Florida Collector Finds Panini's Manning/Brees Bounty Card

Panini America struck a chord with collectors last week – and sent many of them across the country scrambling to scour their collections – by announcing a bounty for the 2009 Limited Pro Bowl Combo Materials card featuring Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and sequential number 44/100.

There was speculation in the collecting community at the time that the card would never be discovered. Well, the card has been discovered, from the personal collection of a Peyton Manning super collector.

Dawn McNew, a physical education teacher at Lehigh (Fla.) High School, contacted the Panini offices just a week prior the contest deadline to let company officials know that the winning card was part of her Manning collection that’s more than 1,000 cards strong.

“I’m a huge, huge Peyton Manning fan and I only collect Peyton Manning cards, which is how I ended up with the card,” McNew said. “I simply collect as many Peyton Manning cards as possible. I saw the offer and since I knew I had two versions of that card, I thought it would be worth checking my collection to see if I had #44.

“It was surely a great feeling to see one of my cards with the sequential numbering ‘44/100.’ ”

An Indiana native who moved to Florida seven years ago, McNew purchased the winning Manning-Brees card on eBay for $11 in November. Aside from eBay, McNew also frequents NASCAR Sports & Collectibles in Bonita Springs, Fla.

“When Dawn admitted that she was unsure if she wanted to part with the #44/100 version because it was part of her Manning collection, we knew she was a true collector and exemplified everything great about collecting,” admits Scott Prusha, Marketing Manager for Panini. “As a result, we decided to amend the bounty and return card #44/100 to her, along with the year supply of Panini NFL cards and an exclusive Manning-Brees 1 of 1.

“From the hundreds of emails we received about this offer and the response on chat boards, blogs and websites, it is apparent that collectors had fun with this bounty. We’re so pleased that we will be able to reward a collector for their support of Panini NFL cards.”

The Manning-Brees card, part of the Pro Bowl Combo Materials insert set, was released in October and carries a current Beckett value of $20.

— Tracy Hackler