Wednesday Wax: 1999-00 Topps Series 1 Hobby
Posted: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 Filed under: Box Breaks, Wax | Tags: Collect, Grant Hill, Hakeem Olajuwon, Hobby, Inserts, Karl Malone, Matt Harpring, Michael Doleac, Orange Border, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Topps Leave a comment
The Set:
1999-00 Topps Series 1
36 packs per box, 11 cards per pack
Series 1 base set contains 110 base cards, 10 rookies inserted 1 in 5
MVP Promo, 1 in 336 packs
Record Numbers, 1 in 12 packs
Season’s Best, 1 in 12 packs
Patriarchs, 1 in 22 packs
Picture Perfect, 1 in 8 packs
Prodigy, 1 in 36 packs
Prodigy Refractor, 1 in 144 packs
Autographs Group A, 1 in 877 packs
Autographs Group B, 1 in 351 packs
Our Break:
Definitely received a complete base set, likely came up with two. As with our Series 2 break, the base cards have the blindingly bright orange borders, with otherwise nice action shots of the player in the center. The photography in the Shaq we’ve shown above is magnificent, capturing the dominance of Shaq’s time with the Lakers. Again though, we busted this box for shot at some nice inserts, and because it was a cheap break with much enjoyment in pack breaking. It’s nice to open 18 packs and realize you still have half the box to go.
’99 Draft Picks (8): Jason Terry, Corey Maggette x2, Ron Artest x2, Richard Hamilton x2, Elton Brand
Picture Perfect (6): Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Keith Van Horn, Tim Hardaway, Ron Mercer, David Robinson
Record Numbers (4): Karl Malone, Kerry Kittles, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan
Season’s Best (2): Tim Hardaway, Vince Carter
Patriarchs (2): Mitch Richmond, Patrick Ewing
Prodigy (1): Michael Doleac
Prodigy Refractors (1): Matt Harpring
Impressions:
Once again, the design and flair on some of these insert sets, Patriarchs and Season’s Best in particular, is something you just don’t see in modern-day sets. The Picture Perfect inserts don’t do much for me, but most of the others are attractive and colorful sets. Prodigy has a Chrome feel. The excitement I felt opening the Prodigy insert and refractor quickly faded when I saw the players on each card. Certainly could have done better, but pulling an insert with 1:144 odds felt pretty good.
Pulling multiples on several rookies was disappointing as well, but at least these are of guys that are still playing today.
As with our series 2 break, this one was a blast to break, and it won’t cost a fortune to pick up. These should be available for under $30 on ebay or elsewhere. One of these days we’ll open an autograph, but for now, we’ll treasure our Matt Harpring Refractor.
Insert Set Flashback: 1995-96 Fleer Total D
Posted: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 Filed under: Inserts | Tags: Collect, Fleer, Gary Payton, Hakeem Olajuwon, NBA, Scottie Pippen, Total D Leave a comment
The Set:
1995-96 Fleer Total D
Set Odds:
1 in 5 Series 1 packs
Key Cards:
Michael Jordan $8.00
Shaquille O’Neal $3.00
Scottie Pippen $2.00
Why I Like It:
I opened more packs of 1995-96 Fleer than I’d care to admit in my early collecting days. I was drawn to the set because of its variety of styles and patterns. It’s also a large set so I didn’t find myself pulling the same players all the time. The Total D set points out the defensive powerhouses of the mid-90s, such as ‘The Glove’ Gary Payton, shot-blockers Olajuwon and Mutumbo, and lockdown perimeter defenders in Jordan and Pippen. The back description shares the player’s accolades on the defensive side of the floor.
While the uptempo, flashy offenses are often more fun to watch, getting crucial stops down the stretch wins games. The Dirk-led Mavs finally broke through and won the championship last season after acquiring their defensive anchor in Tyson Chandler. It’s hard to see them matching that success this season with Chandler now in New York. Defense certainly matters, and these guys, showing their ‘Total D’, were the best at proving it.
