Barry Larkin Collection 1077: 1996 Leaf - #13 - 22K Gold Leaf Stars (#/2500)

Barry Larkin

Year:  1996

Brand:  Leaf

Insert set:  22K Gold Leaf Stars (#/2500)

Card number:  13

Seeded 1:190 packs (retail and hobby had the same odds), the 22K Gold Leaf Stars set is quite rare for the era despite each of the 15 cards in the set being serially numbered out of 2500 copies!  Here's the full checklist for the set:

1. Frank Thomas
2. Dante Bichette
3. Sammy Sosa
4. Ken Griffey, Jr.
5. Mike Piazza
6. Tim Salmon
7. Hideo Nomo
8. Cal Ripken, Jr.
9. Chipper Jones
10. Albert Belle
11. Tony Gwynn
12. Mo Vaughn
13. Barry Larkin
14. Manny Ramirez
15. Greg Maddux

As you can see, Barry Larkin is in good company with the other greats on the list!  For my money, I'd say Leaf knocked it out of the park with some of their insert sets in 1996 (see also:  Hats Off).  The 22K Gold Leaf Stars set certainly screams "classy design" and I love the multiple images of Larkin running on the base paths.  The mid-90s were all about card companies experimenting (Leaf also did an insert set in their 1996 set that was printed on wood).  With the hindsight that can only come from multiple decades after the fact, I wish today's card companies were equally ambitious, even if that means that not every design will resonate with every collector!