us-exclusive line of NFL All-Star Vinyl figures at the booth. Newly sculpted players will include Tom Brady, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson and Tony Romo.