1996 Fleer Ultra Inserts

By the mid-1990s, most sets boasted insert sets. It is still a staple of cards being made today. In 1996, nobody embraced the insert set more than Fleer Ultra. I'm pretty sure that they advertised that there was an insert card in every pack. They way to do this was to have lots of insert sets. In 1996, Ultra had 17 different inserts, each having 10-20 cards and each having a gold parallel version. I'm including in this count the ultimate insert set, a parallel of the base set itself, which had 600 cards.  I've got 11 of them, including one of the gold parallels.

Ultra Gold Medallion #600 Mark Grace

The Gold Medallion parallel had been around for a few years and was a part of every Ultra set produced after this. They used different techniques every year to make the parallel different. In 1996, the technique was to make the background of the card gold foil. The back of the card was the same as the base set.

Ultra Call To The Hall #7 Cal Ripken

This 10-card set was inserted in a 1:24 ratio in Series 2 packs, this was a relatively tough pull. I bought this one on eBay in 2003 for $2.75 (including shipping). Today you'll pay at least $4 (plus shipping) for it.

Ultra Call To The Hall Gold Medallion #1 Barry Bonds

The gold parallels were much harder to pull, this one was inserted 1:240. I paid a hefty $12.89 for this in 2004, when Barry Bonds wasn't the pariah he is today. There is only one currently on eBay at $19.95.

Ultra Checklist #10 Matt Williams

Even the checklist cards were inserts. At 1:4 packs, this 20-card set (10 in each series) was an easy pull. I got this one in a pack. There are a lot of these on eBay, in the base and Gold versions. On eBay it looks like the the base card has gold foil and the Gold version has silver foil.

Ultra Diamond Producers #9 Cal Ripken

This was a 12-card set, inserted 1:20 packs in Series 1. I pulled this from a pack. Right now, the entire set is going for $12 on eBay. Fleer used a lot of different printing techniques on these sets. This one features a holographic foil background. I haven't looked at the entire checklists of these sets, but, based on the ones I have, I suspect that the same group of players is featured in most of them.

Ultra Fresh Foundations #1 Garrett Anderson

A 10-card set inserted at 1:3 in Series 1. You can get the whole set for $6. Chipper Jones looks to be the only worthwhile card.

Ultra Power Plus #2 Barry Bonds

This gaudy card is from a 12-card set inserted 1:10 packs. I bought the entire set in 2003 for $5. The background is multi-colored foil. The whole set is $21 now. Not too many of the Gold versions available.

Ultra Prime Leather #9 Tim Salmon

The card front is textured to simulate leather and the Prime Leather logo is embossed to suggest a brand. I pulled this from a pack. The 18-card set was inserted 1:8 packs. Lots of these available at reasonable prices.

Ultra RBI King #5 Jim Edmonds

A 10-card set, inserted at 1:5. Another one I pulled from a pack. Nothing special beyond silver-foil lettering on the front. A large selection available on eBay.

Ultra Respect #7 Cal Ripken

Another 10-card set, this one inserted at 1:18 in Series 2. I bought this for $6.02 in eBay in 2003. The text on the front is printed in raised holographic foil. The little sparkles in the print are the holographic effects. There are a lot of these up on eBay right now and you can get the whole set for about $8.

Ultra Season Crowns #8 Cal Ripken

This looks like an elaborate die-cut, or perhaps, laser-cut card but it's actually printed on clear acetate. This was a 10-card set inserted at 1:10 in Series 1. I paid $2.00 (plus shipping) for this in 2004. It's about the same price now on eBay.

That's all I have. While I was looking these up on eBay I found the Gold versions of most of them at reasonable prices so maybe I have another post later.