1996 Select Certified
Description
1996 Select Certified was a 144-card hobby-only set released by Pinnacle Brands in the summer of 1996. This set contained a staggering (for the time) six levels of parallels and was one of the first sets that allowed individual player collectors to "chase the rainbow".
Further, this set is also one of the most influential in the baseball Hobby because it was the first set that introduced very low print run parallels, which in turn generated an immense following and high-end prices on the secondary market for the various parallel singles due to extreme demand that still exists today. The Modern Hobby practice of producing multiple colored parallels of base cards spawned from this set.
This set also redefined the standard for rarity for subsequent baseball card sets - up to the time this set was released, only a handful of inserts/parallels had either announced print runs or serial-numbering, which ranged from the high hundreds to high thousands. However, '96 Select Certified pushed the envelope by limiting the number of boxes distributed and drastically limiting the availability of all parallels, especially its Mirror parallels, which successfully contributed to establishment of the brand as a super-premium one, as intended a year prior. As a result, this set could be viewed as the impetus for the low serial numbering/print run craze that soon followed and harmoniously coincided with the "Insert Mania" wave of the mid-to-late 1990s that gave rise to cards numbered to 10, 5, or 1 (e.g., Flair Masterpieces).
Distribution
20 packs per box, six cards per pack (MSRP: $4.99).
Based on the insertion odds for the Mirror parallels, there were a total of 3,240 boxes distributed.
Insertion Ratios
| Cards | Total Cards | Numbered To | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 144 | 50,991* | 6:1 |
| Certified Red | 144 | 1,800* | 1:5 |
| Certified Blue | 144 | 180* | 1:50 |
| Artist's Proof | 144 | 500* | 1:18 |
| Mirror Red | 144 | 90 | 1:100 |
| Mirror Blue | 144 | 45 | 1:200 |
| Mirror Gold | 144 | 30 | 1:300 |
| Select Few | 18 | 1,200* | 1:60 |
| Inter-League Preview | 25 | 1,234* | 1:42 |
* Calculated production figures.
Checklist
Base Set
- 1 Frank Thomas
- 2 Tino Martinez
- 3 Gary Sheffield
- 4 Kenny Lofton
- 5 Joe Carter
- 6 Alex Rodriguez
- 7 Chipper Jones
- 8 Roger Clemens
- 9 Jay Bell
- 10 Eddie Murray
- 11 Will Clark
- 12 Mike Mussina
- 13 Hideo Nomo
- 14 Andres Galarraga
- 15 Marc Newfield
- 16 Jason Isringhausen
- 17 Randy Johnson
- 18 Chuck Knoblauch
- 19 J.T. Snow
- 20 Mark McGwire
- 21 Tony Gwynn
- 22 Albert Belle
- 23 Gregg Jefferies
- 24 Reggie Sanders
- 25 Bernie Williams
- 26 Ray Lankford
- 27 Johnny Damon
- 28 Ryne Sandberg
- 29 Rondell White
- 30 Mike Piazza
- 31 Barry Bonds
- 32 Greg Maddux
- 33 Craig Biggio
- 34 John Valentin
- 35 Ivan Rodriguez
- 36 Rico Brogna
- 37 Tim Salmon
- 38 Sterling Hitchcock
- 39 Charles Johnson
- 40 Travis Fryman
- 41 Barry Larkin
- 42 Tom Glavine
- 43 Marty Cordova
- 44 Shawn Green
- 45 Ben McDonald
- 46 Robin Ventura
- 47 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 48 Orlando Merced
- 49 Paul O'Neill
- 50 Ozzie Smith
- 51 Manny Ramirez
- 52 Ismael Valdes
- 53 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 54 Jeff Bagwell
- 55 Greg Vaughn
- 56 Juan Gonzalez
- 57 Raul Mondesi
- 58 Carlos Baerga
- 59 Sammy Sosa
- 60 Mike Kelly
- 61 Edgar Martinez
- 62 Kirby Puckett
- 63 Cecil Fielder
- 64 David Cone
- 65 Moises Alou
- 66 Fred McGriff
- 67 Mo Vaughn
- 68 Edgardo Alfonzo
- 69 Jim Thome
- 70 Rickey Henderson
- 71 Dante Bichette
- 72 Lenny Dykstra
- 73 Benji Gil
- 74 Wade Boggs
- 75 Jim Edmonds
- 76 Michael Tucker
- 77 Carlos Delgado
- 78 Butch Huskey
- 79 Billy Ashley
- 80 Dean Palmer
- 81 Paul Molitor
- 82 Ryan Klesko
- 83 Brian L. Hunter
- 84 Jay Buhner
- 85 Larry Walker
- 86 Mike Bordick
- 87 Matt Williams
- 88 Jack McDowell
- 89 Hal Morris
- 90 Brian Jordan
- 91 Andy Pettitte
- 92 Melvin Nieves
- 93 Pedro Martinez
- 94 Mark Grace
- 95 Garret Anderson
- 96 Andre Dawson
- 97 Ray Durham
- 98 Jose Canseco
- 99 Roberto Alomar
- 100 Derek Jeter
- 101 Alan Benes
- 102 Karim Garcia
- 103 Robin Jennings
- 104 Bob Abreu
- 105 Sal Fasano ERR (Livan Hernandez' Name on Front)
- 105 Sal Fasano COR
- 106 Steve Gibralter
- 107 Jermaine Dye
- 108 Jason Kendall
- 109 Mike Grace RC
- 110 Jason Schmidt
- 111 Paul Wilson
- 112 Rey Ordonez
- 113 Wilton Guerrero RC
- 114 Brooks Kieschnick
- 115 George Arias
- 116 Osvaldo Fernandez RC
- 117 Todd Hollandsworth
- 118 John Wasdin
- 119 Eric Owens
- 120 Chan Ho Park
- 121 Mark Loretta
- 122 Richard Hidalgo
- 123 Jeff Suppan
- 124 Jim Pittsley
- 125 LaTroy Hawkins
- 126 Chris Snopek
- 127 Justin Thompson
- 128 Jay Powell
- 129 Alex Ochoa
- 130 Felipe Crespo
- 131 Matt Lawton RC
- 132 Jimmy Haynes
- 133 Terrell Wade
- 134 Ruben Rivera
- 135 Frank Thomas PP
- 136 Ken Griffey, Jr. PP
- 137 Greg Maddux PP
- 138 Mike Piazza PP
- 139 Cal Ripken, Jr. PP
- 140 Albert Belle PP
- 141 Mo Vaughn PP
- 142 Chipper Jones PP
- 143 Hideo Nomo PP
- 144 Ryan Klesko PP
Parallels
All 144 base cards are available in the following parallels:
- Certified Red (limited to 1,800 copies)
- Certified Blue (limited to 180 copies)
- Artist's Proof (limited to 500 copies)
- Mirror Red (limited to 90 copies)
- Mirror Blue (limited to 45 copies)
- Mirror Gold (limited to 30 copies)
Although the cards are not serial-numbered, many collectors believe that the announced production figures are accurate.
Inserts
Select Few
This 18-card set honored superstar athletes with unmatched playing field talents. Utilizing Dot Matrix hologram technology, the fronts featured full-color, action player cutouts. Several of the cards were erroneously printed without player's name on the front.
- 1 Sammy Sosa
- 2 Derek Jeter
- 3 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 4 Albert Belle
- 5 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 6 Greg Maddux
- 7 Frank Thomas
- 8 Mo Vaughn
- 9 Chipper Jones
- 10 Mike Piazza
- 11 Ryan Klesko
- 12 Hideo Nomo
- 13 Alan Benes
- 14 Manny Ramirez
- 15 Gary Sheffield
- 16 Barry Bonds
- 17 Matt Williams
- 18 Johnny Damon
Inter-League Preview
This 25-card set featured hypothetical match-ups fans could look forward to when Inter-League Play began in 1997. Additional copies of cards #7 and #8 were distributed as promos with the word "SAMPLE" printed on them.
- 1 Ken Griffey, Jr. / Hideo Nomo
- 2 Greg Maddux / Mo Vaughn
- 3 Sammy Sosa / Frank Thomas
- 4 Mike Piazza / Jim Edmonds
- 5 Roger Clemens / Ryan Klesko
- 6 Derek Jeter / Rey Ordonez
- 7 Johnny Damon / Ray Lankford
- 8 Manny Ramirez / Reggie Sanders
- 9 Barry Bonds / Jay Buhner
- 10 Jason Isringhausen / Wade Boggs
- 11 Chipper Jones / David Cone
- 12 Jeff Bagwell / Will Clark
- 13 Tony Gwynn / Randy Johnson
- 14 Cal Ripken, Jr. / Tom Glavine
- 15 Kirby Puckett / Andy Benes
- 16 Gary Sheffield / Mike Mussina
- 17 Raul Mondesi / Tim Salmon
- 18 Rondell White / Carlos Delgado
- 19 Ryne Sandberg / Cecil Fielder
- 20 Kenny Lofton / Brian Hunter
- 21 Preston Wilson / Paul O'Neill
- 22 Ismael Valdes / Edgar Martinez
- 23 Mark McGwire / Matt Williams
- 24 Albert Belle / Barry Larkin
- 25 Brian Anderson / Marquis Grissom
Certified
|
|---|
| Pinnacle Brands Era: |
| Select Certified: 1995 - 1996 |
| Pinnacle Certified: 1997 - 1998 |
| Donruss-Playoff Era: |
| Leaf Certified Materials: 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 |
| 2004 Leaf Certified Cuts |
| Parallel Brands |
| Totally Certified: 1997 - 1998 |
| Select |
|---|
| Pinnacle Brands Era: |
| Panini America Era: |
| Rookie/Traded: |
| Other Select Brands |