Kobe Panini Autos vs the Pack

[Kenflin]

I noticed that a lot of Kobe's Panini autographs seem to sell for more than his Upper Deck and Topps now. I personally liked his Upper Deck autographs when I was collecting. What do you all prefer?

[bmf]

The upper deck Kobe autos are classic. The reason a lot of collectors prefer his Panini auto cards is because he signed with his full name. With Upper Deck, most were just signed Kobe. With time, the Panini Kobe autos will be classic, too. At least the top brands anyway. Some already are.

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by bmf

The upper deck Kobe autos are classic. The reason a lot of collectors prefer his Panini auto cards is because he signed with his full name. With Upper Deck, he just signed Kobe. With time, the Panini Kobe autos will be classic, too. At least the top brands anyway. Some already are.

Later in his UD run he signed full name too. I used to own a kobe/nash dual UD auto where it was full name

[bjho852]

^ Chris P beat me to it, but yes, some Kobe autograph cards from later Upper Deck releases contain full autographs too, and are at times more desirable over Panini counterparts.

With that said, I might be one of the minority not feeling as negative for Panini flooding Kobe autograph market before his untimely passing - such action at least gives more people chances to obtain one or more Kobe autograph cards without breaking the bank.

Going back to the choices, I equally like each of these company eras of Kobe autographs. I mean it, so I didn't vote. Each era reflects nicely on Kobe's basketball career.

[Kenflin]

Originally Posted by bmf

The upper deck Kobe autos are classic. The reason a lot of collectors prefer his Panini auto cards is because he signed with his full name. With Upper Deck, he just signed Kobe. With time, the Panini Kobe autos will be classic, too. At least the top brands anyway. Some already are.

Good point. I actually forgot about Kobe doing full signatures with Panini. I've always liked the designs of his UD auto's though.

[bmf]

@ Chris and bjho — Of course but as a general rule of thumb, most UD autos are Kobe. All Panini autos are Kobe Bryant. I remember in 08-09 Exquisite, there were some of both, but that was toward the very end of UD’s run as 09-10 came out only a few months later since UD was rushing before the door completely closed.

[Kenflin]

Originally Posted by Chris P

Later in his UD run he signed full name too. I used to own a kobe/nash dual UD auto where it was full name

I found his Exquisite dual with Nash:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/36365547968...sAAOSwaoZht3wr

I wonder how many UD full signatures he has?

[bmf]

Originally Posted by Kenflin

Good point. I actually forgot about Kobe doing full signatures with Panini. I've always liked the designs of his UD auto's though.

Oh I get it. In particular, nothing will ever beat Exquisite. I think there are good reasons to prefer either era.

[bjho852]

Originally Posted by bmf

@ Chris and bjho — Of course but as a general rule of thumb, most UD autos are Kobe. All Panini autos are Kobe Bryant. I remember in 08-09 Exquisite, there were some of both, but that was toward the very end of UD’s run as 09-10 came out only a few months later since UD was rushing before the door completely closed.

That's why I said some later UD autograph cards are full name. I still imply that majority of that era are first name only.

[bmf]

Originally Posted by Kenflin

I found his Exquisite dual with Nash:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/36365547968...sAAOSwaoZht3wr

I wonder how many UD full signatures he has?

Yep, and from the following year 08-09, there are examples of just Kobe:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/27493306525...3bc2%7Ciid%3A1

[bjho852]

Originally Posted by Kenflin

I found his Exquisite dual with Nash:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/36365547968...sAAOSwaoZht3wr

I wonder how many UD full signatures he has?

Not sure about the number, but only some.
In a way, you can say that it's a mix of first name only and full name.

[bmf]

Originally Posted by bjho852

That's why I said some later UD autograph cards are full name. I still imply that majority of that era are first name only.

Gotcha. Agree.

[threepointplay]

Originally Posted by bmf

@ Chris and bjho — Of course but as a general rule of thumb, most UD autos are Kobe. All Panini autos are Kobe Bryant. I remember in 08-09 Exquisite, there were some of both, but that was toward the very end of UD’s run as 09-10 came out only a few months later since UD was rushing before the door completely closed.

Hmm...I have a few of his auto cards from 2007-08 Exquisite and Ultimate Collection where he was signing 'Kobe Bryant'. Such as this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNRniwXsQ9h/

[bmf]

Originally Posted by threepointplay

Hmm...I have a few of his auto cards from 2007-08 Exquisite and Ultimate Collection where he was signing 'Kobe Bryant'. Such as this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNRniwXsQ9h/

Yep Kenflin pointed one out above. There is a mix in the final few runs.

[rifleman69]

Topps, and it's not even close.

[tclausen]

I prefer autos from the playing days when possible, but there are obviously exceptions.

[hairyangryfella]

To me it's not so much about brand as it is about look.

There are some absolutely awful looking Panini autos, some where you can't even really see it on the card.
But then there are some absolutely gorgeous Panini autos.
I kinda feel like most UD with just Kobe are a little unappealing, but then some (like some Exquisite or UD game jersey/e-volve) are nice. Even his full signature was on things like UD Premier which themselves weren't that nice at times (like the green background one).
Topps is probably bottom of the rung for me - his Bowman's I always thought was a little tough to see on the card and I've never really felt like he actually signed his Co-Signers (at least the one with Joe Smith).

[bjho852]

Originally Posted by hairyangryfella

Topps is probably bottom of the rung for me...

The ones from the 1998-99 base Topps brand actually look pretty nice.

Series 1 (AG2) vs. Series 2 (AG9)

[hairyangryfella]

Originally Posted by bjho852

The ones from the 1998-99 base Topps brand actually look pretty nice.

Series 1 (AG2) vs. Series 2 (AG9)

Personally I find those quite bland.

[bmf]

Originally Posted by hairyangryfella

To me it's not so much about brand as it is about look.

This is the key point. Unless you are some kind of strict manufacturer loyalist/fanboy, go with the cards that have the strongest overall eye appeal.

[gomiamigo]

Originally Posted by bjho852

That's why I said some later UD autograph cards are full name. I still imply that majority of that era are first name only.

My 2008 UD black dual patch auto is full name for Kobe/[Vince.]

[Kenflin]

Originally Posted by hairyangryfella

To me it's not so much about brand as it is about look.

There are some absolutely awful looking Panini autos, some where you can't even really see it on the card.
But then there are some absolutely gorgeous Panini autos.
I kinda feel like most UD with just Kobe are a little unappealing, but then some (like some Exquisite or UD game jersey/e-volve) are nice. Even his full signature was on things like UD Premier which themselves weren't that nice at times (like the green background one).
Topps is probably bottom of the rung for me - his Bowman's I always thought was a little tough to see on the card and I've never really felt like he actually signed his Co-Signers (at least the one with Joe Smith).

This is the point I'm trying to make. I actually like the design of his UD auto's a little more. It's never been a sticking point for me if it is an on-card auto vs a sticker auto, but I've seen plenty of cards because of the material used, it should've been a sticker instead of on card. Panini IMO had to figure this out along the way. Eventually, I believe that Panini started using the blueprint of creating card designs similar to what UD and Topps had.

To be honest, a lot of his full signatures aren't as appealing to me as his autographs with only his first name. I do agree with you about his Bowman's Best auto's (1998-99). Even though the card pops if you see it in person, the auto is almost invisible on the card. At the end of the day, it's all about preference.