1996 Select Certified

Cards with a mirror finish! The scan doesn't do this card justice. The background behind Cal is as bright as a mirror. The card logo and player name are in gold foil. The cards came with a plastic film to protect the surface.

I purchased the entire 144 card set in 2004 on eBay for $12 (including S&H). The cards were originally sold in 6-card packs for $4.99. That's 83 cents a card in 1996. I got them for a tenth that.

The cards were produced by Pinnacle, which had obtained the Score brand by then. Select had been a Score product starting in 1993. Card companies like to put words like "Certified" in their card names to signify something special. Certified has two meanings: "officially recognize (someone or something) as possessing certain qualifications or meeting certain standards" and "officially declare insane". I'm guessing that Pinnacle had the first meaning in mind but the second meaning may more accurately describe the state of the baseball card business in the mid to late 1990s.

By the time I bought these cards the plastic film had been on there for 8 years. Due to the difference in materials (the card vs. the film) the cards were all bowed inward. This happens because the cardboard absorbs moisture while the plastic film does not. So the card expands a bit but the plastic film cannot expand. So the card bows. The film was real hard to get off as well but the cards appear to have not been damaged.

1998 Pinnacle Inside

In 1997 and 1998 Pinnacle produced cards which they sold in a collectible steel can. You actually had to use a can opener to get the cards out.

There were ten cards in the can (they were packaged in clear cellophane) and the can cost $2.99.

There were 24 different players featured on the cans. Checking on eBay I see, you can buy any number of the cans for a buck. I've got 8 of these (one from '97, the rest from '98). Although they are 10 years old, they've held up well, by which I mean they are not rusting.

On the back of the can are Product Facts giving "% Daily Value"

Collectability 100%, Top Players 100%, Inside Info 100%, Cool Inserts 100%

The rest of the product facts give the odds on inserts: Stand Up Guys (1:1). This was a two piece thing with slits cut up the center of the pieces. If you slide the two pieces together it would stand up! On each interior face a different player could be seen across the two pieces. I hated these.

Club Edition (1:7). This was a gold Dufex finish version of the base set.

Behind the Numbers (1:23). I don't have any of these.

Inside Gold Can (1:47). I don't have any of these either. It says this is a can. Was the inside of the can gold plated?

Diamond Edition (1:67). None of these either.

On the side it says "The Only Baseball Card in a Can"!

The cards were ok. They were glossy with silver foil on the logo and player name. There weren't many subsets, just a rookie subset and checklists cards with a player featured on the front.

Ultimately, I didn't really like the cards which is why I don't have many of them. I think I've seen the cellophane packages recently in repacks.

And as a collectable, the cans are a pain in the neck. They are about 4 1/2 inches tall and a little wider than a card. I've got mine in a box in the closet.

I already had the Ripken can scanned (that was an adventure). I pulled out the Scott Rolen can to look at details. I'll probably leave it on my display shelf with other Phillies stuff.

1992 Topps Micro

So what's the big deal? It looks like a 1992 Cal Ripken, Jr. Topps cards. But it's really a 1992 Topps Micro card. The same in every way as the regular Topps issue except that the card is about the size of a postage stamp. I believe that I originally saw these in Toys R Us. And since I'll buy just about anything that says baseball cards on it, I bought a box. I have no idea what I paid for them.


Topps produced these sets in '91, '92 and '93. I don't think they were ever very popular. Unopened boxes are being offered on eBay right now for $0.99 plus shipping with no takers.

1992 was the first year that Topps produced gold parallel cards. These cards had a gold foil overlay with the players name. The 1992 micro set came with 12 gold cards. They had gold foil on the card background. I scanned these cards a few years ago and must have scanned them at different resolution. That would explain their different relative sizes. They are actually the same size.


Right from the beginning I had a hard time deciding what do to with these cards. I left them in the box for a long time. I put some of the gold cards up for sale on eBay in 1999 and actually got $1.50 for the Nolan Ryan and $3.00 for the Griffey Jr. Right now on eBay you can buy a PSA graded copy of the Ryan card for $30. I may be a sucker for baseball cards, but not that much of a sucker.

Last year I finally pulled out the cards of the players I collect and put them in album sleeves along with the full sized card. The micro card looks kind of cute nestled up against it's big brother card. I left the rest in the box. At least it doesn't take up too much room.