30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Unsolved Mystery


One of the purposes of this blog is to help me document my hobby acquisitions.  That's why I will often include purchase prices in my posts.  But every now and then, I'll stumble across a card that I can't find any documentation on.

Normally, it's not the end of the world.  But in the case of one particular card... it's one of the most valuable cards in my collection:

1996-97 Topps #138

I discovered this card sitting in my box of graded cards a few months ago.  When Kobe passed away, I was curious about what people were paying for his cards.  Now before you judge me, please know that I had zero intention of selling any of his cards.  He's my favorite basketball player and I enjoy collecting his cards.

Getting back on track, that's when I discovered this card was selling for over $1,000.  I immediately checked my eBay, COMC, 4 Sharp Corners, and my blog for any information regarding how much I paid for it.  The search results revealed nothing.

There's a small chance I traded for it on one of the forums, but it's not very likely.  There's also a chance that it's one of the cards I kept when I purged my collection in 2001 or 2002.  However that seems unlikely too, because this card would have been worth some good money back then, which means I wouldn't have been able to afford it.

That leads me to believe that I probably picked up this card back in 2008 or 2009 off of eBay.  At the time I was really into collecting basketball cards and according to my February 2008 issue of Beckett Basketball, this card only booked for $35.  Which means, it was probably selling in the $20 to $25 range.

Ultimately I doubt this mystery will ever be solved.  But that's okay.  It's the perfect card to write about for my Day 4 submission to Tim B's 7 Day Trading Card Challenge, which is to show off my favorite basketball card in the collection.

Is it actually my favorite basketball card?  Honestly... I don't have a true favorite.  But it's one of them... and I've been trying to find a way to write about this mystery for a few weeks now.

Speaking of mysteries...

Why did I lead this post off with a Hideo Nomo card?  Well... because if I led with a Kobe graded card, nobody would take the time to read this post.

Don't worry... the rest of this post is dedicated to this card:

1996 Topps Mystery Finest Refractor #M22

Back in the 90's, Topps had competition from several other card manufacturers which meant that they couldn't produce boring inserts like 97% of the ones they produced today.  Well... they could, but that might cost them potential buyers.

Thankfully, this resulted in them creating cards like their Mystery Finest inserts.


The concept was simpleCollectors who pulled these inserts would be able to see the back of the card, which had a list of players.  However there was a black protective covering on the front of the card that needed to be peeled off in order to reveal which player they held in their hand.  Hence the mystery.

Whether or not you're a fan of shiny chrome cards, it's hard to say these inserts weren't innovative and unique.  But I'm only one of many collectors out there with an opinion.

What about you?

What are your thoughts on today's inserts vs. inserts like Mystery Finest cards of the 90's?

Or...

Do you use your blog to keep track of how you acquired cards?  Do you care about purchase prices?

And one more question...

Do you ever find really cool cards and wonder where in the world it came from?

I look forward to reading your responses.  Happy Thursday and sayonara!

15 comments:

Rebel Coyote said...

Took me a good 15 years to realize those Topps "black" front were mystery cards I have to peel. I pulled a few back then and have no idea why the card was like that so I left it ignored. I was going through the collection that I decide to look up on it and realize what I missed out. Those black covers were peeled off just as I found them

Sean said...

I'll answer question #2.

I don't usually use my blog to keep track of how I acquired cards since I get most of them from Yahoo Auctions anyway. Also I don't post about everything I buy, just stuff that I can think of something interesting to say about in a blog post.

That is pretty cool about your Byrant card though. I love looking through boxes of cards that I had purchased years ago and forgotten about and having one of those nice "Oh my god, I have this? This is great." moments. I've never done that with a thousand dollar card, but still, its a great feeling :)

Commishbob said...

1) The gimmicky Topps inserts make me glad I wasn't dealing with the card part of collecting in those days.

2) I don't track anything other than the cards in my player collections and I do a lousy job of even that. No, I have no record of what I paid for anything although if i had to I guess I could go back through COMC and eBay. Do they keep that info for long?

3) I discover all kinds of stuff in old boxes I haven't looked in for awhile. Not long ago I opened a box I had on the top shelf on my closet. It had been there since I boxed up my stuff when my first kid was born in 1987 and we turned my hobby room into a nursery. It contained junk I can'r believe I'd thought was important enough to keep. Boxes of Orioles lighters, random early 80s junk wax rack packs with 'stars' showing (LOL @ who I considered stars back then) and some of those player patches you used to see on wristbands back then.

Matt said...

Today’s inserts, I know you agree, are garbage in comparison. Especially Topps ones that have no effort. The Topps of the 90s were some of the best and one of my favorites was Mystery Finest. I bought a lot awhile ago of unpeeled ones and plan to keep them that way

GTT said...

Often I wonder where I got a certain card, but have no idea where it's from. One thing I like about having a blog is that I can document where and when I get a card.

Also, I'm not a big fan of modern inserts. Generally not too interesting, and not too much variety in subjects.

The Diamond King said...

I definitely don't have a good handle on where a lot of my cards come from. And I LOVE the old inserts, older inserts of players I love have become a focus of my collecting. And crazy die cuts too!

shoeboxlegends said...

I track the source and price of every card purchase I make as part of my budgeting process. My rule is that I have to save or invest $1 for every dollar I spend on cards.

Not sure if you bought the Kobe graded, or had it graded later, but if you bought it graded I think it may be a more recent pickup than you think since that's the newest type of PSA slab (referred to as the "lighthouse" flip, I want to say). Those were put into use in the summer of 2017 it looks like:

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1123719

Either way, awesome card and great choice!

Nick Vossbrink said...

Mystery inserts seems like a fun idea but I'd hate them in practice. The whole point of ripping a pack is the mystery, I don't need another one inside. In a more general sense, I'm pretty burned out on inserts. I like the ones in the 1980s which were clearly-defined things like All Stars. Nowadays it's just 100 cards of the same stars and rookies with no real concept besides being pack filler.

As for keeping track. I don't track purchases (I do however have a google sheet of my PCs). I do write about every trade package I get though since that's a handy way to vouch for people.

Troublewiththecurve.net said...

Nice Kobe. Hard to believe that card is fetching a grand or more these days. Great player and gone too soon. In regards to your questions, I wasn't aware of the "mystery" inserts but given that it was 1996, those are pretty innovative. The only real "inserts" I was aware of up until that point would probably be the Donruss "Elite Series." Never pulled one though. Would love to snag the 1992 Howard Johnson one day. I often think about the "point" of my blog. I originally started it because my collection is not really displayed at my house. I don't have a "card room" or a "man cave" and my wife isn't keen on me using wall space to hang items such as my 1987 Sports Illustrated Gary Carter photo. I decided I would use the digital space to share those things. Nice post. Happy Father's Day weekend to all the dad's out there.

The Snorting Bull said...

1. I loved the Mystery Finest cards. During the summer of 1998, I mentored two middle school aged kids that were really into baseball. One of them loved Barry Bonds, had to be one of the few people in metro St. Louis who openly cheered for him. He got one of those Mystery Finest cards in a pack, pulled off the front, and it was a Bonds cards. Really cool seeing his reaction, probably the card collecting highlight of the summer for that kid. I have loved them ever since.

2. I usually have a pretty good memory about where cards came from, but I have used my blog to back and look up a card in my collection. I feel like that's one downfall of writing less nowadays though, I do not post every card that comes into my collection.

3. All the time with older cards.

gcrl said...

I will go back to my first blog to see about cards I've received signed TTM but tghats about it. I have them catalogued in a spreadsheet but don't always have the spreadsheet with me.
I have memories as a kid finding forgotten cards, and there are still a few monster boxes of cards I need to go through that will surprise me I am sure.

Fuji said...

rebel coyote - it's the mystery cards that keep on being a mystery ;D

sean - unfortunately, i don't blog about every purchase either. but maybe i'll get around to all of my past purchases one day.

commishbob - if you ever stumble across any unwanted 90's gimmicky inserts, please keep me in mind. they're some of my favorite cards from that era. comc keeps a record dating back to my first purchase in either 2009 or 2010. as for ebay... i'm not sure how long they keep the information. i save all of my emails though, so i have a record. i hope you'll write a post on those junk wax rack packs with stars showing. i love seeing and collecting those.

sport card collectors - yeah... the saying they don't make them like they used to... definitely applies to modern day inserts

gtt - yeah, i agree. it's one of the perks of having our blogs

the diamond king - maybe with all of the 90's jordan inserts gaining popularity... 90's baseball inserts will too. although... i kinda enjoy being able to pick up cool cards from that era on a budget.

shoeboxlegends - wow. that's a good rule. outside of one or two big card purchases, i'd say i put way more into savings than i spend on cards. and now that i'm cutting back... it's even more true in 2020. and thanks for the heads up on the slab. that's an excellent clue. well... if it wasn't a comc, flea market find, ebay purchase, or card show purchase... the only other thing i can think of is i bought it off of my buddy (who used to sell cards out of his garage).

nick vossbrink - i understand and agree with modern day inserts... but if you're ever looking to expand, i'd recommend giving 90's inserts a chance. some are truly innovative. as for trade packages... i try do document them through this blog. however... it's definitely not on a card for card basis

troublewiththecurve.net - i love the early 90's donruss elite inserts. haven't searched them up recently, but last year or the year before... singles were starting go up in value. i think some collectors were noticing that they were affordable compared to back in the day and started chasing them down. as for the man cave... i'm with you. i don't have one either, so that's where my blog comes into play

the snorting bull - i wish kids were into collecting these days. although, i can't imagine one of my students tearing into a pack of 2020 topps and getting super excited.

gcrl - oh man... monster boxes are always fun. especially when you know that there are going to be some nice surprises hidden in them.

runfore!kelloggs baseball cards said...

Nice Kobe card. I don't track how I got cards or what I paid. I am not a fan of current inserts.

Adam Kaningher said...

I found a Frank Thomas Mystery Finest card back then. Of course I peeled it. It was good practice for the following years of Topps Finest, which I always peel.

Fuji said...

runfore!kelloggs - yeah... not the biggest fan of current inserts either

adam kaningher - i always pulled the mystery finest card, but left the protective covering on the base. gotta say... the cards look much better peeled though.