1996 Finest

Description

1996 Finest is a 359 card set issued in two series of 191 cards and 168 cards respectively. A protective film, designed to keep the card from scratching and to maintain original gloss, covers the front.

Featuring a novel set structure never before seen in the Hobby, '96 Finest provided collectors with the opportunity to complete a number of sets within the set, each with a different degree of insertion. In Series One the set was sub-divided into four distinct themes:

• Phenoms
• Intimidators
• Gamers
• Sterling

In Series Two, the set was sub-divided into four different themes as well, with some new themes:

• Franchise
• Additions
• Prodigies
• Sterling

Within these themes, across both Series, the cards were then fractured into three levels of scarcity:

• Common (bronze trim)
• Uncommon (silver)
• Rare (gold)

Each card is sequentially-numbered twice: once by theme, and twice as part of the set as a whole. In addition to the cards' borders, each card will also have either "common," "uncommon", or "rare" written within the numbering box on the card backs to let collectors know which type of card they hold.

Series One Gold Refractor Lawsuit

As part of the sell sheet for 1996 Finest Series One, Topps claimed that no more than 150 copies of each Gold Refractor would be produced -- although the cards would NOT be serial-numbered. Dr. Joseph Sentef managed to collect over 220 Greg Maddux Gold Refractors often paying as much as $900 for each card. Sentef sued Topps in 2003 and settled out-of-court for an undisclosed figure.

Excerpts from the article:

• Sentef placed an advertisement on America Online saying he would pay top dollar -- usually more than $1,000 per card -- for the Maddux cards. Those with cards came to Sentef's buyer, Steve Kopp, who was deluged with offers from collectors who said they had the card.
• Kopp stated he, "...purchased 50 in one week and I called Joe and told him that I thought we had a problem." Kopp then called Topps officials for an explanation.
• Kopp was first told that the company stood by its numbers.
• When Kopp said there were more than 100 were available for him to buy, Topps told him there was a theft at the printing plant.
• A month later, when he pressed them again, Kopp said company officials told him they had automatically produced a 10 percent overrun of their cards and the extra cards were missing from their vault

Distribution

Hobby boxes contained 24 packs with 6 cards in each pack.

Insertion Ratios

Series One

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Bronze	110	-	6:1
Silver	55	-	1:4
Gold	26	-	1:24
Bronze Refractor	110	-	1:12
Silver Refractor	55	-	1:48
Gold Refractor	26	-	1:288

Series Two

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Bronze	110	-	6:1
Silver	36	-	1:4
Gold	22	-	1:24
Bronze Refractor	110	-	1:12
Silver Refractor	36	-	1:48
Gold Refractor	22	-	1:288

Checklist

Base Set

The base set is fractured into Bronze (B), Silver (S), and Gold (G) cards.

Series One

NOTES

• There are 110 Bronze, 55 Silver (1:4), and 26 Gold (1:24) cards in Series One.
• The set is divided into four subsets, each with their own unique design: Phenoms, Intimidators, Gamers and Sterling

• 1 Greg Maddux S
• 2 Bernie Williams S
• 3 Ivan Rodriguez S
• 4 Marty Cordova G
• 5 Roberto Hernandez B
• 6 Tony Gwynn G
• 7 Barry Larkin S
• 8 Terry Pendleton B
• 9 Albert Belle G
• 10 Ray Lankford S
• 11 Mike Piazza S
• 12 Ken Caminiti B
• 13 Larry Walker S
• 14 Matt Williams S
• 15 Dan Miceli B
• 16 Chipper Jones B
• 17 John Wetteland B
• 18 Kirby Puckett G
• 19 Tim Naehring B
• 20 Karim Garcia G
• 21 Eddie Murray B
• 22 Tim Salmon S
• 23 Kevin Appier B
• 24 Ken Griffey, Jr. B
• 25 Cal Ripken, Jr. G
• 26 Brian McRae B
• 27 Pedro Martinez B
• 28 Brian Jordan B
• 29 Mike Fetters B
• 30 Carlos Delgado B
• 31 Shane Reynolds B
• 32 Terry Steinbach B
• 33 Hideo Nomo G
• 34 Mark Leiter B
• 35 Edgar Martinez S
• 36 David Segui B
• 37 Gregg Jefferies S
• 38 Bill Pulsipher S
• 39 Ryne Sandberg G
• 40 Fred McGriff B
• 41 Shawn Green S
• 42 Jeff Bagwell G
• 43 Jim Abbott S
• 44 Glenallen Hill B
• 45 Brady Anderson B
• 46 Roger Clemens S
• 47 Jim Thome B
• 48 Frank Thomas B
• 49 Chuck Knoblauch B
• 50 Lenny Dykstra B
• 51 Jason Isringhausen G
• 52 Rondell White S
• 53 Tom Pagnozzi B
• 54 Dennis Eckersley S
• 55 Ricky Bones B
• 56 Dave Justice B
• 57 Steve Avery B
• 58 Robby Thompson B
• 59 Hideo Nomo S
• 60 Gary Sheffield S
• 61 Tony Gwynn B
• 62 Will Clark S
• 63 Denny Neagle B
• 64 Mo Vaughn G
• 65 Bret Boone S
• 66 Dante Bichette G
• 67 Robin Ventura B
• 68 Rafael Palmeiro S
• 69 Carlos Baerga S
• 70 Kevin Seitzer B
• 71 Ramon Martinez B
• 72 Tom Glavine S
• 73 Garret Anderson S
• 74 Mark McGwire G
• 75 Brian L. Hunter B
• 76 Alan Benes B
• 77 Randy Johnson S
• 78 Jeff King S
• 79 Kirby Puckett S
• 80 Ozzie Guillen B
• 81 Kenny Lofton G
• 82 Benji Gil B
• 83 Jim Edmonds G
• 84 Cecil Fielder S
• 85 Todd Hundley B
• 86 Reggie Sanders S
• 87 Pat Hentgen B
• 88 Ryan Klesko S
• 89 Chuck Finley B
• 90 Mike Mussina G
• 91 John Valentin S
• 92 Derek Jeter B
• 93 Paul O'Neill B
• 94 Darrin Fletcher B
• 95 Manny Ramirez S
• 96 Delino DeShields B
• 97 Tim Salmon B
• 98 John Olerud B
• 99 Vinny Castilla S
• 100 Jeff Conine G
• 101 Tim Wakefield B
• 102 Johnny Damon G
• 103 Dave Stevens B
• 104 Orlando Merced B
• 105 Barry Bonds G
• 106 Jay Bell B
• 107 John Burkett B
• 108 Chris Hoiles B
• 109 Carlos Perez S
• 110 Dave Nilsson B
• 111 Rod Beck B
• 112 Craig Biggio S
• 113 Mike Piazza B
• 114 Mark Langston B
• 115 Juan Gonzalez S
• 116 Rico Brogna B
• 117 Jose Canseco G
• 118 Tom Goodwin B
• 119 Bryan Rekar B
• 120 David Cone B
• 121 Ray Durham S
• 122 Andy Pettitte B
• 123 Chili Davis B
• 124 John Smoltz B
• 125 Heathcliff Slocumb B
• 126 Dante Bichette B
• 127 C.J. Nitkowski S
• 128 Alex Gonzalez B
• 129 Jeff Montgomery B
• 130 Raul Mondesi S
• 131 Denny Martinez B
• 132 Mel Rojas B
• 133 Derek Bell B
• 134 Trevor Hoffman B
• 135 Ken Griffey, Jr. G
• 136 Darren Daulton B
• 137 Pete Schourek B
• 138 Phil Nevin B
• 139 Andres Galarraga B
• 140 Chad Fonville B
• 141 Chipper Jones G
• 142 Lee Smith S
• 143 Joe Carter S
• 144 J.T. Snow B
• 145 Greg Maddux G
• 146 Barry Bonds B
• 147 Orel Hershiser B
• 148 Quilvio Veras B
• 149 Will Clark B
• 150 Jose Rijo B
• 151 Mo Vaughn S
• 152 Travis Fryman B
• 153 Frank Rodriguez S
• 154 Alex Fernandez B
• 155 Wade Boggs B
• 156 Troy Percival B
• 157 Moises Alou B
• 158 Javy Lopez B
• 159 Jason Giambi B
• 160 Steve Finley S
• 161 Jeff Bagwell S
• 162 Mark McGwire B
• 163 Eric Karros B
• 164 Jay Buhner G
• 165 Cal Ripken, Jr. S
• 166 Mickey Tettleton B
• 167 Barry Larkin B
• 168 Lyle Mouton S
• 169 Ruben Sierra B
• 170 Bill Swift B
• 171 Sammy Sosa S
• 172 Chad Curtis B
• 173 Dean Palmer B
• 174 John Franco S
• 175 Bobby Bonilla B
• 176 Greg Colbrunn B
• 177 Jose Mesa B
• 178 Mike Greenwell B
• 179 Greg Vaughn S
• 180 Mark Wohlers S
• 181 Doug Drabek B
• 182 Paul O'Neill S
• 183 Wilson Alvarez B
• 184 Marty Cordova B
• 185 Hal Morris B
• 186 Frank Thomas G
• 187 Carlos Garcia B
• 188 Albert Belle S
• 189 Mark Grace S
• 190 Marquis Grissom B
• 191 Checklist G

Series Two

NOTES

• There are 110 Bronze, 36 Silver, and 22 Gold cards in Series Two.
• The set is divided into four subsets, each with their own unique design: Franchises, Additions, Prodigies, and Sterling (which had the same design as in Series One).

• 192 Chipper Jones G
• 193 Will Clark B
• 194 Paul Molitor B
• 195 Kenny Rogers B
• 196 Reggie Sanders B
• 197 Roberto Alomar G
• 198 Dennis Eckersley G
• 199 Raul Mondesi B
• 200 Lance Johnson B
• 201 Alvin Morman B
• 202 George Arias G
• 203 Jack McDowell B
• 204 Randy Myers B
• 205 Harold Baines B
• 206 Marty Cordova B
• 207 Rich Hunter B RC
• 208 Al Leiter B
• 209 Greg Gagne B
• 210 Ben McDonald B
• 211 Ernie Young S
• 212 Terry Adams B
• 213 Paul Sorrento B
• 214 Albert Belle B
• 215 Mike Blowers B
• 216 Jim Edmonds B
• 217 Felipe Crespo B
• 218 Fred McGriff S
• 219 Shawon Dunston B
• 220 Jimmy Haynes B
• 221 Jose Canseco B
• 222 Eric Davis B
• 223 Kimera Bartee S
• 224 Tim Raines B
• 225 Tony Phillips B
• 226 Charlie Hayes B
• 227 Eric Owens B
• 228 Roberto Alomar B
• 229 Rickey Henderson S
• 230 Sterling Hitchcock S
• 231 Bernard Gilkey S
• 232 Hideo Nomo G
• 233 Kenny Lofton B
• 234 Ryne Sandberg S
• 235 Greg Maddux S
• 236 Mark McGwire B
• 237 Jay Buhner B
• 238 Craig Biggio B
• 239 Todd Stottlemyre S
• 240 Barry Bonds B
• 241 Jason Kendall S
• 242 Paul O'Neill S
• 243 Chris Snopek G
• 244 Ron Gant B
• 245 Paul Wilson B
• 246 Todd Hollandsworth B
• 247 Todd Zeile B
• 248 Dave Justice B
• 249 Tim Salmon G
• 250 Moises Alou B
• 251 Bob Wolcott B
• 252 David Wells B
• 253 Juan Gonzalez B
• 254 Andres Galarraga B
• 255 Dave Hollins B
• 256 Devon White S
• 257 Sammy Sosa B
• 258 Ivan Rodriguez B
• 259 Bip Roberts B
• 260 Tino Martinez B
• 261 Chuck Knoblauch S
• 262 Mike Stanley B
• 263 Wally Joyner S
• 264 Butch Huskey B
• 265 Jeff Conine B
• 266 Matt Williams G
• 267 Mark Grace B
• 268 Jason Schmidt B
• 269 Otis Nixon B
• 270 Randy Johnson G
• 271 Kirby Puckett B
• 272 Andy Fox RC
• 273 Andy Benes B
• 274 Sean Berry S
• 275 Mike Piazza B
• 276 Rey Ordonez B
• 277 Benito Santiago S
• 278 Gary Gaetti B
• 279 Paul Molitor G
• 280 Robin Ventura B
• 281 Cal Ripken, Jr. B
• 282 Carlos Baerga B
• 283 Roger Cedeno B
• 284 Chad Mottola S
• 285 Terrell Wade B
• 286 Kevin Brown B
• 287 Rafael Palmeiro B
• 288 Mo Vaughn B
• 289 Dante Bichette S
• 290 Cecil Fielder G
• 291 Dwight Gooden S
• 292 Bob Tewksbury B
• 293 Kevin Mitchell S
• 294 Livan Hernandez G RC
• 295 Russ Davis S
• 296 Chan Ho Park S
• 297 T.J. Mathews B
• 298 Manny Ramirez B
• 299 Jeff Bagwell B
• 300 Marty Janzen G RC
• 301 Wade Boggs B
• 302 Larry Walker S
• 303 Steve Gibralter B
• 304 B.J. Surhoff B
• 305 Ken Griffey, Jr. S
• 306 Royce Clayton B
• 307 Sal Fasano B
• 308 Ron Gant G
• 309 Gary Sheffield B
• 310 Ken Hill B
• 311 Joe Girardi B
• 312 Matt Lawton B RC
• 313 Billy Wagner S
• 314 Julio Franco B
• 315 Joe Carter B
• 316 Brooks Kieschnick B
• 317 Mike Grace S RC
• 318 Heathcliff Slocumb B
• 319 Barry Larkin B
• 320 Tony Gwynn B
• 321 Ryan Klesko G
• 322 Frank Thomas B
• 323 Edgar Martinez B
• 324 Jermaine Dye G
• 325 Henry Rodriguez B
• 326 Marvin Benard B
• 327 Kenny Lofton S
• 328 Derek Bell S
• 329 Ugueth Urbina B
• 330 Jason Giambi G
• 331 Roger Salkeld B
• 332 Edgar Renteria B
• 333 Ryan Klesko B
• 334 Ray Lankford B
• 335 Edgar Martinez G
• 336 Justin Thompson B
• 337 Gary Sheffield S
• 338 Rey Ordonez G
• 339 Mark Clark B
• 340 Ruben Rivera B
• 341 Mark Grace S
• 342 Matt Williams B
• 343 Francisco Cordova B
• 344 Cecil Fielder B
• 345 Andres Galarraga S
• 346 Brady Anderson S
• 347 Sammy Sosa G
• 348 Mark Grudzielanek B
• 349 Ron Coomer B
• 350 Derek Jeter S
• 351 Rich Aurilia B RC
• 352 Jose Herrera B
• 353 Jay Buhner S
• 354 Juan Gonzalez G
• 355 Craig Biggio G
• 356 Tony Clark B
• 357 Tino Martinez S
• 358 Dan Naulty B
• 359 Checklist B

Parallels

Each base card is available in a Refractor parallel - thus, there were Bronze, Silver, and Gold Refractors, with the Gold Refractors being the scarcest. The announced production figure of 150 copies of each Series One Gold Refractor has been discredited.

From January through March 1997, Beckett Baseball Card Monthly noted that, "Gold Refractors were available at drastically discounted levels [in the market]," and that, "most were lowered without arrows."

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