Friday, May 16, 2008

Shiny Cards: A Former Novelty


Back in the day, these shiny Topps Chrome, Topps Finest, Bowman's Chrome cards were considered a novelty when they first came out. Collectors have never seen cards that were, well, so damn shiny. I sure didn't when I first started this hobby. I remember I was around 10 years old when I pulled my first ultra shiny card. It was a Jeff Hornacek Topps Finest card. Too bad that card, along with hundreds of other cards i collected as a kid, is lost in oblivion somewhere. But hey, I still have a few of the shiny chrome/finest cards from the 90s. The card pictured above is the 1997-98 Dan Majerle Topps Chrome.


Here's another one of them "shiny" cards. This is the 1996-97 Gheorghe Muresan Topps Finest card. As you can see, Topps placed a protective coating to protect the card. It's still there after more than 11 years. As far as I know, Topps does not put the "protective coating" over their chrome/finest cards anymore. I think that is one of the reasons, albeit a small reason, why these "shiny" cards are not as novel as they used to be. The protective coating gave the cards a sense of importance to them. Also, Topps Chrome and Finest comes out every year with tons of base cards, so the sheer quantity of these shiny base cards are probably the main reason of the downfall of their uniqueness. Plus, with the popularity of game used jersey cards, pulling these "shiny" cards just isn't that exhilarating for hobbyists anymore.

4 comments:

Gellman said...

Dude, I remember when I pulled a Jordan refractor out of finest one year and my brother pulled Kobe. He pulled off that little peel and seal thing and I made him cry because I made him think that his card was worthless then. 10 year olds are cruel, man.

Troll said...

Haha that's cruel but funny. When I was younger and I saw the protective seal I thought I hit the jackpot. I was afraid that if I take off the seal that the card would be forever tainted lol.

DOR said...

hi jeff,

Started collecting basketball cards in the early nineties for a few years. Stumbled upon the collection that i had lately and was keen to assess the value of it. Searched around the internet but wasnt much help from blind links or irrelevant info. Sites like beckett do not have a detailed appraisal with regards to my collection. Was wondering if you could help me assess the value of my cards and collection as I came across your blog on the internet. most of my cards are from the early nineties which you have shown in you blog. Looking forwrd to your reply. Thanks

Troll said...

Hey Dor,

The best way imo to find the market value of your cards is to search for them on sites like ebay since they show how much people are willing to pay for them. I'd be glad to take a look at some of your cards.