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1998 Topps Gold Label Week: Packs 1-4

I teased the start of a new theme week a couple of days ago and now it's here:  Welcome to 1998 Topps Gold Label Week.  


Oh sure, the theme's name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue but hopefully the box will make up for whatever naming deficiencies I have when it comes to marketing!

Today, we are going to crack open my box of 1998 Topps Gold Label and go through the first four packs.  Each pack should contain only three cards.  According to the front of the box, we are looking for Class 2 & Class 3 parallels, Class 1, 2, & 3 Black Gold parallels, and sequentially numbered Class 1, 2, and 3 Red Label parallels.  There's also One to One inserts (numbered out of 1) and HR Race '98 cards.  

The packs sure are pretty (and shiny)!


Personally, I'm hoping to find at least one of the Barry Larkin cards that I still need from the set:
  • Class 1 Red
  • Class 2 Black
  • Class 2 Red
  • Class 3 
  • Class 3 Red


According to the pack wrapper, the odds per pack of finding specific inserts/parallels are:
  • Gold Label Class 2 (1:4)
  • Gold Label Class 3 (1:8)
  • Black Label Class 1 (1:12)
  • Black Label Class 2 (1:34)
  • Black Label Class 3 (1:48)
  • Red Label Class 1 (1:165)
  • Red Label Class 2 (1:330)
  • Red Label Class 3 (1:660)
  • Gold Label HR Race '98 (1:20)
  • Black Label HR Race '98 (1:80)
  • Red Label HR Race '98 (1:6758)
  • Gold Label One to One (1:1808)
As you can see, the odds get pretty steep for anything rarer than a Black Label card!  Probably no surprise then that I'm missing all three of the Red Barry Larkin parallels!  

I'm excited - so let's get to it!

Pack 1:


18.  Jay Buhner
64.  Kenny Lofton
81.  Todd Helton

The cards do not say their class type anywhere on the card.  Instead, you have to look at the card front image:
Class 1 cards feature gold foil player name and a fielding pose for the secondary image.
Class 2 cards feature sparkling silver foil and a running photo for the secondary image.
Class 3 cards feature sparking gold foil and a hitting or pitching secondary image.  

Based on the above, you can see that all three cards in pack 1 were of the Class 1 variety.  I love the overall look of the cards - and the thick card stock and shiny finish definitely makes the set pop in a way that appeals to my collecting senses.

Pack 2:


63.  David Justice
89.  Greg Vaughn
HR1.  Roger Maris (Black Label)

Woo!  We beat the odds already by pulling a 1:80 pack Black Label HR Race '98 card - and it's Roger Maris no less who has been in the news quite a bit later thanks to Judge's home run season.  That's a sharp looking card, for sure!

Pack 3:


15.  Mark McGwire
20.  Jeff Bagwell
90.  Gary Sheffield (Class 2)

Not a lot to say about this pack other than if I had opened this box up in 1998 I'd have been ecstatic so far with the Maris pull and now the McGwire card!  It should surprise no one that I'd pull a semi-rare Dodgers' parallel.

Pack 4:


7.  Derek Jeter
31.  Derek Bell
16.  Jeromy Burnitz (Class 3)

We finish up today's post with our first Gold Label Class 3 card!  I'm seriously considering collecting the 1998 Gold Label set - and if I do end up deciding to go for the set, the Jeter base card pull in this pack is appreciated since it's always tough to trade for nice Derek Jeter cards!

That was definitely a fun first four packs, let's hope the rest of the box keeps on delivering goodies as well.  I'll have the next four packs in tomorrow's post if all goes according to my plans.

Comments

  1. Going to be a fun week here. Hoping you pull at least one of the Larkins you need!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gold Label and its class warfare. I curse this set a lot.

    ReplyDelete

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