How "rare" are 1998 Score Select cards? McGwire/ Nomar

I know they were not released because of the bankruptcy but eventually some cards found their way into the Hobby.

My question is how "rare" are these cards and do they have any value?

I picked up McGwire and Nomar base cards (not promos or "Selected") at the Sun Times show.

Theres also non on Ebay and non completed.

EDIT: not shocked Onionring has it

Pretty rare, well depending on what you have. I think some cards were /50 and multiple versions have shown up of each player and some cards are numbered 00/00 or don't have any serial numbering and only a few examples from each set have shown up. For instance I've never seen another copy of the 4 Andruw Jones cards I have and I was told by dave and adams when I bought them it was the only ones they had.

Either way Great find and would love to see some scans.

Sorry I dont have a scan but they are the base cards (McGwire #4 and Nomar #3). No serial numbers and they arent inserts or promos or samples.

Backs have a "Quasar System" rating and both players are 1/4 stars. No idea what that means, guess it was a tiered program.

Not bad for 50 cents each and even if they arent worth anything, still cool to add to my promo/sample/odd ball PC.

At that price I would have picked them up too. The quasar system went up to all 4 stars and I believe it had something to do with the actual card number but I've not confirmed that.

First, each card on the back has 4 stars, with a selected one that’s black, to signify the level. For instance, for the 2 star jersey, the second star is black. Each level uses a simple graphic to designate each tier in the Quasar System. Two stars is the Circle, three the Triangle, four the Diamond, and five the Star.

As suggested by the name each of these Jersey Number inserts would have been limited to the player’s number. In Frank’s case – 35 issues.

The Five Star bonus of course, has 5 stars on the back, all black with the letters “b-o-n-u-s” written in them.

Click to expand...

Source: http://www.frankthomascollection.com

Also posted on my blog back in August, with credit to the above website: http://www.90sboxbreaks.com/2009/08/06/ ... 98-select/

I believe they are very rare, with different designs in the prototype stage.

My two look like the Grace but minus the "Jersey Number" and gold tint. They also have a red right side border instead of blue.

I've seen one nomar and a ton of mcgwires on ebay. All the mcgwires were from wolverine. I love this set because they were unreleased and have some of the 5 star bonuses and a couple other variations.

I think Ive got the Erstad

Not as rare as the 1-4 star stuff, but here are my 5 star bonus Ripkens

Nice cards guys. I'll have to hunt for more of the Ripken variety.
Only one I have is the 5 Star already posted, which is /50.

Russ S. said:

Nice cards guys. I'll have to hunt for more of the Ripken variety.
Only one I have is the 5 Star already posted, which is /50.

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How 'rare' - difficult to say.

Longtime collectors like Brad Wackerlin, George Calfas, and others continue to research and debate that very issue.

The only thing that I can say is that regardless of who or what you collect - anything from the turbulent Pinnacle Brands Bankruptcy should be considered 'rare'; and in some cases, extremely rare.

Here's a breakdown (it still remains incomplete in many ways):

1998 Select - Was to be issued in four tiers based on Pinnacle's "Quasar System" with an unannounced secret parallel, a typical marketing gimmick used by Pinnacle and other manufacturers at the time.

Each tier was linked to a simple graphic shape.

1 Star = Square
2 Star = Circle
3 Star = Triangle
4 Star = Diamond
5 Star = Star

The levels were based on player statistics. The "Bonus" Quasar Level 5 represented five players. Those selected for this honor had 50 individually numbered Bonus cards produced. They were: Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., Greg Maddux, and Frank Thomas.

Other inserts that have been seen: 'Diamond Dominance' and 'Select Numbers'. The 'Selected' (notable rookies) were produced and two (2) were given out with each dealer sell sheet that was issued across the Pinnacle dealer network.

There was also a 'secret' insert that was to be issued. (secret because they were not listed on the Dealer Sell Sheet checklist) They were called:

- Jersey Number Parallels. Each base card would've had a parallel numbered to that player's uniform number. The design was identical to the base issue with an upgraded & enhanced 'dufex-like' foil stock. All the examples of this insert that have been seen to date carry this imprint: "00/00"*. Suggesting that they were production promos/prototypes intended for internal review by the staff & executives of Pinnacle Brands and therefore may be very limited to a very small handful; perhaps even unique.

And finally, there was one insert from 1998 Select that, to the best of my knowledge, was never produced: The 'Rare Form' inserts.


1998 Pinnacle Certified - Was to be a combination of two previous high-end products Pinnacle issued the previous year: Certified and Totally Certified.

I have the base Frank Thomas from this issue.

However, other players have seen their Mirror Red and Mirror Gold parallels pop up in the marketplace. I've personally witnessed a near complete Mirror Red set that was broken up three years ago in 2006. (on a personal note - sadly he had already sold the Thomas along with other star players to a high-end collector) :-(

Additionally, several players' Totally Certified Platinum Red and Platinum Gold have been seen. According to board member George Calfas - only 10 players cards were fully produced (including individual numbering). However, it should be noted that board member Fandruw obtained what is clearly a Totally Certified Platinum Blue that was destroyed according to the order of the bankruptcy court acting on behalf of MLB™ and the MLBPA™. So debate continues on whether or not George's research is fully verifiable. <wink>

Finally, I was able to obtain a Mirror Gold "Certified Legends" card of Big Frank; and I've seen a similar Griffey. So there is evidence that we haven't yet seen or heard the last of this amazing issue.


1998 Leaf Limited - After years of research and to the best of my knowledge - the only card from this issue that was produced is the oft-seen Frank Thomas Star Factor Sample.


1998 Pinnacle Performers Swing For The Fences Upgrade - Until very recently it was presumed the hobby well understood what the "upgrade" SFTF cards were and how they were disseminated throughout the hobby. However, board member TheJuniorCollection (Chris Kurdelski) discovered an amazing stash earlier in 2009 - a previously unknown 'ultra premium' SFTF that throws all the history to the wind and has re-ignited the debate as to what indeed was the 'upgrade' and how it was to be issued.


1998 Inaugural Pinnacle Collector's Club - Was intended to compete against Upper Deck's version of the same name. Hobbyists were invited to join the club for a cost of $29.95. When they joined they were given a Membership Kit which included, among other things, four (4) cellophane packages of cards. Each package/set represented a sport license that Pinnacle held at the time: Baseball, Football and Hockey.The fourth set was a group of "promos". These Collector's Club promos included Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr.

There are no verifiable reports as to how many Kits were produced in anticipation of the number of members that were expected to join. Or how many survived the bankruptcy after the initial orders were fulfilled. I know of only two board members, myself and Klarnold, that joined.

Additionally, the market has seen several cards that were likely intended as premiums that would have only been available to club members. I obtained a Frank Thomas Collector's Club "Team Pinnacle" in 2003 that, while it states is "1 of 1500", sadly remains the only one seen to date.


AND FINALLY...

1998 Donruss Crusade - As Brad Wackerlin (markgracecollector) has noted in his extensive and exhaustive research - all Crusades and Crusade Call To Arms numbered past #130 were to be issued in unknown future Donruss/Leaf products, but that the bankruptcy interrupted that process.

Debate continues whether or not these cards were fully printed and prepped for the final stage of individual numbering -or- whether they represent internal promos/prototypes that were intended for Pinnacle Brands themselves; perhaps similar to their well-known "***" and "XXXX" internal samples printed for their staff & executives, and perhaps MLB™, to preview and sign off on before actual production began.

<whew> :-v

So that it.

If you're going to start - I want to wish you good luck and success. It's a tough and competitive road to travel if you choose to pursue these amazing cards.

Lance ;-D

*Edited. I want to thank Magic for reminding me about the Griffey Jersey Numbers parallel. There appears to be more than several of the unnumbered Griffs. I'm going strictly off what I remember seeing at the time (circa 2001-03) and I'd hazard a guess of seeing more than what was intended, or more than twenty-four copies. Why that is - no idea. Or why only Junior - again, no idea, particularly given that Frank Thomas was Pinnacle's spokesman. <shrug>