2012 Panini Golden Age Trading Cards Box Break Recap And Review

Is it really possible to have too much of a good thing?  When it comes to 2012 Panini Golden Age Trading Cards that might be true.  Individually the cards found in this set are fun and have a great design, but with the jumps in years and subject matter, it makes this a somewhat disjointed group of cards when looked on as a whole. I’m also bit of a stickler when it comes to the continuity of title and theme and while the “Golden Age” for the sports and entertainment included are pretty close, there is somewhat of a stretch beyond he accepted definitions.  As one example the Golden Age of Television is generally thought of as the transition of popular radio performers to TV like Burns and Allen or Jack Benny and ground-breaking shows like I Love Lucy and The Twilight Zone, from it’s inception to about the late 1950’s or the very early 1960’s.  While I love their inclusion in this set, Giligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch didn’t really start until the mid to late 1960’s, certainly past the era that would be considered TV’s Golden Age. So while a little disjointed, there is no denying the appeal of these cards, its just that it makes set building a little muddled.

Golden Age falls under our classification of trading cards. Hobby Boxes contain 24 – 6 card packs with 1 Autograph and 1 Memorabilia card per box.

Here are some of the cards we pulled from our hobby box.

 Base Set

 Gordie Howe, front and back

 Reggie Jackson, Ted Williams, Joe Jackson

 Rollie Fingers, Johnny Bench, Duke Snider

 Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Bobby Jones

 Johnny Weissmuller, Al Unser, Mark Spitz

 Bill Walton, John F. Kennedy, Jerry West

 Ron Turcotte, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Man o' War

 Buster Keaton, Barbara Eden, Larry Fine

 Dawn Wells, Charlie Chaplin, Grace Kelly

 Hindenburg, Loch Ness Monster, Spirit of St. Louis

 Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Bobby Fischer

 Short Print

 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Mini Parallels

The Minis include different backs.  Most common is the Broad Leaf Cigarettes back in standard brown.  We also pulled one in blue ink.  The red ink Crofts Candy backs are less common than the Broad Leaf and also come in blue ink versions.  The toughest short print to pull is the Ty Cobb back.

Here are some of the Standard Broad Leaf backs we pulled. (NOTE - these have been scanned three together but each mini is separate.)

 Dizzy Dean, Joe Namath, Harry Truman, Bill Mazeroski, Ava Gardner, Pete Rose

 Jayne Mansfield, Titanic, Jackie Robinson, Penny Chenery, Rudolph Valentino, Byron Nelson

Crofts Candy backs

 Bob Gibson, Red Grange, Bob Feller

Broad Leaf back - Blue version

 Thurman Munson

Ty Cobb back

Moe Howard

Inserts

Newark Evening World

 Affirmed 

Headlines

 Broadway Joe Namath, End of War The Kiss

Pop Out Standees

 Seattle Slew, Jayne Mansfield

Box Topper

 Al Kaline Blue Ferguson Bakery Pennant

The Hits

 Maureen McCormick Museum Age Memorabilia

Tony Oliva Historic Signatures On-Card Autograph

Overall Look

Everything about these cards are perfect from a design level.  From bordering selection, color processing and even card stock.  Fans of mini cards will find these fantastic.  The felt feel of the banner is neat.  Hit cards look great.

Quality and Variety of Players and Subsets.

As mentioned above, the vast variety of subject matters is a bit overwhelming but the quality is certainly there.  Plenty of nostalgia to satisfy.

Do the Hits hold up?

If you enjoy the theme of this set, the hits will work quite well.  There are a few big hits to pull but for the most part, more seasoned collectors will enjoy the majority of the hits that are offered here.

Will you want to collect them all?

This is where the set stumbles a bit for me.  As cards that really should be keyed in for set builders, the disjointed nature might distract some collectors from containing to chase the entire set.  This is somewhat odd considering the quality of the set itself.

Rating

4 out of 5

Perhaps as inserts in other releases or a more streamlined offering would have catapulted 2012 Panini Golden Age Trading Cards to perfection, but as a whole and separate entity, Golden Age slightly misses the mark.