Too Cool Not To Post

I was watching this one all week! Seldom seen, this card has a unique history (from the manufacturer anyway), according to Fleer, Precious Metal Gems was a parallel to the base set numbered to 100 copies. But the first ten that were produced had green foil (instead of the red foil that accounts for the other 90 copies). Evidently I wasn't the only one interested.

there were 31 bids and the final price climbed to $1,825.00!!!

This Week's Best: Week 6

1998-99 SkyBox Molten Metal Fusion

This huge insert set (50 cards) features plenty of stars and a very cool die-cut design that follows that "less is more" motto. Inserted in packs that were very unique, the regular Fusion issue (left) had the first 30 cards inserted in packs, but the last 20 are serial numbered. There is also a "Titanium" version (right) that features the same ratio. But there was a printing problem. 15 of the 20 numbered cards from each set were printed wrong (essentially, the Fusions were numbered to the Titanium's numbering, and the Titaniums were numbered to the Fusion's numbering). Cool set with a cool story.

Authentic?

Since the 2005-2006 season, I've noticed that more and more jersey, warm-up, and patch cards have less and less to do with the player that is pictured on the front of the card. On previous releases, depending on the manufacturer, you can read on the back of the memorabilia card a phrase similar to "On the front of this card is an authentic piece of a jersey worn by (player's name) in an NBA game" (top). Recent releases have a more vague phrasing such as: "On the front of this card are pieces of memorabilia that have been certified to us as having been used in an NBA game" (bottom). And some examples even say "NBA game or event."
Theory #1: This might be that the manufacturer, in an attempt to increase production of memorabilia inserts, are using any stitch of clothing used by any player. Who knows, maybe not even a player? I'm not saying that I still don't appreciate pulling a "jersey" card out of a pack, but it's definitely not as exciting as it used to be.
Theory #2: To reduce cost or production, the manufacturer came up with a form letter version that is consistent on all their products.

Fading Finest

Wonder if anyone has noticed this problem? For a few years now, I've noticed that the early Finest Basketball issues have developed a fading problem. When pulled from a pack they look fine (top), but after a few years, you pull it from your box of cards and it looks like the player is "glowing" from the inside-out (bottom). I'm also curious if grading them might prevent this (mostly because I have a couple that I would want to see fade)?

This Week's Best: Week 1

1993-94 Ultra Jam City
An example of the popular foil treatment of the mid-90's insert sets that I would like to see make a comeback. But this set was available only in retail jumbo packs at a rate of 1 in every 35 packs. The retail packs were tough to find to begin with and you only got one of these per box (a disappointment if you pull a Minor or Coleman). Nine cards in the set with Shaquille O'Neal (pictured), Derrick Coleman, David Robinson, Harold Miner, Shawn Kemp, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, and Dominique Wilkins. Great design for a foil treatment, but huge condition problems with chipping along the edges. I don't remember how many packs I bought trying to just complete this small set and ended up buying a set at a show. I guess there's only one BGS 9 Mint O'Neal out there with no 9.5.