The sports card hobby saw immense growth over the past couple years, with the rise of modern products like Panini competing against traditional giants like Topps. As interest in collecting surged, so too did card values – making 2022 an expensive year in the hobby. Let’s take a look at some of the most expensive and coveted Panini baseball cards to hit the market over the last 12 months.
Perhaps the most eye-popping baseball card sale of the entire year came courtesy of a Panini card. In June 2022, a 2013 Panini National Treasures Mike Trout autographed rookie patch card swapped hands privately for a staggering $3.9 million. The card features a beautifully intricate patch from Trout’s inaugural season with the Los Angeles Angels alongside his signature. Numbered to just 5 copies in existence, Trout rookies from National Treasures are the holy grail for collectors – and this example reinforced Trout’s status as the most valuable modern player in the sport.
While no other Panini card cracked the million dollar barrier in 2022, several came alarmingly close. Topping recent auction sales was a 2020 Panini Chronicles Black Gold Juan Soto dual auto patch card that realized $630,000 back in August. The card combined two of the industry’s hottest commodities – a dual auto of uber-prospect Soto alongside stunning black Gold parallel paper. With just 10 copies made, this proved Soto mania is in full force among today’s collector base.
Staying in the realm of uber-prospects, Bowman Chrome rookies also commanded top dollar on the Panini market. In June, a 2009 Mike Trout autographed rookie patch from Bowman Chrome fetched an even $500,000 through Goldin Auctions. Much like the monster National Treasures sale, this proved Trout’s first pro card remains untouchable a decade into his career. Similarly, a 2018 Bowman Chrome Luis Robert rookie autoPatch pulled $480,000 this summer, underscoring Robert’s star potential.
For football card parallel collectors, Panini’s 2020 Impeccable set offered some dazzling diamond-encrusted hits. In July, a 1/1 “Diamond” parallel patch auto of quarterback Joe Burrow crossed the block at Heritage for a stunning $315,000. Numbered uniquely to just one example in the world, it proved the Super Bowl-winning signal caller is a surefire asset in today’s memorabilia economy. Along those lines, a “Diamond” parallel dual patch auto of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes also topped six figures at $177,500 this fall.
Vintage collectors took notice of key early-career star rookies from Panini as well. A pristine 2009 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Mike Trout BGS Gem Mint 10 auto fetched an even $200,000 back in April. Similarly, a 2003 Bowman Chrome Rafael Palmeiro auto in BGS 9.5 condition pulled $107,500 this summer – strong results for a player whose allegations of PED use tainted his career. On the pitching side, a 1998 Bowman’s Best Pedro Martinez refractory auto in PSA 9 condition hammered for $122,000 in August sales.
Perhaps surprisingly for a modern product, 2021 Donruss Elite Patrick Mahomes autographed patch cards also held tremendous value all year. Multiple BGS/PSA 10 GEM examples changed hands privately in the $40,000-$60,000 range in 2022 sales. Such results reinforced just how coveted top QBs and star NFL assets are, even in relatively newer sets from just a season ago. Similarly, 2021 Donruss Elite Tom Brady patches topped $30,000 consistently this year – underscoring the legend’s enduring appeal regardless of uniform or product year.
While Topps baseball cards may never be unseated as the most iconic and collectible in the world of sports cards, Panini has made great strides to compete in the modern memorabilia market. Million-dollar hobby headlines, enormous six and seven-figure auction results, and the insane strength of new-age stars like Mike Trout, Juan Soto and Patrick Mahomes show Panini can hang with the big dogs. As more collectors diversify beyond Topps and seek alternative investments, look for Panini cards, patches and autographs to remain coveted – and continue appreciating exponentially in the year ahead.
