1995 Upper Deck #447 Electric Diamond Gold

This is a bit of a mystery to a few collectors, but the 1995 Electric Diamond Gold for players in series 2 are much harder to come by than the players in series 1. One theory is that the strike in 1994 caused interest to drop so series 2 took a big hit. Whatever the reason, I'm glad to have one in my collection.

1997 Pacific Prisms Gate Attractions #GA-20

Not all hard-to-find cards cost an arm and a leg. This is one of those cards. It didn't cost me a whole lot, but I have only seen a handful pop up throughout my years of collecting.

1997 Circa #23 Rave

I have seen many 1997 Raves, but despite both being numbered /150, the 1996 Rave has been much tougher to obtain. If anyone has one available, hit me up.

1997 Finest #303 Embossed Refractor

This card has so much happening - embossed photo, refractor finish, silver shimmer - but they all work together wonderfully.

1996 Select Certified #28 Mirror Red

1996 Select Certified was one of the first sets to introduce parallels with low print runs. The Mirror Red had a print run of 90. 

2021 Topps Project70 #557

Don C did a nice job with Ryno's second Topps Project70 card. The blister pack look brings back some SLU memories.

1997 Stadium Club #229 Matrix

The Chicago Marathon has come and gone. Ryno's reaction in this photo perfectly describes how I felt after the race. It was a tough one!

1998 Metal Universe #84

I will be in the Windy City this weekend to run the Chicago Marathon. It will be my first non-work trip to Chicago since the World Series in 2016. In honor of the marathon, here is the one card that comes to mind when I think of Ryno running. Sadly, it's not the PMG. Maybe one day I can sell a kidney to afford one of those.

1997 Donruss Preferred #96 Cut to the Chase

This card may not seem real flashy to many, but it's one of my favorites from the era. The silver metallic finish and the die cut are a great combination.

1993 Select Stars #2

This card isn't crazy rare nor is it very valuable, but it is pretty revolutionary. The sports card world was introduced to the Dufex printing technology with this set and was used until 2017. There is also a blank back proof version that I need if anyone has any leads to one.

1997 Select #33 Select Company Sample

Carrying over yesterday's frosted foil theme, the Select Company Sample was a card I wasn't sure existed. It had been on my checklist for many years but never seemed to pop up. It showed up last week, but I thought I had missed out on it. Luckily for me, if someone had bought it, they did so for a quick flip as it showed up again minutes later. I happily paid the higher price as it knocked a tough one off my list.

1997 Score #HR537 Reserve Collection

1997 Score Series 2 caused a bit of confusion when it came to Hobby Reserve, Premium Stock, and the highly coveted Reserve Collection (mainly due to Beckett's checklist of the set). Many sellers mistakenly list the Hobby Reserve as the Reserve Collection. Then throw into the mix the HR and non-HR prefix with the Hobby Reserve. The 1997 Score Reserve Collection is near the top of my list of favorite cards due to its foil and starburst design.

2015 Panini Prizm #166 Purple Flash Prizm

I was away from the hobby from 2013-2020, so I wasn't aware of Panini Prizm and all of their parallels until getting back into the hobby last summer. Some of their colors are pretty non-traditional for a sports card (at least in my experience). The purple really stands out, so I had to have it.