Florida Collector Claims Panini Super Bowl 44 Bounty

COLLECTOR DAWN MCNEW OF LEHIGH ACRES, FLORIDA CLAIMS PANINI’S SUPER BOWL 44 MANNING-BREES BOUNTY

Peyton Manning “Super Collector” to Receive a Box of Every 2010 Panini NFL Trading Card Product

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.”

My take: I love this promotion and think that card companies should do things like this a lot more often.  Release a product, wait 6 months or so after the release and then award a bounty for a specific card tied in to an event in that sport.  When you think about it, it’s not that different from Upper Deck’s Predictor cards or Topps’ Home Run Derby cards except this prize was unexpected.  Great job Panini!