1997 Pinnacle X-Press Metal Works Silver

Set Size: 20 cards

Design Notes: Identical in design to the (solid) bronze version I showed yesterday, this parallel is silver-plated. The surface is very shiny, almost mirror-like (especially on the flatter back) and is serial numbered on the back at the very top. The "cards" are very thick and heavy.

Parallels and Similars: An unnumbered bronze base version and a gold-plated parallel set also exist.

Distribution: Each silver parallel card is serial-numbered to 400. They were acquired via redemption cards (no longer valid). Apparently you knew whether you were receiving a silver or gold card, but you wouldn't know which player until you received your redeemed Metal Works card. The odds of receiving a silver Metal Works redemption card in packs was 1:470, and in master deck "home plate" boxes 1:54.

Thoughts: The metal cards are really heavy and thus difficult to store, ship, and transport (a full set of 20 would seriously weigh down a box). However, they look really great and, while not unique, they stand out from other inserts. The bronze cards are the best-looking because they have a more matte finish, making it easier to see detail. But holding a silver or gold card feels like you're holding a pure silver or gold brick and it looks much more valuable. I'm glad to have a silver card and gold card in my collection, but I prefer the bronze for building a complete set.

1997 Pinnacle X-Press Metal Works Bronze

Set Size: 20 cards

Design Notes: The cards are heavy bronze-colored metal with relief images of the player. A crossed pair of bats with a ball is at the top, and the player's name is at thebottom. Backs have a short highlight for the player.

Parallels and Similars: Gold and silver parallels exist and are easy to identify by color.

Distribution: One card was included in each home plate box. Exchange cards for silver and gold sets were randomly inserted but are no longer valid.

Thoughts: Once again, Pinnacle created a gimmick set that I really enjoy. These cards are pretty tough to find and usually overpriced - or maybe collectors just find them more valuable. I'd like to put a set together and I have a few cards already. Poor Jeff Bagwell looks like a zombie on his card.

1997 Pinnacle Inside Dueling Dugouts

Set Size: 20 cards

Design Notes: The fronts and backs are very similar, with each side featuring one player from a different team. A wheel on one side of the card can be spun to compare a few statistical categories between the two players on a year-by-year basis. The players' names appear across the top in gold foil, and their team logos are in the lower right corner.

Parallels and Similars: None known. I'm not sure if there has ever been another card set that has the wheel feature.

Distribution: Cards were inserted at a rate of 1:23 packs (or cans, since this set was distributed in cans).

Thoughts: I really like the gimmick they used in this set. In fact, it would be kind of neat to see this tried on a full set (probably designed for kids, and with a smaller checklist). You can't do these as inserts since they're easily found out due to the hub for the wheel.

1996 Zenith Diamond Club Real Diamond

Set Size: 20 cards

Design Notes: A foil border in the shape of a diamond surrounds the player's photo, with the Zenith logo in an upper corner and a large portion of the bottom devoted to the set name and player's name. In the real diamond version, a small diamond is mounted at the base of the diamond. The backs contain a sepia photo of a baseball field in the background, with a player photo and short highlight paragraph.

Parallels and Similars: The regular version uses Pinnacle's Dufex technology, but there is no diamond.

Distribution: Regular cards were inserted one per box, and cards with real diamonds were found one in every 350 packs.

Thoughts: Pinnacle Brands tried a whole bunch of "gimmicky" ideas in the 1990s, including what I believe is the first card to contain an embedded gem. The actual diamond is pretty small and unimpressive, but the card is quite rare for its time. Actually, the diamond sticks out from the surface of the card a bit. I wonder if people pulling these from packs in 1996 were upset that the card preceding the diamond card most likely had a small dent in the back. Did it damage multiple cards? Or was there a filler card inserted to fix this? In addition to probably being the first embedded-gem card, it has to be one of the first "manu-relic" cards too!

1990 Topps Coins

Set Size: 60 coins, 1-1/2" diameter

Design Notes: Made of metal, the coins have full-color photos of players with a baseball field design; the player's team and name appear at the bottom. Backs have black text describing a highlight in the player's career.

Parallels and Similars: Most coins have aluminum colorinng on the edges, as seen above, though some award-winning players were issued in different colors - these are not parallels or variations. Several other coin sets were issued by Topps, but this design is unique and a 1990 copyright is found on the back.

Distribution: Coins came three per pack, 36 packs per box. Factory sets and coin holders were also available.

Thoughts: I've listed some of the other coins issued by Topps, and they all have a similar basic design. This has the best images I've seen, and the design is pretty clean and sharp. It's another inexpensive set to obtain, with Ripken and Ryan leading the pack at around $1/coin but it's a fun issue to put together by busting packs.