Going big this week with a 1993 Topps Finest Ray Lankford.
Not the refractor, but maybe I will post that card one of these days.
The 1993 Finest set was a huge deal at the time of its release. Definitely one of the best card sets of the 1990s. At the time, this was super high-end, but within reason and sanity. These cards were $3.99 a pack, which was steep for a pack in the mid 1990s. Compare that to the multiple hundreds of dollars box/pack/guaranteed handful of autographs stuff that Topps sell these days. As I said, within reason and sanity.
Here is the front of the card.
Fairly simple design that I have always enjoyed. The banner at the top bothered me back in the 1990s when these cards first came out. Seems like a lot of space for the brand name, but at least it does not limit the size of the player picture. I am going to overlook this one.
I also love the red nameplate at the bottom with the silver/gray player name. Great color combination with the bright background and light colored writing. The reds are a little different, but they essentially reversed the color scheme for the Topps logo box next to the player name plate.
The center is its own thing, but I love the circle behind the player. Draws your eye to the picture, which is a nice feature on a card without any sort of playing/stadium background behind the player photograph.
The back is also really well done. Same color scheme on the back nameplate. The stats are a little small, but simple. Nice player photograph and clear card number. The team name being in a large font feels a little off, but nothing too bad. I also never quite understood the background with the old-time looking sketches of baseball players. I would have gone solid color, but maybe they were trying to do some sort of old meets new thing with the pictures.
I never cared much for the Finest brand way back when, and am still not too keen on it all of these years later. The only good thing about this set in my mind, is that at least they hadn't started putting on those dumb peels yet.
ReplyDeleteThe wrappers are horrible. I still don't know quite what to do with them.
DeleteI completely missed the boat on 1993 Finest. Was out of the hobby for a little over a year and 1993 was at the heart of it. When I returned in 1994, basketball was my jam... and I don't think I opened any of the Finest. If I did, it was only a pack or two. But there is something special about the 1993 Finest set. It opened the door to ultra high-end products and took parallels to the next level. Very cool that you have a Lankford refractor. Aren't a lot of those floating around the hobby.
ReplyDeleteThey have dried up over the years, or become really expensive. I had actually thought about putting together a set of Cardinals refractors from this set during the pandemic, but I stopped when I lost out on a Bob Tewskbury refractor by more than $100.
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