Checker Vault

Building my own vault, one collectible at a time!

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

In 2021, Panini Father’s Day packs included a special and ultra limited 1/1 Black Kaboom refractor set.

This multi-sport release featured 100 athletes across NBA, USA Baseball, collegiate, NASCAR, and soccer licenses held by @PaniniAmerica at the time.

The checklist included legends like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout and more!

So what makes this set unique?

For many of these players, this is their only Black Kaboom refractor card ever produced that is fully licensed.

Further, several of these cards feature jersey/licensing combinations that do not exist in any other Kaboom release, making them true 1/1s.

Examples:
• Brady in Michigan collegiate uniform
• Trout & Kershaw in USA Baseball
• Messi (Barcelona) & Ronaldo (Juventus)

Full Set and Kaboom checklist:
• https://t.co/f7d9PrEekF

[Steve 🤙 @SteveKBark]

https://t.co/eJa4tTrA2e

[CBark @singingbridgeky]

Best card, lol.

Fanatics took the NFL license, printed a billion cards, killed their own blockchain, left Panini's standing, and accidentally made every PBC holder rich.

Green Kaboom Allen 1/1. The best Josh Allen card in existence.

The one Fanatics can't touch.

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

The debate right now is digital OR physical collectibles.

But that is missing the point.

It is digital AND physical collectibles!

[OpenSea @opensea]

60+ years of licensed collectibles go fully onchain 🤝

@PaniniAmerica named OpenSea as their exclusive marketplace.

Starting March 30, Panini collectors can bridge digital cards to self-custody wallets and trade directly on OS, keeping transaction history and verified status.

Ownership, your way.

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

There is one other lane for Shohei Ohtani digital collectibles and that is the MLB Champions NFTs from 2018 which was Ohtani’s actual rookie year!

The MLB Champions NFT project was the first officially licensed sports NFT project that was built on the Ethereum blockchain.

It featured digital player collectibles that functioned as a mix of trading cards and fantasy sports, where each NFT had unique attributes and could change based on real MLB player performances.

Packs, auctions, and gameplay tied the collectibles to real games, making it an early attempt to merge blockchain with live sports.

Despite its innovation, the project ultimately failed due to low adoption and complexity, and it shut down around 2020 when the MLB partnership ended.

While the NFTs still exist on chain and can be bought on OpenSea, they lost most of their utility and liquidity. Today, they are mainly viewed as historical artifacts for their significance as the first league licensed sports NFT.

Link to the collection on OpenSea: https://t.co/zKO9zBnp9K

[Derek Snook @derekcsnook]

I've been getting hit up by people asking about Ohtani digital collectibles.

Ohtani digital collectibles right now = 3 lanes, 3 tradeoffs:

• Panini → best marketplace, strong liquidity, big sales… but no MLB license (no jersey), MLBPA instead. Given that Candy is down and Topps is very hard to navigate, this def feels like the main current option.

• Topps → fully licensed + legit IP… but terrible discoverability + tech friction. You can buy one if you earn a master's degree and get 4-5 Topps collectors to help you (that's what I had to do).

• Candy → fully licensed, rare supply (Dodgers years, 1/1s, key moments)… but platform has been broken and not as well known IP.

Now the wildcard:

Tad Smith acquiring Candy.

Former CEO of Sotheby's and Madison Square Garden. Knows sports, knows high end collectibles, knows best in class digital collectibles and crypto industry.

My take:

This isn’t about picking “right” vs “wrong” — it’s about choosing your risk/reward profile.

I’m betting where:

✔ supply is scarce
✔ licensing matters long-term
✔ upside > current dysfunction

Digital collectibles are early. When we are status flashing in the future in public to people who don't know about digital collectibles I want something with a jersey on it.

You might prefer otherwise, and the beautiful thing about collecting is everyone gets to express their opinion with their dollars, and long term the market gets to decide.

When it comes to Ohtani I'm 90% Candy, 5% Topps, 5% Panini.

#Ohtani #SportsCards #SportsCollectibles #NFT #DigitalCollectibles #Topps #Panini #CandyDigital #SportsInvesting #Web3 #CardCollecting #MLB #CryptoCollectibles

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

One thing the NFT craze made clear is that there is genuine interest in digital ownership and collectibles.

Much like sports cards after the 1990s, digital collectibles may simply need time for the market to mature and evolve.

Collectors who look beyond the short-term swings will see that digital ownership is not just here to stay, but will open entirely new ways to collect.

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

2021 Panini Father’s Day Black Kaboom 1/1
• Last Sale Price: $1,700
• License: Collegiate
• Uniform: Michigan
• Kaboom Refractor Type: Small Explosions

2021 Panini Absolute Green Kaboom 1/1
• Last Sale Price: $660,000
• License: NFL
• Uniform: Patriots
• Kaboom Refractor Type: Large Explosions

The Panini Father’s Day Black Kaboom is Tom Brady’s only non-green 1/1 Kaboom refractor, his only Kaboom featuring the Small Explosions design, and the only Kaboom of him in a collegiate uniform instead of an NFL jersey.

These distinctions make it truly one of a kind, and many of the Kaboom and Explosion refractors in the 2021 Panini Father’s Day set follow this same narrative and deserve a closer look.

This is especially true for collectors seeking something unique with attributes similar to or arguably better than cards that have sold for hundreds of thousands, yet available at less than 1% of the price.

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

In 2021, Panini Father’s Day packs included a special and ultra limited 1/1 Black Kaboom refractor set.

This multi-sport release featured 100 athletes across NBA, USA Baseball, collegiate, NASCAR, and soccer licenses held by @PaniniAmerica at the time.

The checklist included legends like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout and more!

So what makes this set unique?

For many of these players, this is their only Black Kaboom refractor card ever produced that is fully licensed.

Further, several of these cards feature jersey/licensing combinations that do not exist in any other Kaboom release, making them true 1/1s.

Examples:
• Brady in Michigan collegiate uniform
• Trout & Kershaw in USA Baseball
• Messi (Barcelona) & Ronaldo (Juventus)

Full Set and Kaboom checklist:
• https://t.co/f7d9PrEekF

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

The last refractor set in the 2021 Panini Father’s Day packs that stands out to me is the “Explosion Memorabilia” refractors, which are numbered 1/1 and include a patch of the player’s used/worn memorabilia.

These Explosion cards feature the same Kaboom refractor design found in many traditional Kaboom sets, but with the added element of player used/worn memorabilia, making them truly unique.

Interestingly, it seems that PSA recently mislabeled the Lionel Messi refractor as a “Kaboom” card rather than the correct “Explosion Memorabilia” listed on the checklist.

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

A good read explaining the thinking behind this simple collecting thesis:

“Collect scarce, culturally important sports assets on the Panini Blockchain before the market fully discovers them.”

[The BaseMint Collection @BaseMintCollect]

https://t.co/z5n2bQ47Bu

[spinotron @spinotron]

https://t.co/yCQJfr5i6t

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

@itsgeoffwilson On the #paniniblockchain these cards are going for $600 and $345 respectively

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

@natsturner I believe a single collector owns the majority of the jersey numbered LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony rookie cards. Back in the early 2010s, there was a video on YouTube of this guy showcasing the cards on the floor of his house, pulling them out one by one to show the camera.

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

I have noticed that people are already bridging the gap between physical sports cards and the digital world without even realizing it.

Whether it’s posting a prized rookie card on social media, texting a picture to a friend, or listing it for sale on a marketplace, collectors are constantly digitizing their physical cards. This also coincides with PSA providing high-quality digital images of all graded cards, allowing collectors to view their cards while they’re stored in PSA’s vault, for instance.

This habit highlights just how comfortable collectors have become with blending the tangible and digital worlds, even if they refuse to acknowledge or adopt blockchain collectibles.

Uploading images to showcase their collection or track their assets is just a step away from embracing NFT sports cards. This is especially true for high-end cards, which collectors often keep locked away in secure locations, rarely seeing them in person but frequently viewing them through images or scans.

In a way, they’re already experiencing the concept of transforming a physical item into a digital representation for others to see, trade, or admire—at the core of what NFT sports cards can offer. Not to mention, the countless other benefits such as guaranteed authenticity and ownership, market transparency, and seamless global trading.

[Checker Vault @CheckerVault]

Good history lesson on the #paniniblockchain

[spinotron @spinotron]

Let me unpack #PaniniBlockchain sports cards systematically in gang-of-four style that makes all the ingredients & nuances visually apparent, and extremely easy to understand in groups of 4😤

11📝 you don’t want to miss.

🧵 1/. It contains all four major sports 🏈⚾️⚽️🏀.

👀