1997 Pinnacle Certified
Description
Renamed from "Select Certified," 1997 Pinnacle Certified was a 150-card set released in the summer of 1997. This set was designed to compete with Topps' Finest brand -- so much so that, like Finest, each chromium-stock card featured a removable protective "peel". Pinnacle Certified was available exclusively in Hobby stores.
The set included a 30-card rookie subset and a 15-card Certified Stars subset. Randomly seeded into packs as a late addition is an exchange card good for a card of Jose Cruz, Jr. Although this card is numbered as part of the base set (#151), it is not considered a "true" rookie card nor is it considered part of a complete set.
Due to the popularity of this product in the secondary-market and the company's financial troubles, Pinnacle Brands made five separate print runs of '97 Certified. After the first run sold out, Pinnacle produced an additional two runs before Certified went live. Afterward, another two press runs were ordered. It is believed that the Mirror Gold Certified Team inserts were exclusive to press runs 2 & 3 and the mysterious Mirror Blacks were only in the fifth and final run.
The only significant "true" rookie card is Brian Giles.
Distribution
Pinnacle Certified: Six cards per pack, 20 packs per box. (MSRP $4.99) Hobby exclusive.
Reviews
Insertion Ratios
| Pinnacle Certified | Total Cards | Stated Production Run | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 150 | - | ? |
| Jose Cruz, Jr. Exchange Card | 1 | - | ? |
| Certified Red | 150 | - | 1:5 |
| Mirror Red | 150 | - | 1:99 |
| Mirror Blue | 150 | - | 1:199 |
| Mirror Gold | 150 | - | 1:299 |
| Mirror Black | ? | ? | ? |
| Certified Team | 20 | ? | 1:19 |
| Gold Certified Team | 20 | 475 | 1:119 |
| Mirror Gold Certified Team | 20 | 25 | 1:1800 |
| Lasting Impressions | 20 | ? | 1:19 |
Checklist
Base Set
- 1 Barry Bonds
- 2 Mo Vaughn
- 3 Matt Williams
- 4 Ryne Sandberg
- 5 Jeff Bagwell
- 6 Alan Benes
- 7 John Wetteland
- 8 Fred McGriff
- 9 Craig Biggio
- 10 Bernie Williams
- 11 Brian Hunter
- 12 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
- 13 Ray Lankford
- 14 Ryan Klesko
- 15 Jermaine Dye
- 16 Andy Benes
- 17 Albert Belle
- 18 Tony Clark
- 19 Dean Palmer
- 20 Bernard Gilkey
- 21 Ken Caminiti
- 22 Alex Rodriguez
- 23 Tim Salmon
- 24 Larry Walker
- 25 Barry Larkin
- 26 Mike Piazza
- 27 Brady Anderson
- 28 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 29 Charles Nagy
- 30 Paul Molitor
- 31 Darin Erstad
- 32 Rey Ordonez
- 33 Wally Joyner
- 34 David Cone
- 35 Sammy Sosa
- 36 Dante Bichette
- 37 Eric Karros
- 38 Omar Vizquel
- 39 Roger Clemens
- 40 Joe Carter
- 41 Frank Thomas
- 42 Javy Lopez
- 43 Mike Mussina
- 44 Gary Sheffield
- 45 Tony Gwynn
- 46 Jason Kendall
- 47 Jim Thome
- 48 Andres Galarraga
- 49 Mark McGwire
- 50 Troy Percival
- 51 Derek Jeter
- 52 Todd Hollandsworth
- 53 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 54 Randy Johnson
- 55 Pat Hentgen
- 56 Rusty Greer
- 57 John Jaha
- 58 Kenny Lofton
- 59 Chipper Jones
- 60 Robb Nen
- 61 Rafael Palmeiro
- 62 Mariano Rivera
- 63 Hideo Nomo
- 64 Greg Vaughn
- 65 Ron Gant
- 66 Eddie Murray
- 67 John Smoltz
- 68 Manny Ramirez
- 69 Juan Gonzalez
- 70 F.P. Santangelo
- 71 Moises Alou
- 72 Alex Ochoa
- 73 Chuck Knoblauch
- 74 Raul Mondesi
- 75 J.T. Snow
- 76 Rickey Henderson
- 77 Bobby Bonilla
- 78 Wade Boggs
- 79 Ivan Rodriguez
- 80 Brian Jordan
- 81 Al Leiter
- 82 Jay Buhner
- 83 Greg Maddux
- 84 Edgar Martinez
- 85 Kevin Brown
- 86 Eric Young
- 87 Todd Hundley
- 88 Ellis Burks
- 89 Marquis Grissom
- 90 Jose Canseco
- 91 Henry Rodriguez
- 92 Andy Pettitte
- 93 Mark Grudzielanek
- 94 Dwight Gooden
- 95 Roberto Alomar
- 96 Paul Wilson
- 97 Will Clark
- 98 Rondell White
- 99 Charles Johnson
- 100 Jim Edmonds
- 101 Jason Giambi
- 102 Billy Wagner
- 103 Edgar Renteria
- 104 Johnny Damon
- 105 Jason Isringhausen
- 106 Andruw Jones
- 107 Jose Guillen
- 108 Kevin Orie
- 109 Brian Giles RC
- 110 Danny Patterson
- 111 Vladimir Guerrero
- 112 Scott Rolen
- 113 Damon Mashore
- 114 Nomar Garciaparra
- 115 Todd Walker
- 116 Wilton Guerrero
- 117 Bobby Abreu
- 118 Brooks Kieschnick
- 119 Pokey Reese
- 120 Todd Greene
- 121 Dmitri Young
- 122 Raul Casanova
- 123 Glendon Rusch
- 124 Jason Dickson
- 125 Jorge Posada
- 126 Rod Myers
- 127 Bubba Trammell RC
- 128 Scott Spiezio
- 129 Hideki Irabu RC
- 130 Wendell Magee, Jr.
- 131 Bartolo Colon
- 132 Chris Holt
- 133 Calvin Maduro
- 134 Ray Montgomery RC
- 135 Shannon Stewart
- 136 Ken Griffey, Jr. STAR
- 137 Vladimir Guerrero STAR
- 138 Roger Clemens STAR
- 139 Mark McGwire STAR
- 140 Albert Belle STAR
- 141 Derek Jeter STAR
- 142 Juan Gonzalez STAR
- 143 Greg Maddux STAR
- 144 Alex Rodriguez STAR
- 145 Jeff Bagwell STAR
- 146 Cal Ripken, Jr. STAR
- 147 Tony Gwynn STAR
- 148 Frank Thomas STAR
- 149 Hideo Nomo STAR
- 150 Andruw Jones STAR
- 151 Jose Cruz, Jr. EXCH
Parallels
Mirror Red/Blue/Gold
Each base card (except the Cruz exchange card) is available in the following parallels:
- Certified Red
- Mirror Red
- Mirror Blue
- Mirror Gold
Unlike the announced production figures of 90, 45, and 30 copies of each 1996 Select Certified Mirror Red, Blue, and Gold cards, the production figures for the '97 Mirrors were never publicly stated by Pinnacle Brands. Initially, it was assumed that the production figures were the same as the '96 Mirrors, as the insertion ratios were roughly the same. However many collectors familiar with the '97 Mirror sets note that because Pinnacle made additional print runs both before and after the official release of the product, the actual production runs were higher. While many of the Mirrors did pack out, some of those excess Mirrors may have been "backdoored" after Pinnacle Brands' 1998 bankruptcy filing. In fact, one collector posted to Freedom Cardboard a picture of 53 different Mirror Gold cards of Brian Hunter.<ref>http://www.freedomcardboard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=103527</ref>
Mirror Black
File:97pcmbf.jpgFile:97pcmbb.jpg
This mysterious and very scarce parallel was probably the result of a few test sheets being cut and inserted into packs during Certified's fifth and final press run. The Mirror Blacks give off a bright green reflection when placed in direct light, but are silver with black print when placed away from light. It is not known for sure if Mirror Blacks for all 150 cards exist; however, Beckett Baseball Card Monthly reported in 1997 that at least two Mirror Blacks of Jay Buhner were pulled from packs. Below is a list of known cards.
2 Mo Vaughn
27 Brady Anderson
49 Mark McGwire
52 Todd Hollandsworth
69 Juan Gonzalez
82 Jay Buhner
103 Edgar Renteria
106 Andruw Jones
109 Brian Giles
121 Dmitri Young
Inserts
Certified Team
Each Certified Team insert is available in the following parallels:
- Certified Gold Team (stated production run: 475 copies)
- Certified Mirror Gold Team (stated production run: 25 copies)
Originally, Pinnacle Brands stated a total production run of 500 Certified Gold Team cards. After the official release, Pinnacle revealed that the first 25 copies of each Certified Gold Team were produced with a "Mirror Gold" (i.e., refractor) finish. However, the initial secondary-market success of the product led Pinnacle to print additional runs of the set (read above). There has been no confirmation that the Certified Team insert and its Gold and Mirror Gold parallels were also included in these additional print runs; thus it is unknown if there are more than 475 Certified Team Golds or more than 25 Certified Team Mirror Golds as stated in the initial print run announcement.
- 1 Frank Thomas
- 2 Jeff Bagwell
- 3 Derek Jeter
- 4 Chipper Jones
- 5 Alex Rodriguez
- 6 Ken Caminiti
- 7 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 8 Mo Vaughn
- 9 Ivan Rodriguez
- 10 Mike Piazza
- 11 Juan Gonzalez
- 12 Barry Bonds
- 13 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 14 Andruw Jones
- 15 Albert Belle
- 16 Gary Sheffield
- 17 Andy Pettitte
- 18 Hideo Nomo
- 19 Greg Maddux
- 20 John Smoltz
Lasting Impressions
- 1 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 2 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 3 Mo Vaughn
- 4 Brian Jordan
- 5 Mark McGwire
- 6 Chuck Knoblauch
- 7 Sammy Sosa
- 8 Brady Anderson
- 9 Frank Thomas
- 10 Tony Gwynn
- 11 Roger Clemens
- 12 Alex Rodriguez
- 13 Paul Molitor
- 14 Kenny Lofton
- 15 John Smoltz
- 16 Roberto Alomar
- 17 Randy Johnson
- 18 Ryne Sandberg
- 19 Manny Ramirez
- 20 Mike Mussina