When 2018 Panini National Treasures Baseball was first announced, one of the focal points on the production information sheet was a dual cut signature book card featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Besides the obvious fact of boasting autographs from two of the biggest stars to ever play the game, this particular card had a couple of additional things going for it. First, both of the signatures were together on the same document, not two separate ones embedded into the same card. There were also uniform and bat swatches from both players.
But this was a card on a sell sheet. These are usually just digital mock-ups, right? Yes, but the 2018 National Treasures Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig booklet is real and as advertised.
Image: Crackin’ Wax
And it has been found.
It came during a recent group break over at Crackin’ Wax.
“When I first saw the booklet was a one-of-one and then saw who was on the card, I didn’t even initially think that it could possibly be the Ruth/Gehrig cut auto booklet,” said Christopher Lawson, the site’s owner. “When I saw what I had, I said ‘What did I just pull?’ because I sincerely could not believe what I was seeing.”
The pull came towards the end of a night of breaks.
This particular break was one where participants bought one team and had a second added at random from those that remained. The Angels and Yankees were put into the random mix. The Canadian collector who received the card paid $39 total for their spot.
Lawson had already busted a few boxes of National Treasures and nothing came close to what came in the final box — the one that had been sitting there for a while.
The timing of the pull came right around the time Crackin’ Wax was celebrating its tenth anniversary. What Lawson started as a blog has morphed to include breaks over the past several years with his wife, Amy, often joining him. In turn, it has helped connect other collectors.
“What we’ve been enjoying the most is the little community that we’ve built over the years. We’ve come across some of the kindest, most generous people we’ve ever known and have built great friendships throughout the hobby just from our breaks,” he said. “Of course, I do also enjoy busting open boxes. It’s like opening everyone else’s birthday presents.”
Lawson has also used the site as a platform to raise money for charity. A significant amount of money, especially when you take into account that he isn’t doing breaks full-time.
“We have raised nearly $15,000 for various charities since we began keeping track of our donations,” he said. “Our group often helps us donate to more kid-centric charities such as Big Brothersand Big Sisters and St. Jude, but have also donated to organizations such as Wounded Warrior and BCRF. Our group has also made card donations to Signatures for Soldiers and Kidority Kards.”
Lawson that his goal was to reach at least $20,000 total raised by 2020.
