The first "shiny" cards

[Peter_Spaeth]

I'll go along with 1992. But why do we sometimes read that 1989 Upper Deck ushered in the ultramodern era? What was so different about those, other than perhaps the pricing?

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I'll go along with 1992. But why do we sometimes read that 1989 Upper Deck ushered in the ultramodern era? What was so different about those, other than perhaps the pricing?

Because 1989 Upper Deck was a game changer with the card stock (shiny white borders, not cardboard), quality control (little/no miscuts, o/c cards or printing flaws), foil packs that couldn't be resealed and awesome photography on both the front and back. They were the BMWs to the Fords (Topps), Chevys (Fleer) and Dodges (Donruss) that we were used to collecting. And they upped the game each year with better layouts, photography and autographed chase cards. That is when the trading card hobby vectored off in a different direction than the course it had been on for almost 40 years.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Because 1989 Upper Deck was a game changer with the card stock (shiny white borders, not cardboard), quality control (little/no miscuts, o/c cards or printing flaws), foil packs that couldn't be resealed and awesome photography on both the front and back. They were the BMWs to the Fords (Topps), Chevys (Fleer) and Dodges (Donruss) that we were used to collecting. And they upped the game each year with better layouts, photography and autographed chase cards. That is when the trading card hobby vectored off in a different direction than the course it had been on for almost 40 years.

Agree with Tom. The term "shiny cards" isn't really supposed to be a literal description of what quickly became prevalent in what I think of more as the modern card era. People don't associate "shiny cards" till the '90s, and they started so close to 1989 that the two terms, "shiny card era" and "modern card era" became somewhat synonymous IMO.

[ChiefBeef]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Because 1989 Upper Deck was a game changer with the card stock (shiny white borders, not cardboard), quality control (little/no miscuts, o/c cards or printing flaws), foil packs that couldn't be resealed and awesome photography on both the front and back. They were the BMWs to the Fords (Topps), Chevys (Fleer) and Dodges (Donruss) that we were used to collecting. And they upped the game each year with better layouts, photography and autographed chase cards. That is when the trading card hobby vectored off in a different direction than the course it had been on for almost 40 years.

"BMWs to the Fords (Topps), Chevys (Fleer) and Dodges (Donruss)". LOL love it.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I'll go along with 1992. But why do we sometimes read that 1989 Upper Deck ushered in the ultramodern era? What was so different about those, other than perhaps the pricing?

• Holographic stamps affixed to each card as an anti-counterfeiting measure
• Tamper-evident packaging
• The hobby's first $1 per pack (at release) product
• Higher-end card stock

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Eric72

• Holographic stamps affixed to each card as an anti-counterfeiting measure
• Tamper-evident packaging
• The hobby's first $1 per pack (at release) product
• Higher-end card stock

With all of that, would it have been a big deal without Griffey Jr.? I mean suppose the biggest rookie had been Sheffield.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

With all of that, would it have been a big deal without Griffey Jr.? I mean suppose the biggest rookie had been Sheffield.

No Randy Johnson, either? I would remember the set (in your example) as the one that missed two KEY rookies.

I'd still remember the innovations, though. It would be similar to the 1991 Wild Card Football release. That set included the first parallels (1,000 stripe version, anyone?) but largely fell flat.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Eric72

No Randy Johnson, either? I would remember the set (in your example) as the one that missed two KEY rookies.

I'd still remember the innovations, though. It would be similar to the 1991 Wild Card Football release. That set included the first parallels (1,000 stripe version, anyone?) but largely fell flat.

I thought 1991 Stadium Club was really a breakthrough in quality, more so than Upper Deck.

[packs]

Oh yeah those Stadium Club sets were really nice. I loved seeing the rookie cards included on the back of them.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

Oh yeah those Stadium Club sets were really nice. I loved seeing the rookie cards included on the back of them.

This is still one of my favorite cards, it's just a thing of beauty.

[sthoemke]

Originally Posted by packs

Oh yeah those Stadium Club sets were really nice. I loved seeing the rookie cards included on the back of them.

For what it's worth (not much, last time I checked), I have an unopend case of Series III.

[RayBShotz]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I thought 1991 Stadium Club was really a breakthrough in quality, more so than Upper Deck.

Shameless plug: I currently have consigned 40+ different PSA 10 and PSA 9, 1991 Stadium Club Baseball in the Sirius Sportscard Auctions ending Thursday.
Here's a few highlights:

[ALR-bishop]

The Topps 1990 Mylar Sticker test issue mentioned by Justin. This is all of them with their little sparkles:




As for the 65 Embossed, they were very shiny but doubt even their mothers could have identified the players

[JUrsaner]

Stadium Club and Studio were both always focused on fantastic photography. In terms of "shiny" cards really depends on definition and whether you're talking about pack-pulled mass-produced sets (or inserts) with nation-wide distribution (Topps/Bowman, Donruss/Leaf, Fleer, Score/Pinnacle, Upper Deck) or regional / promos.

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I thought 1991 Stadium Club was really a breakthrough in quality, more so than Upper Deck.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Eric72

the 1991 Wild Card Football release. That set included the first parallels (1,000 stripe version, anyone?) but largely fell flat.

I was just discussing this with another collector the other day. It is the first instance I can recall of a company issuing a progressively rarer version and urging collectors to collect the rainbow. The first one I got was a 50-stripe Troy Aikman.



FWIW, I have two unopened boxes of 1992 series 1 for sale at $30 each plus shipping.

[maniac_73]

I was 9 when Upperdeck came out with their first set and I remember my mind being blown at the quality of it. We looked at Topps, Score, Donruss and fleer as pure junk compared to UD after that lol