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Barry Larkin Collection 472: 1998 Topps - #302

Barry Larkin
Year:  1998
Brand:  Topps
Card number:  302

The 1998 Topps Barry Larkin base card actually eluded me for quite some time for reasons that are unknown to me (maybe every assumed I already this card)?  Unfortunately, the parallel of this card (called Minted in Cooperstown) still eludes me to this day!

Rather than focusing on what I don't yet own, let's take a closer look at the card I do currently own.  The front of the card has a rather ugly gold border (making you think you are holding a Topps Gold parallel but those didn't exist in the 1998 set).  I do like the small team logos in the background behind the name plate - it's a bit busy, but I still like it.

The back of the card has everything that you'd expect from Topps flagship - well almost.  It does have full career stats, some personal information about the player, a brief blurb about the player, and a second photograph.  That's all wonderful.

What isn't wonderful is the card number.  I find the number to be terribly difficult to read, especially if you are trying to sort a big stack of cards.  Even worse, the number is upside down if you try to store your cards upright (i.e. the card number is at the bottom of the card making it impossible to see from a horizontal stack of cards).  As a set collector, the number issue alone is enough for me to say "no thanks" to the set, even though I like the actual Barry Larkin card quite a bit!

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