Silver Surge Sends Rare Panini Insert Cards Climbing
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Last April there was a day when an ounce of silver was selling for under $30. Today that same ounce sells for over $80 and was as much as $116 at its peak. Despite the recent pullback, silver has nearly tripled in less than a year which is a spectacular rally for any asset.
For many years, Panini created cards featuring unique one troy ounce silver bars. Just like the metal they contain, those cards have been riding the silver rally to new highs.
Silver bar cards rally
With extremely low serial numbers, often in the 20s or 30s, it's challenging to find cards that capture this trend. However, one recent Ronnie Lott card sale beautifully shows how the silver metal rally is boosting the value of these unique silver bar cards.
In July 2024, an ungraded 2023 Panini Impeccable silver Hall of Fame card of Ronnie Lott #SH-RL (12/25) sold for $85. This card is special because it contains a 1 troy ounce fine silver bar with the football Hall of Fame logo embedded in it, as you can see in the image above. At the time of this sale, silver was selling for about $28 an ounce.
On February 10, 2026, that same ungraded card with a serial number of 23/25 sold for $290, roughly a 240% increase from the 2024 sale. That is almost exactly in line with the silver rally, which is up about 200% over that same period. That 40% difference could be due to a number of factors and may disappear altogether if we had more easily accessible data.
Two notable recent silver bar card sales
The Ronnie Lott card sale tells the story of how some of these cards are moving in lockstep with the price of silver. However, there are many recent high selling silver bar cards that have sold for thousands as the combined demand for silver and sports cards continues to push these cards skyward. As a bonus, these silver bar cards span multiple sports, incorporating a wide range of elite athletes into this unique insert.
One of the best cards in this unique subcategory is the below one-of-one ungraded 2022 Panini Eminence Cristiano Ronaldo Etched in History autograph card that sold for $8,000 on November 1, 2025. Considering Ronaldo’s résumé and the card’s autograph, silver bar, and one-of-one status, the sale price looks like a steal. This card is one to keep on when it resurfaces.
Another stunner that looks like it was bought for a bargain is the below ungraded 2024-25 Panini Eminence Steph Curry autograph card serial numbered to just three. This card sold on February 9, 2026 for $6,322.
Given the lower-than-estimated sales of the Curry and Ronaldo cards above, it looks like these cards could be flying under the radar compared to the heavily hyped inserts like Kabooms or Color Blasts.
There are some fantastic options available on eBay and prices don't look too outrageous. Big names include Tatum and Luka rookies, NFL Shield Sam Darnold cards, an autographed NFL Shield Christian McCaffrey (/10), and so many more. Will you be adding any of these unique inserts to your PC?
Conor is a life long sports card enthusiast who started collecting in the early ’90s, inspired by hometown heroes like Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, Tom Brady, and David Ortiz. Like many ’90s hoops fans, he also started building (and continues to build) a modest Michael Jordan collection.