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  #51  
Old 10-19-2024, 02:34 PM
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Day 27: 1991 Donruss Diamond Kings. This fantastic set created precedent for uniqueness and quality in the 80s. Perez' artwork became sought after, and the Perez Steele postcards were desirable auto options. Today, Diamond Kings is still a nostalgic set for millennial collectors. I'm very happy that Larkin made it into the set!

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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
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  #52  
Old 10-19-2024, 02:41 PM
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Bonus Dump!
I also want to recognize all the new sets that were being released circa 1990 that would recreate the hobby in the 1990s. Topps Stadium Club, Leaf, Studio and Upper Deck all brought new ideas into the card creating world. High quality gloss made Topps cardboard feel out of touch and dated.







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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

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  #53  
Old 10-19-2024, 06:53 PM
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We posted the 91 AS Desert Shield, so I might as well post the base card. Other than base cards, my early 90s collection is lacking. When we get to 1996 or so, watch out!

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  #54  
Old 10-20-2024, 03:16 PM
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Day 28: 1992 Topps Gold & Gold Winner Cello Packs. I have heard, but cannot confirm, that there are more Topps Gold Winners in circulation due to holding the scratch cards up to the light and being able to see the correct choices. This of course is not what Topps had planned.



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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

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  #55  
Old 10-21-2024, 06:42 PM
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Day 29: 1992 Topps Kids. I saw this set when I was young in $1 Store discount stores. They were mixed in with Conlon Collection packs, and Action Packed. I wasn't really interested then. Now? It's funny and quirky.



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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

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  #56  
Old 10-22-2024, 10:13 AM
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I am light on 1992 Larkins, as they are mostly base cards or food issues, and my collection doesn't really focus on those things. So I thought I'd share a later set of cards that I know won't be posted when we get to that year, because it's nearly certainly the only set in existence (if you know me from other sites, you've seen these before).

My all-time favorite insert set is the 1998 Donruss Crusades. Buckle in, because I want to take the time to lay out the history of this set. For those unfamiliar with the 1998 Donruss Crusade set, here is some information:

The 1998 Donruss Crusade baseball set consists of 130 cards of which come in three different color parallels -- Green, Purple, and Red -- with each color accompanied by a unique print run (green numbered to 250, purple numbered to 100, and red numbered to 25). The first 100 cards in the set depict veteran stars while the remaining 30 feature young hopefuls.

1998 Donruss Crusade is a multi-product release; the first 100 cards were randomly inserted into three products: 40 cards inserted in 1998 Donruss, 30 cards inserted in 1998 Leaf, and 30 cards inserted in 1998 Donruss Update. Cards 101-130 were inserted into packs of 1998 Leaf Rookies and Stars. The set was an unannounced "stealth" insert set and odds were not included on the packs.

There were two different designs in the Crusade set. The regular/base design featured colored photos of a player against a medieval background. The cards were printed on chromium stock with a holographic foil finish. The other design was a subset entitled Call to Arms. These picture the player against a colored back drop with an emblem etched in the background and the words Call to Arms printed in bold white letters down the side of the card. All of the Call to Arms Crusade cards that were officially released/packed-out were mistakenly printed without card numbers. No correction to this error was made. Both designs are breathtakingly beautiful in person. Pictures just don't do them justice.

Players included in the set had either a Call to Arms or a base card. As I collect Barry Larkin, he had a Call to Arms card in the set. As previously mentioned it is unnumbered on the back, but is listed as card #63 in the checklist. According to Baseballcardpedia.com the Larkin cards were released in packs of 1998 Donruss Update.

Here is a photo of the Larkin cards I have. Obviously, I'm missing the Red as it is my top priority in my collecting journey to track one down.



Additionally, there were Executive proofs of the set made. These cards are serial-numbered either "XXX/250" (green), "XXX/100" (purple), or "XX/25" (red). The serial-numbering is printed rather than stamped. These cards were produced for Donruss staff and were used in-house for final approval and quality control before production. While print runs aren't confirmed, it's likely every card of this version regardless of color was printed in the same quantity. That said, it's believed that that particular quantity is exceptionally small. Baseballcardpedia.com says that many collectors believe that 1-2 copies of an Executive Promo each player for each color were produced for all cards in the officially released set (i.e., cards #1 - #130). Other researchers believe the number to be more than 1 or 2, but possibly less than 10. There is no way to confirm this other than assumptions from sales observations over time, but it's clear they are very rare. Recently, a large collection of the executive proofs surfaced at auction. Unfortunately, none of the Larkins were among them, so I'm still on the lookout for those.

A number of additional Crusade cards (sequentially numbered #131 - #200 in the set) were produced by Donruss for future 1998 and 1999 baseball products, but were never officially released due to the bankruptcy of Pinnacle Brands. However, prototypes of all 70 of these known, unreleased Crusades emerged on the secondary market shortly after Pinnacle's bankruptcy. None of these unreleased prototype Crusades are serial-numbered. While Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) instructed Pinnacle Brands - which included the Donruss and Leaf products - to destroy its baseball card inventory after the bankruptcy filing, some Donruss employees collated and kept these unreleased Crusades and sold them to Dave and Adam's Card World, a sports card and collectibles store. In turn, they sold the entire lot to a private collector, which then traded hands again to another private collector. Had these Crusades not been backdoored, collectors may have never seen these.

While many collectors believe that one copy of the Red and Purple and two copies of the Green of each player from this unreleased portion of the set exist, this is more of an exception than the norm. The large majority of players only have one of each color, with some players not having one or two colors confirmed to exist.

Most players in the initial Crusade set (#1 - #100) were to have a "base" and "Call to Arms" (CTA) card, for all three colors. The first Crusade "type" for each of these players were released in packs of 1998 Donruss, Leaf, and Donruss Update; however, the second Crusade "type" for many players were part of this unreleased set. For example, the Ken Griffey, Jr. CTA Crusade was one of these unreleased cards that emerged on the secondary market after the bankruptcy - Griffey, Jr. had a "base" Crusade that was officially released in packs but his CTA subset was to be featured in sets that were never officially released.

Unlike the CTA Crusades that were inserted into packs, all unreleased CTA cards are sequentially-numbered.

Because of the popularity of the Crusade set in general and potential rarity of the unreleased Crusades specifically, these command also strong premiums in the secondary sales market over the pack-issued Crusades.

It should be noted, there are a few exceptions to the rule with these unreleased cards. Rickey Henderson (#166) and Vinny Castilla (#138) both do not have a Crusade that was released in packs but have a Crusade in this Unreleased set. Both of Mo Vaughn's Crusades (#12 & #196) - pack-issued and in the unreleased set - were the CTA version; Vaughn does not have a "base" Crusade.

All player cards between #131 and 200 have been accounted for although some players do not have all 3 color parallels.

Barry Larkin has all 3.


Last edited by OhioLawyerF5; 10-22-2024 at 10:21 AM.
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  #57  
Old 10-23-2024, 05:46 PM
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Day 30: 1992 Bowman card mosaic. I was inspired to make this by all the artists on Twitter and the art displayed on Net54. They do awesome work and I thought I could do something cool, too.

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Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

Last edited by todeen; 10-23-2024 at 08:11 PM.
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  #58  
Old 10-23-2024, 06:12 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5 View Post
I am light on 1992 Larkins, as they are mostly base cards or food issues, and my collection doesn't really focus on those things. So I thought I'd share a later set of cards that I know won't be posted when we get to that year, because it's nearly certainly the only set in existence (if you know me from other sites, you've seen these before).

My all-time favorite insert set is the 1998 Donruss Crusades. Buckle in, because I want to take the time to lay out the history of this set. For those unfamiliar with the 1998 Donruss Crusade set, here is some information:

The 1998 Donruss Crusade baseball set consists of 130 cards of which come in three different color parallels -- Green, Purple, and Red -- with each color accompanied by a unique print run (green numbered to 250, purple numbered to 100, and red numbered to 25). The first 100 cards in the set depict veteran stars while the remaining 30 feature young hopefuls.

1998 Donruss Crusade is a multi-product release; the first 100 cards were randomly inserted into three products: 40 cards inserted in 1998 Donruss, 30 cards inserted in 1998 Leaf, and 30 cards inserted in 1998 Donruss Update. Cards 101-130 were inserted into packs of 1998 Leaf Rookies and Stars. The set was an unannounced "stealth" insert set and odds were not included on the packs.

There were two different designs in the Crusade set. The regular/base design featured colored photos of a player against a medieval background. The cards were printed on chromium stock with a holographic foil finish. The other design was a subset entitled Call to Arms. These picture the player against a colored back drop with an emblem etched in the background and the words Call to Arms printed in bold white letters down the side of the card. All of the Call to Arms Crusade cards that were officially released/packed-out were mistakenly printed without card numbers. No correction to this error was made. Both designs are breathtakingly beautiful in person. Pictures just don't do them justice.

Players included in the set had either a Call to Arms or a base card. As I collect Barry Larkin, he had a Call to Arms card in the set. As previously mentioned it is unnumbered on the back, but is listed as card #63 in the checklist. According to Baseballcardpedia.com the Larkin cards were released in packs of 1998 Donruss Update.

Here is a photo of the Larkin cards I have. Obviously, I'm missing the Red as it is my top priority in my collecting journey to track one down.



Additionally, there were Executive proofs of the set made. These cards are serial-numbered either "XXX/250" (green), "XXX/100" (purple), or "XX/25" (red). The serial-numbering is printed rather than stamped. These cards were produced for Donruss staff and were used in-house for final approval and quality control before production. While print runs aren't confirmed, it's likely every card of this version regardless of color was printed in the same quantity. That said, it's believed that that particular quantity is exceptionally small. Baseballcardpedia.com says that many collectors believe that 1-2 copies of an Executive Promo each player for each color were produced for all cards in the officially released set (i.e., cards #1 - #130). Other researchers believe the number to be more than 1 or 2, but possibly less than 10. There is no way to confirm this other than assumptions from sales observations over time, but it's clear they are very rare. Recently, a large collection of the executive proofs surfaced at auction. Unfortunately, none of the Larkins were among them, so I'm still on the lookout for those.

A number of additional Crusade cards (sequentially numbered #131 - #200 in the set) were produced by Donruss for future 1998 and 1999 baseball products, but were never officially released due to the bankruptcy of Pinnacle Brands. However, prototypes of all 70 of these known, unreleased Crusades emerged on the secondary market shortly after Pinnacle's bankruptcy. None of these unreleased prototype Crusades are serial-numbered. While Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) instructed Pinnacle Brands - which included the Donruss and Leaf products - to destroy its baseball card inventory after the bankruptcy filing, some Donruss employees collated and kept these unreleased Crusades and sold them to Dave and Adam's Card World, a sports card and collectibles store. In turn, they sold the entire lot to a private collector, which then traded hands again to another private collector. Had these Crusades not been backdoored, collectors may have never seen these.

While many collectors believe that one copy of the Red and Purple and two copies of the Green of each player from this unreleased portion of the set exist, this is more of an exception than the norm. The large majority of players only have one of each color, with some players not having one or two colors confirmed to exist.

Most players in the initial Crusade set (#1 - #100) were to have a "base" and "Call to Arms" (CTA) card, for all three colors. The first Crusade "type" for each of these players were released in packs of 1998 Donruss, Leaf, and Donruss Update; however, the second Crusade "type" for many players were part of this unreleased set. For example, the Ken Griffey, Jr. CTA Crusade was one of these unreleased cards that emerged on the secondary market after the bankruptcy - Griffey, Jr. had a "base" Crusade that was officially released in packs but his CTA subset was to be featured in sets that were never officially released.

Unlike the CTA Crusades that were inserted into packs, all unreleased CTA cards are sequentially-numbered.

Because of the popularity of the Crusade set in general and potential rarity of the unreleased Crusades specifically, these command also strong premiums in the secondary sales market over the pack-issued Crusades.

It should be noted, there are a few exceptions to the rule with these unreleased cards. Rickey Henderson (#166) and Vinny Castilla (#138) both do not have a Crusade that was released in packs but have a Crusade in this Unreleased set. Both of Mo Vaughn's Crusades (#12 & #196) - pack-issued and in the unreleased set - were the CTA version; Vaughn does not have a "base" Crusade.

All player cards between #131 and 200 have been accounted for although some players do not have all 3 color parallels.

Barry Larkin has all 3.

Very cool! thanks for sharing!

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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo
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  #59  
Old 10-23-2024, 08:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by todeen View Post
Day 30: 1992 Bowman card mosaic. I was inspired to make this by all the artists on Twitter and the art displayed on Net54. They do awesome work and thought I could do something cool, too.

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That is amazing! You, sir, are talented.
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  #60  
Old 10-24-2024, 11:07 PM
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Day 31: 1993 Donruss Elite. A card that came out just as I was entering the hobby at 7 yo, I didn't really know about them until years later. But the chances to pull one was difficult, and it's believed many still are hidden within unopened product.



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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

Last edited by todeen; 10-24-2024 at 11:07 PM.
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  #61  
Old 10-25-2024, 02:42 AM
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Love the 91-93 elites. Something like 1 in 75 boxes. I knew about them through Beckett and lusted after them. The only one I saw in person back then was the 93 McGriff that a friend pulled. I promptly traded him for it. Then in 94, as print runs began to shrink, my brother pulled a 94 Griffey elite. Even though they were still /10,000, they weren't nearly as hard to pull, so they lost their luster a bit for me. Anyway, as I began to build my Larkin PC as an adult, when I could afford to buy the cool cards I couldn't buy as a kid, the 93 Elite was one of the first on the list.

A lot of people don't know this, but the design around the borders, which was revolutionary at the time, was created by none other than Dick Perez, the artist of Diamond Kings fame.

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  #62  
Old 10-25-2024, 06:19 PM
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Day 32: 1993 Pinnacle Cooperstown Dufex. Another card I didn't know existed until much later in my collecting career. I actually really enjoy the Dufex cards, and the Museum Collection ones are especially nice.



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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

Last edited by todeen; 10-25-2024 at 06:19 PM.
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  #63  
Old 10-25-2024, 08:49 PM
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Day 32: 1993 Pinnacle Cooperstown Dufex. Another card I didn't know existed until much later in my collecting career. I actually really enjoy the Dufex cards, and the Museum Collection ones are especially nice.



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Love it!

These are one of the first dufex cards ever made. They were only distributed at the SCAI conference in Dallas. They are tough to find for player collectors.

Here's mine:

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  #64  
Old 10-26-2024, 11:26 AM
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Day 33: 1993 Topps Finest Refractor. The most important set in modern card collecting. After seeing other brands pass them by, Topps released a set that still influences us today. Topps Finest was printed on ultra premium cardstock, and featured colorful graphics. The first refractors, no one in 1993 could foresee refractor rainbows and what collecting has become. Today these cards suffer from greening, or hulking out, making pristine examples more rare and desirable.


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Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

Last edited by todeen; 10-26-2024 at 04:31 PM.
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  #65  
Old 10-26-2024, 02:08 PM
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The granddaddy of the shiny cards!

I was hoping you would post this next. I remember in 1993 my LCS had a box. They were $20 a pack. Absolutely blew my mind.

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  #66  
Old 10-26-2024, 04:30 PM
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Love it!

These are one of the first dufex cards ever made. They were only distributed at the SCAI conference in Dallas. They are tough to find for player collectors.

Here's mine:

I actually don't know what SCAI is. I figured these were released in packs. Is SCAI a forerunner of the National? Or is/was it regional, more like the West Coast National?

Quote:
Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5 View Post
The granddaddy of the shiny cards!

I was hoping you would post this next. I remember in 1993 my LCS had a box. They were $20 a pack. Absolutely blew my mind.

1993 Topps Finest was another set that premiered before I had ever been to a card shop. I started going to card shops around 1995. I was caught up by Nomo-Mania and Mike Piazza. When I walked into the card shop I was looking at cards in cases, not in boxes.

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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

Last edited by todeen; 10-26-2024 at 04:31 PM.
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  #67  
Old 10-26-2024, 05:01 PM
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Quote:
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I actually don't know what SCAI is. I figured these were released in packs. Is SCAI a forerunner of the National? Or is/was it regional, more like the West Coast National?



1993 Topps Finest was another set that premiered before I had ever been to a card shop. I started going to card shops around 1995. I was caught up by Nomo-Mania and Mike Piazza. When I walked into the card shop I was looking at cards in cases, not in boxes.

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SCAI was the Sports Collectibles Association International, which was a short-lived Hobby trade group that formed in the early 90s by noted Hobby dealer Kit Young. By the mid-90s, the organization dissolved, and Young went on to found what is now the Collectibles Industry Summit. The National is more of a giant card show for consumers. Wheras SCAI and the Industry Summit are more like trade shows for dealers in the industry more than the individual collector.

Pinnacle was at the SCAI in 1993 trying to promote their new dufex cards, so they gave out boxed sets of the Cooperstown Collection in dufex to the dealers there. I believe there were a total of 1000 sets produced, but you don't seem to see that many around these days.

I lived in a very small town in 1993. We had a grocery store that had a small card display case run by the owner's son. Then, all of a sudden, a lady opened a full-fledged card shop across the street. It instantly became the hot spot for all the boys in the neighborhood to hangout, my brother and I included.

Last edited by OhioLawyerF5; 10-26-2024 at 05:05 PM.
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Old 10-26-2024, 06:42 PM
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Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5 View Post
SCAI was the Sports Collectibles Association International, which was a short-lived Hobby trade group that formed in the early 90s by noted Hobby dealer Kit Young. By the mid-90s, the organization dissolved, and Young went on to found what is now the Collectibles Industry Summit. The National is more of a giant card show for consumers. Wheras SCAI and the Industry Summit are more like trade shows for dealers in the industry more than the individual collector.

Pinnacle was at the SCAI in 1993 trying to promote their new dufex cards, so they gave out boxed sets of the Cooperstown Collection in dufex to the dealers there. I believe there were a total of 1000 sets produced, but you don't seem to see that many around these days.

I lived in a very small town in 1993. We had a grocery store that had a small card display case run by the owner's son. Then, all of a sudden, a lady opened a full-fledged card shop across the street. It instantly became the hot spot for all the boys in the neighborhood to hangout, my brother and I included.
I grew up in Billings, Montana, population 81k people. I was buying cards at the grocery store chain called Buttrey's. It's since been bought by Albertsons, I'm not sure it's still around. About 1995, I found two card shops in town and those were life changing compared to a 75-cent pack going through the checkout line. The better of the two was a dimly lit double wide (or small house) that was filled full.

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Old 10-27-2024, 03:55 PM
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Day 34: 1993 Topps Florida & Colorado Inaugural. 1993 was a huge year in Montana where I grew up. Getting a MLB team kinda closer to Billings was exciting, and! we were the last stop on the Rockies winter caravan.




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Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

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Old 10-28-2024, 06:16 PM
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Day 35: 1994 Bowmans Best w/ Derek Jeter. Refractor also available. These veteran with prospect combos don't always age well. But this card ended up with two future HOF'ers. And! They ended up with near identical career WAR. Larkin had a higher ceiling, Jeter had longevity.



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Old 10-28-2024, 08:34 PM
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I'll post one more 1993. This was one of the first inserts I chased as it was a realistic pull compared to Donruss Elites. And I thought they were so cool. The fact that you could pull winner cards to redeem portions of the whole set made it all the more fun.

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Old 10-29-2024, 01:34 PM
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I'll post one more 1993. This was one of the first inserts I chased as it was a realistic pull compared to Donruss Elites. And I thought they were so cool. The fact that you could pull winner cards to redeem portions of the whole set made it all the more fun.

Great card! I don't know why I haven't acquired Black Gold yet. It's a wonderful set and I was very happy when they revived it as an insert a couple years ago.

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Old 10-29-2024, 01:35 PM
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Day 36: 1994 Fleer Extra Bases, tallboy. I never knew these existed until a fellow Net54 collector passed along an entire set in 2022. What do you do with a set that doesn't fit into standard pages, sleeves, or protectors? Idk. I shoe boxed them and put them in my closet.



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Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

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Old 10-29-2024, 08:27 PM
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Day 36: 1994 Fleer Extra Bases, tallboy. I never knew these existed until a fellow Net54 collector passed along an entire set in 2022. What do you do with a set that doesn't fit into standard pages, sleeves, or protectors? Idk. I shoe boxed them and put them in my closet.



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I remember buying these in 1994. I think they are the reason I don't like oversized cards to this day. I never had a good way to store them back then, and it turned me off to oversized cards forever.
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Old 10-30-2024, 06:28 PM
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1995 Collectors Choice SE Gold Signature. When I was a boy, I was not impressed with Gold Signatures. Same picture, same signature, different color? Who cared? Now that I'm older, and rainbows are 20 variations or more, I yearn for simpler times.



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Old 10-30-2024, 09:10 PM
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One of the first real chase cards I remember where you had a realistic chance of pulling one. Sure, you could pull an Elite once every 75 boxes, or win the lottery by "finding the Reggie," but these babies were all the rage. And at one in 75 packs, were a realistic pusuit.


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Old 10-31-2024, 06:37 PM
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I'll take a risk that this one isn't on the list of 1995 cards.

Here's a rare one.

This is the 1995 Pinnacle Holographic Foil Artist's Proof. Very little is known about these cards. Apparently, a bunch were sold on ebay in 2016, without much information. According to baseballcardpedia.com, "collectors speculate that these were test issue, alternative versions of the Artist's Proof parallels that were scrapped but erroneously made their way out of the factory and/or were mistakenly distributed into packs."

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Old 11-01-2024, 05:38 PM
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1995 Select Certified Mirror Gold. The start of something important. Later years cards have become very popular in the nostalgia card market. 1995 was easy to find Select Mirror Gold. Love the look to this card.



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Old 11-01-2024, 05:39 PM
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I'll take a risk that this one isn't on the list of 1995 cards.

Here's a rare one.

This is the 1995 Pinnacle Holographic Foil Artist's Proof. Very little is known about these cards. Apparently, a bunch were sold on ebay in 2016, without much information. According to baseballcardpedia.com, "collectors speculate that these were test issue, alternative versions of the Artist's Proof parallels that were scrapped but erroneously made their way out of the factory and/or were mistakenly distributed into packs."

Correct. not on the list

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Old 11-02-2024, 06:23 AM
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1995 Select Certified Mirror Gold. The start of something important. Later years cards have become very popular in the nostalgia card market. 1995 was easy to find Select Mirror Gold. Love the look to this card.



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To follow up on this post and the comment that it was the start of something important, I wanted to share the 1996 Select Certified rainbow. To say it was important is an understatement. I don't believe its importance can be overstated. It changed the game, and was the precursor to nearly everything we see in the hobby today.

According to baseballcardpedia.com, 1996 Select Certified was a 144-card hobby-only set released by Pinnacle Brands in the summer of 1996. This set contained a staggering (for the time) six levels of parallels and was one of the first sets that allowed individual player collectors to "chase the rainbow".

'96 Select Certified also redefined the standard for rarity for subsequent baseball card sets - up to the time this set was released, only a handful of inserts/parallels had either announced print runs or serial-numbering, which ranged from the high hundreds to high thousands. However, '96 Select Certified pushed the envelope by limiting the number of boxes distributed and drastically limiting the availability of all parallels, especially its Mirror parallels, which successfully contributed to establishment of the brand as a super-premium one, as intended a year prior. As a result, this set could be viewed as the impetus for the low serial numbering/print run craze that soon followed and harmoniously coincided with the "Insert Mania" wave of the mid-to-late 1990s that gave rise to cards numbered to ten, five, or one (e.g., Flair Masterpieces).

The announced print runs for the various parallels is as follows:

Certified Red (limited to 1800 copies)
Artist's Proof (limited to 500 copies)
Certified Blue (limited to 180 copies)
Mirror Red (limited to 90 copies)
Mirror Blue (limited to 45 copies)
Mirror Gold (limited to 30 copies)

These were stated print runs from the manufacturer as the cards were not serial numbered. Although the cards are not serial-numbered, many collectors believe that the announced production figures are accurate. This is based on sales data over the years and availability on the market. It also matches relatively closely to the stated odds for each parallel, considering a calculated print run of 64,800 total boxes produced, a figure that also appears accurate based on market data.

To my knowledge, there have only been 2 prior public sales of the Barry Larkin Mirror Gold, one in 2005 and one in 2019. Otherwise, this card is extremely scarce and I'm fortunate to have it. Mine is from the personal collection of the former CEO of Pinnacle that was sold at auction recently.

Many consider this to be the first real rainbow in the hobby. Here it is in all its shiny glory:

Base:



Certified Red:



Artist's Proof:



Certified Blue:



Mirror Red:



Mirror Blue:



Mirror Gold:



Complete Rainbow:




Last edited by OhioLawyerF5; 11-02-2024 at 07:18 AM.
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Old 11-02-2024, 09:32 AM
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According to baseballcardpedia.com

The announced print runs for the various parallels is as follows:

Certified Red (limited to 1800 copies)
Artist's Proof (limited to 500 copies)
Certified Blue (limited to 180 copies)
Mirror Red (limited to 90 copies)
Mirror Blue (limited to 45 copies)
Mirror Gold (limited to 30 copies)

To my knowledge, there have only been 2 prior public sales of the Barry Larkin Mirror Gold, one in 2005 and one in 2019. Otherwise, this card is extremely scarce and I'm fortunate to have it. Mine is from the personal collection of the former CEO of Pinnacle that was sold at auction recently.

Many consider this to be the first real rainbow in the hobby. Here it is in all its shiny glory:
Thank you for sharing! Absolutely beautiful.

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Old 11-02-2024, 09:35 AM
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Day 39: 1995 Upper Deck Electric Diamond Gold. 1:35 packs, hardest cards to pull other than Special Edition Gold. Another card that I saw as a kid and thought, meh. Some people are coocoo for cocoa puffs about these. But to me, I prefer the Special Edition Gold.

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Old 11-03-2024, 10:27 AM
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Day 40: 1995 UD Special Edition Gold. 1:35 packs. I love the look of this card, great action shot, and clean graphics design. This was the hardest card to pull in Series 1. Also included in Series 2, it was the best pull except for autographs, which were 1:72 packs.



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Old 11-03-2024, 12:21 PM
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Day 40: 1995 UD Special Edition Gold. 1:35 packs. I love the look of this card, great action shot, and clean graphics design. This was the hardest card to pull in Series 1. Also included in Series 2, it was the best pull except for autographs, which were 1:72 packs.



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Nice. I still can't believe those autos were only 1:72 as the checklist was both small and amazing. They were all redemptions, and when you sent them in, they sent you the autographed card along with a separate certificate of authenticity.

I know it's not Larkin, but I have the Frank Robinson in my Reds PC and thought I'd share it.

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Old 11-03-2024, 12:37 PM
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Thanks for sharing! Wonderful contribution to this thread. I've never seen it before.

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Old 11-04-2024, 06:03 PM
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Day 41: 1996 Beckett, celebrating quietly Barry Larkin's 1995 MVP (5.9WAR). A tight race between Larkin 51SB, Bichette 40HR, and Maddux 19W. His 1996 season would be better (7.2WAR, first 30/30 season by SS), but in 1995 he helped the Reds reach the playoffs and play in the NLCS, losing to eventual WS Champs ATL.

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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
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Old 11-05-2024, 07:40 AM
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Since we are into 1996, I have several fairly unique cards with stories from that year to share. It seems to be the year when the card manufacturers really shifted to trying many different things to compete with each other for the hobby dollars of a fan base still reeling from the strike and the junk wax era. I already posted the Select Certified Rainbow. I truly believe that set literally changed the game, and my Mirror Gold is one of the top cards in my entire collection (and probably at or near the top of the list for most Larkin collectors). But there were many others that innovated the hobby in their own way.

For today's post I want to share the 1996 Pinnacle Afficianado First Pitch Preview. These are very difficult to find for your player. And while I've seen a handful of Larkins, I know some player collectors who have never seen one for their player, nor seen evidence of a public sale...ever.

First Pitch Preview cards are similar to the base cards in design except for the holographic player nameplate and "First Pitch Preview" stamp along the short edge of the cards are in bronze.

This promo set parallels the first 100 cards in the base set and was available through a promotion. Collectors on Pinnacle's mailing list were sent a letter detailing the upcoming Aficionado set and the opportunity to receive a First Pitch Preview card. Participants had to answer five baseball trivia questions and submit their answers online through the Pinnacle Brands website - three of the questions were listed in the letter but had to obtain the other two from a participating local Hobby store. If one answered all five questions correctly (which could be found on the backs of the relevant Aficionado cards), he/she would receive one randomly selected First Pitch Preview card via mail and become eligible to win a trip to a spring training trip of their choice as a grand prize. The three questions listed in the letter were: (1) Mo Vaughn says this player is "like E.F. Hutton; when he speaks, we all listen." Who is this player? (Answer: Ted Williams); (2) We all know the Cubbies selected lanky left-hander Drew Hall with their first choice in the '84 draft, but who did they pick second that year? (A: Greg Maddux); and (3) This slugging first baseman delayed his pro career to bat cleanup for the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team. Who is he? (A: Tino Martinez).

Somewhere in hobby history, someone answered all the questions correctly, received this Larkin card, which eventually made its way into my collection.


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Old 11-05-2024, 09:52 AM
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Quote:
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Since we are into 1996, I have several fairly unique cards with stories from that year to share. It seems to be the year when the card manufacturers really shifted to trying many different things to compete with each other for the hobby dollars of a fan base still reeling from the strike and the junk wax era. I already posted the Select Certified Rainbow. I truly believe that set literally changed the game, and my Mirror Gold is one of the top cards in my entire collection (and probably at or near the top of the list for most Larkin collectors). But there were many others that innovated the hobby in their own way.

For today's post I want to share the 1996 Pinnacle Afficianado First Pitch Preview. These are very difficult to find for your player. And while I've seen a handful of Larkins, I know some player collectors who have never seen one for their player, nor seen evidence of a public sale...ever.

First Pitch Preview cards are similar to the base cards in design except for the holographic player nameplate and "First Pitch Preview" stamp along the short edge of the cards are in bronze.

This promo set parallels the first 100 cards in the base set and was available through a promotion. Collectors on Pinnacle's mailing list were sent a letter detailing the upcoming Aficionado set and the opportunity to receive a First Pitch Preview card. Participants had to answer five baseball trivia questions and submit their answers online through the Pinnacle Brands website - three of the questions were listed in the letter but had to obtain the other two from a participating local Hobby store. If one answered all five questions correctly (which could be found on the backs of the relevant Aficionado cards), he/she would receive one randomly selected First Pitch Preview card via mail and become eligible to win a trip to a spring training trip of their choice as a grand prize. The three questions listed in the letter were: (1) Mo Vaughn says this player is "like E.F. Hutton; when he speaks, we all listen." Who is this player? (Answer: Ted Williams); (2) We all know the Cubbies selected lanky left-hander Drew Hall with their first choice in the '84 draft, but who did they pick second that year? (A: Greg Maddux); and (3) This slugging first baseman delayed his pro career to bat cleanup for the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team. Who is he? (A: Tino Martinez).

Somewhere in hobby history, someone answered all the questions correctly, received this Larkin card, which eventually made its way into my collection.

We will be in 1996 for a while. It was a great year. Great story. I didn't know about these cards. Thanks for sharing.

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Old 11-05-2024, 10:03 AM
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Day 42: 1995 SLU. This is my favorite Larkin SLU, and I don't care that it is out of the box. I started collecting in 1996, thanks to my sister who worked at Toys R Us. She was able to secure me the Chipper Jones, which was the most sought-after figure in the set, going into the hundreds of dollars in the retail market. Of course, I held onto it, and today it's worth $10. We would visit her at work when she would alert us that a new shipment had been racked on the shelves. I got the 96 Larkin, a diving pose, but this jumping pose has always been the best. When I turned over all of my SLU for my son to play with, I retained my 95 SLU for my cabinet. If you didn't know, the 89 SLU Larkin is his most sought-after. I've considered pulling the trigger multiple times but have yet to do so because I don't want to store it. My display can't hold it still in the box. So I've also considered just buying the card. Some day.

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Old 11-06-2024, 07:42 AM
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In 1996 Stadium Club, there was a 180-card partial-parallel set that was part of a contest. It was called Extreme Players. 18 players (nine in each series) from ten different positions (the eight fielding positions plus a starting pitcher and a reliever) were selected and at the conclusion of the 1996 regular season, an "Extreme Player" from each position was identified as a winner based on a statistical formula. Collectors could then mail back any winning Extreme Player cards they had and redeem it for a prize.

Each card is available in three colors, based on the foil-stamp on the front of the card: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Barry Larkin was the winner for shortstop.

Collectors bearing an Extreme Players Bronze card of one of the winning players could redeem it for an Extreme Winners Bronze set of all ten winning players. A winning Extreme Players Silver winning card would be entitled to a ten-card Extreme Winners Silver set done on Finest-style chromium stock. While the ten Extreme Players Gold winners could trade their card for a glass-coated, chromium-stock, Finest-style Extreme Winners Gold card of their player in return.

Here are the three winning prizes of Larkin. Interestingly, the Gold prize is much larger than a regular sized card, even larger than an early 50s Topps card.

Bronze Extreme Winner:



Silver Extreme Winner:



Gold Extreme Winner:


Last edited by OhioLawyerF5; 11-06-2024 at 07:46 AM.
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  #91  
Old 11-06-2024, 05:29 PM
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Day 43: 1996 Bowmans Best Atomic Refractor (looks like a superfractor). Also available in Bowmans Best Preview Atomic Refractor (looks like a sparkle card).



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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
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  #92  
Old 11-06-2024, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5 View Post
In 1996 Stadium Club, there was a 180-card partial-parallel set that was part of a contest. It was called Extreme Players. 18 players (nine in each series) from ten different positions (the eight fielding positions plus a starting pitcher and a reliever) were selected and at the conclusion of the 1996 regular season, an "Extreme Player" from each position was identified as a winner based on a statistical formula. Collectors could then mail back any winning Extreme Player cards they had and redeem it for a prize.

Each card is available in three colors, based on the foil-stamp on the front of the card: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Barry Larkin was the winner for shortstop.

Collectors bearing an Extreme Players Bronze card of one of the winning players could redeem it for an Extreme Winners Bronze set of all ten winning players. A winning Extreme Players Silver winning card would be entitled to a ten-card Extreme Winners Silver set done on Finest-style chromium stock. While the ten Extreme Players Gold winners could trade their card for a glass-coated, chromium-stock, Finest-style Extreme Winners Gold card of their player in return.

Here are the three winning prizes of Larkin. Interestingly, the Gold prize is much larger than a regular sized card, even larger than an early 50s Topps card.

Bronze Extreme Winner:



Silver Extreme Winner:



Gold Extreme Winner:

Twins....



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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo
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  #93  
Old 11-06-2024, 07:23 PM
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Twins....



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That's awesome! You don't see that one very day.

Here's the preview atomic to go with the much better looking one you posted.

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Old 11-06-2024, 07:47 PM
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Here's the preview atomic to go with the much better looking one you showed.
Thanks for displaying the preview. I've thought about buying it multiple times, but always choose something else.

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Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo
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Old 11-06-2024, 08:04 PM
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Thanks for displaying the preview. I've thought about buying it multiple times, but always choose something else.

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Yeah, it's easy to pass on. They made the right choice switching to the atomic pattern for the actual release. It looks so much better than the speckle pattern.
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Old 11-07-2024, 05:55 PM
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Day 44: 1996 Bowmans Best Mirror Image Atomic Refractor. This would be Larkin's 8th All Star game, Ripken's 14th AS game.




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Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

Last edited by todeen; 11-07-2024 at 05:56 PM.
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Old 11-07-2024, 06:00 PM
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Nice! I almost posted mine yesterday but had a feeling this one was coming up soon. I was right.

What I like about mine is that Larkin is technically on the back of the card, so usually PSA puts them in the holder with Ripken facing forward. But for some reason, this one is slabbed with Larkin facing the front. I usually don't like multi-player cards, but made an exception with this because Larkin was on the front.


Last edited by OhioLawyerF5; 11-07-2024 at 06:22 PM.
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Old 11-07-2024, 07:48 PM
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Nice! I almost posted mine yesterday but had a feeling this one was coming up soon. I was right.

What I like about mine is that Larkin is technically on the back of the card, so usually PSA puts them in the holder with Ripken facing forward. But for some reason, this one is slabbed with Larkin facing the front. I usually don't like multi-player cards, but made an exception with this because Larkin was on the front.

That's awesome! I don't usually like multi player cards either. But he was paired with Jeter on a number of occasions and I'm trying to pick those up slowly.

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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

Last edited by todeen; 11-07-2024 at 09:21 PM.
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Old 11-07-2024, 08:57 PM
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That's awesome! I don't usually like multi player cards either. But he was paid with Jeter on a number of occasions and I'm trying to pick those up slowly.

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Yeah, the 97 Mirror Image has Jeter. I'll try to get the Inverse Atomic Refractor just because it's so rare. But otherwise, I only get them if they are cheap. I got this 96 Atomic for less than the price of grading it, so I couldn't really resist.
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Old 11-08-2024, 11:15 AM
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Day 45: Topps Chrome Refractor. I went crazy at 10 years old trying to pull a Mickey Mantle insert from 96 Topps Flagship. I had to open the equivalent of 3 boxes of retail and never found one. But now I'm nostalgic for this set. Like this lovely I bought and submitted myself!

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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati
Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo

Last edited by todeen; 11-08-2024 at 11:16 AM.
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