How do you take care of your Panini card collection to ensure its value never decreases? You can do a few things to keep your collection in top condition.
Panini cards can be incredibly valuable if they’re looked after. Some Panini cards from the 1970s sold for large sums because their owners managed to keep them in a close-to-mint condition. Back then, not many took the storage of their trading cards that seriously. Today, collectors are more aware of how important the condition of a rare card is. This is why you need to think about how to store your cards in the best way possible. There are many options to protect single, valuable cards.
Of course, serious collectors want to ensure their whole collection is well-protected. While high-value cards should still be stored or displayed separately, all other Panini cards can easily be stored in neat trading card storage solutions. Your options range from cheap to luxury, from ready-made to DIY. This article covers the best options to show you how to take care of your Panini card collection.
Also Read: Top 10 Most Valuable Panini Cards
How to Store Your Panini Card Collection
How to Store Single Panini Cards
Card Sleeves
Card sleeves are the most basic way to care for your Panini cards. They are made from thin, clear plastic, which isn’t very rigid or PVC-free polypropylene. Card sleeves protect cards from dust and dirt but not from accidentally being bent. The best trading card sleeves are archival-grade and have a resealable flap. Sleeves are often only the first step in protecting your card collection.
Graded Card Sleeves
Serious collectors have their most valuable cards graded and authenticated. A normal card sleeve doesn’t have the space to display this information. If you want to store your graded cards properly, buy graded card sleeves with an extra pocket for the grading slip. These graded card sleeves are also more rigid than ordinary card sleeves.
Toploaders
Toploaders are an affordable option to store valuable Panini cards safely. Toploaders are made from clear, reasonably thick PVC. While cheap Toploaders are pretty good, the more expensive options have extra features to protect your cards. These card protectors are strong enough to protect regular-sized Panini cards from scratches, dust, and dirt. They come in various sizes, and many collectors put their cards into a resealable card sleeve before putting them into a Toploader. If you also want to do that, you must ensure to buy Toploaders that can hold thicker cards.
Deck Protector Sleeve Covers
Deck protectors add a thin layer of protection to your special Panini cards. They aren’t as thick as Toploaders because they are designed to be used for trading cards in trading card games like Adrenalyn XL. These sleeves protect your cards without hindering your shuffling.
Screwdown Holders
Screwdown holders, which come in various designs, are serious protection for your Panini cards. You will need an appropriately-sized screwdriver to open and close these cardholders. First, you unscrew the screws and then take the two layers apart. You place your Panini card in the middle and then put the two layers back together, put the screws back in place, and your card will be safe from all sorts of damage.
Panini Card Frames and Display Holders
Trading card frames are the ideal solution if you want to display your favourite or most valuable cards on a wall. They work similarly to photo frames and are a great way to protect your cards. Trading card frames come in two basic versions: For hanging on a wall or displaying on a surface, e.g., standing on a cabinet or a dedicated Panini card shelf. If you have a collection of your favourite team, you could get a big, ordinary photo frame and display the whole team in it. The options here are endless.
Trading card display holders are great for showing off special cards. Some companies produce special display holders for different sports, which allow you to display a card in addition to other sports memorabilia. These are more expensive than a simple holder but are worth it for serious collectors.
Snap Card Holders
Snap card holders are as robust as Toploaders but have the advantage of a snap lock mechanism. This means your card will be protected from all sides, while Toploaders have an opening at the top so you can slide cards inside. Snap card holders can be pricey, but they are worth it, considering that some of your Panini cards might be quite valuable.
How to Store Whole Panini Card Collections
Team Bags
Team bags are a good option if a collector doesn’t need easy access to every card in an ordinary team card collection but still wants to store all their teams in separate bags. Team bags are usually premium non-PVC bags big enough to hold all trading cards of a team. These bags have a resealable strip to protect the contents from dust and dirt exposure.
Panini Trading Card Storage Boxes
Storage boxes come in various designs and are meant to hold multiple cards simultaneously. The most simple trading card storage boxes are rectangular, card-sized cardboard or plastic boxes that can store anywhere from ten to hundreds of cards. The next level up is storage boxes with multiple sections, making keeping your cards organised easier. If you can afford it, there are also much better trading card storage boxes that take your card storage and organisation to the next level.
Panini Trading Card Cases
Trading card cases are for holding multiple cards and often have a snap-lock closure or self-closing lids. They keep your cards secure in one place and are ideal for storing teams or card sets. You can find card cases for 15 to 150 cards. They are usually clear, so you can see which set is inside.
Panini Trading Card Case Holders
If you have a large collection, case holders are the next step forward from trading card cases. A trading card case holder is the place to put all your card cases. You can easily sort them and put all your base card collections in one holder. You can also use a card storage box to store your card cases, but you must check the dimensions beforehand, as some storage boxes aren’t suitable for storing card cases.
Panini Trading Card Binders
You can find dedicated trading card binders in various shops. They are the easy solution, including everything you need: The actual binder and a few trading card pocket sleeves. Each trading card page usually has space for 9 trading cards. A cheaper option is to use ordinary office binders and fill them with trading card sleeve pages, e.g., the ones from UltraPro, which are popular with collectors.
Also Read: Unlocking the World of Collectibles: A Beginner’s Guide to Panini Cards
Things to Keep In Mind When Choosing How to Take Care of Your Panini Card Collection
Which option you use for your trading card collection is up to you and depends on your budget and preferences regarding how to sort your collection. There are a few things you need to consider when you make your decision:
- The material of your storage solution: The most common materials used are cardboard and various types of plastic. Some cardboard storage boxes are of great quality, but some cheap ones won’t last long. If you’re serious about your collection, spend more to buy quality.
- How much you need: If you only plan on collecting a few sets of cards because you’re a fan of a specific team or want to collect a special collection like Warhammer 4k, you don’t need storage for thousands of cards. A storage box should be the correct size. Otherwise, your cards can move around too much, causing damage to them.
- Size of sleeves and holders: Sleeves and holders come in different sizes to hold cards of various thicknesses and sizes. Check which type of cards you’re collecting because some are thicker than others. It’s a waste of money to buy the wrong-sized sleeves.
- Bulk packs: A packet of 25 card sleeves isn’t too expensive, but it will add up when you want to buy enough sleeves for a 600-card collection. If you need more sleeves or cases, buy bigger packs, as these are better value than buying multiple smaller packs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Know Which Panini Cards to Take Best Care Of?
If you only want to spend money on secure storage for special cards, you need to learn which cards are valuable or could be in the future. Fortunately, that’s simple enough: Any card that is a limited edition, special edition, or autographed is worth taking good care of. Other usually valuable cards are Prizm cards and cards with patches and logos.
How Long Does It Take for a Rare Panini Card to Increase in Value?
There is no single correct answer to this question. Some cards become valuable only after a few decades; Others can be worth millions after just four or five years. It depends significantly on how rare a card is and how popular the person depicted on it has become.
When Should I Sell My Rare Panini Cards?
There are many factors to consider when it comes to selling trading cards. Some cards increase in value over the years; Some don’t. Example: A soccer rookie turned into a global star at the height of fame. That’s a good time to sell his rare rookie card. The same player might be forgotten in 10 years if he was only a star for a season. You decide on when to sell a card individually for every card.
Author Profile
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Name: Kim Anisi
Intro: Gaming has been my passion since childhood. The journey started when I received hand-me-down games on Atari and Amiga systems from my brother and I now mainly play games on PC. Among the vast genres in the gaming world that I have tried, my personal favourites are RPGs, MMORPGs, (Action) adventures, horror games, and settlement/city builders. Overcoming the challenges and helping others in games provide a great satisfaction to me.