BSCM 1990'S EDITION: My opinion

I must admit, I rather enjoyed reading this month's edition of Beckett Sports Card Monthly. And not just because my name made it in there. This months issue was about the greatest era of sports cards..the 1990's.

I started collecting at the end of 1993. More towards the year 1994. My first purchase was a pack of Topps Football 1994. I loved the look of these. The special effects cards were amazing. Something that really catches a kids eye and brings them right into the hobby. Back then, I didn't really know what sport I was falling for. I bought Topps Hockey and Topps Football.

 

As I evolved more into the hobby in 1995, I bought mostly football. Products like Fleer, Flair, Skybox premium, Pro Line and Skybox Impact were some of my favorites. The inserts were unique and the rookie class was a great one. Such as Kordell Stewart, Warren Sapp, Steve McNair, and my favorite at that time a Kerry Collins.

 

In 1996, I bought Fleer, Topps, Pinnacle, Collectors Choice,  and some very unique brands as Crown Royale, Spx, Zenith and of course Topps Chrome. I remember my first refractor. A Curtis Martin.  Crown Royale brought some unique die cuts to the market and Spx combined holoview technology with a crisp shiny design. Also on card autos of Dan Marino and Joe Montana. I remember going to a card show where my friends uncle pulled the Montana auto from the same exact box I had just gotten 2 packs out of. Boy, I was angry for not have chosen the bottom pack.



1997, 1998, and 1999 produced more new products and brands. Some sweet ones like E-X2000, Flair Showcase, Pacific Revolution, Playoff Contenders, Leaf, Aurora, Finest, Collectors Edge, Sp Authentic, and a few more!! Some great products. Some great memories.

 

The one thing that some people might not have known about the late 90's cards were, all boxes were packed the same. Meaning...all of the hits were in the same spot in every box. Which is one reason why my friends uncle hit the lucky Montana. He knew where the inserts were after a few boxes of strategy and got all of the hits. Some hobby shop owners would shuffle the box to avoid these problems.



The main thing I miss about the 1990's cards was the innovations card companies would come up with. Acetate cards, cards on wood, thick cards, cards with felt, leather and anything else you can think of. If only we can go back in time and get these companies to be as creative.

   

  
A ton of these cards from the 90's are still red hot sellers today. Especially anything with the word Michael Jordan + 1990's inserts.



Overall, I still would buy some 90's brands if I can find them. The 90's didn't do a lot with the Jersey and autographed type cards.

 

 And when they did...they were so hard to get...that the value was actually worth something. Even inserts, that could be as hard to pull as 1:72 or higher...had some great value. To me, cards were worth more then. Now with over production of jersey cards, autos,inserts in every pack and rookie cards so easy to come by. The prices have been driven down.

I must though give kudos to Upper Deck and Panini who both came up with Video cards as this era's version of creativity and they definitely looked great. Panini is now creating acetate cards again and they have dipped into some brands from the 90's and have revived them. I think they are onto something. Hopefully all the other companies follow their lead.

What are your thoughts on the 1990's collecting?

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