1999 Finest Split Screen Dual Refractors #SS2
And there isn't a month that goes by, that I don't sit there at least once or twice to flip through them and soak in all of their glory. Lenticulars. Die-cuts. Embossed. Acetates. Foils. Dufex technology. Serial numbered. Holograms. And of course... Refractors.
1999 Finest Split Screen Single Refractors #SS2A
Unfortunately, they're not only a great source of eye candy. They're also a reminder of one of the biggest mistakes I made in my life: major credit card debt. Back in the 90's, I put myself in quite the financial situation and sports cards addiction was huge part of the problem.
1999 Finest Split Screen Single Refractors #SS2B
In 2001, I made the decision to quit collecting and sell off the bulk of my collection to help pay off my credit cards. It took me several additional years of living the life of Scrooge to make things right. These days, I refuse to carry a balance on my credit cards, but I'm obviously back on the cardboard.
Thankfully most of the inserts I own nowadays cost me a fraction of their value back in the 90's. These three inserts of Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez are perfect examples. I picked up the refractor trio for $3.79 on COMC back in February. Fifteen years ago, I would have been lucky to pay $10 for one of the single refractors (1:28 packs), while the dual refractor (1:82 packs) probably would have set me back $20 to $25.
Anyways... the point I wanted to make was that I love collecting 90's inserts and they often bring a huge smile to my face. But every now and then, they also take me back to a very dark period of my life.
It's a good thing that the "good" memories outweigh the "bad".
Happy Friday and sayonara!
Awesome cards Fuji! You've brought back some good memories for me with these Finest Split Screens. Have a bunch of these I am going to have to go look at this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteNice Maroon 5 reference.
ReplyDeleteI need to find my 90's cards. That stage of my life is packed up in a storage unit. I'd probably have even more stuff to trade you.
ReplyDeleteMakes me wish I collected still in the 90s. Nice cards Fuji.
ReplyDeleteI love vintage, but there was no better time to collect cards *for fun* than the 1990s - awesome inserts, lots of choice and every month and every year there was something new. I know there's a limit to materials and packaging but in many ways Topps (and Panini and UD) has become lazy.
ReplyDeleteThe 90's is when I developed the love I have for inserts that I maintain this day. I can never get enough inserts into my collections.
ReplyDelete