The Select brand was introduced by Score in 1993. The first year featured non-glossy cards with green borders. In 1995 it became more of a premium brand featuring a glossy finish, gold foil, and full bleed printing. They have always been horizontally oriented cards. This was the last year for Select. The set featured a glossy finish with gold foil. they were available in 10-card packs for $1.99.
This subset featured 1996 Rookies. It has the same design as the base cards, minus the second photo.
Another subset featuring an entirely different design. I think I only have one of these so I'm not sure what the theme is.
Checklist cards were vertically oriented, and numbered as part of the main set.1996 Select Artist's Proof
As with many of Pinnacle's sets in 1996, there was an Artist's Proof parallel. The cards were inserted at 1:35 packs. The gold foil is refractive, otherwise they are identical to the base cards. I only have this one, paying $3.49 for in in July 2004. Beckett gives a high premium for these cards listing them a 30x the base cards. There are not a lot of these available right now on eBay. Someone is offering the Ripken card at $60 (which is 40x the base card).1996 Select Claim To Fame
This was a limited edition (2,100 sets but not numbered), inserted at 1:72. The cards are die cut. Beckett lists this card a $30. I paid $7 for in in September 2004. It's being offered on eBay for a Buy It Now price of $35.1996 Select En Fuego
Another insert set (1:48). The card features colored foil printing on the front. En Fuego means "on fire". I paid $5.50 for this in September 2004. Beckett lists it a $25. It's being offered on eBay for $29.25. I'm glad I got these two Bonds cards back in 2004.1996 Select Team Nucleus
Inserted at 1:18, this card is printed on semi-transparent acetate. There was a card for each team. I must have pulled this from a new pack back in '96. Beckett lists the card at $12. It's currently offered on eBay at $11.64.That's it for Select. I have all of the inserts.
1996 Select Certified
A super premium set featuring a mirror silver foil background with gold foil lettering. The cards came with a protective plastic film. 6-card packs were available for $4.99. I bought the entire 144-card set on eBay in September 2004 for $7.00 (including shipping). A pretty good deal. There are very few of these on eBay these days.
There was a '96 Rookies subset. Here's the Derek Jeter card. I'm happy to have this.
Another subset was called Pastime Power. This is the Griffey card.Select Certified featured a number of parallels: Artist's Proof (1:18), Blue (1:50), Red (1:5), Mirror Blue (1:200, 45 sets), Mirror Red (1:100, 90 sets) and Mirror Gold (1:300, 30 sets). I don't have any of these although I've got bids on some Blues and Reds. The Mirror Golds are pretty pricey (Ivan Rodriguez for $500). I may settle for a mirror gold hockey card (going for $0.99).
There is also an Interleague Preview (1:42, none on eBay) and Select Few (1:60). I've got a bid out on a Select Few.
2 comments:
Select Certifed (from 1996 not 1995) has to be by FAR one of my favorite sets of all time.
If I ever had the money/time I would try to build one of the mirror sets. The cards just looked great in 1996 - they made a huge jump from the 1995 "mirrors".
Although the mirrors from 1996 are super rare - I highly doubt anyone has ever built a mirror set.
After the post I bought a few of the Red and Blue versions, but couldn't get any of the mirror versions. There were not too many for sale and the prices were too high. There are about 45 of the mirrors up on eBay right now. That's 45 out of a possible 432 cards. Any of the mirror sets would be real difficult to complete.
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