We’re adding one more rookie from the 140-card Series I of 1995-96 Topps Finest to our collection of articles today. Within this series is a 29-card subset of rookies appearing in draft order starting with the #111 Joe Smith (but note, that the #140 checklist was also accidentally printed with #111). These have an orange border and “NBA 1st Round Draft Pick” on the front. Michael Finley was the 21st player drafted and so, is the 21st card in this subset at card #131. At the time of printing, he held the University of Wisconsin’s record for points in a game (42) and career (2,147).
With these cards, Topps was innovating the actual card construction. They called it “Chromium” technology and it gave the cards a unique, metallic shine. What was this technology? I want to draw your attention to a very informative blog post about how these cards were made. The author saw that Chrome printing plates were reversed from regular Topps. So he took apart a Chrome card, looked up the patents on the back of these Finest cards and discovered that the ink is actually printed behind a clear plastic section that makes the front. This section is joined to foil, so think of the card as a sandwich…top plastic part, ink underneath that, then a foil part. To show that the ink isn’t on the front, he sanded the front and, it scuffs the card, but no ink comes off. He also believes that the clear, protective coating on these early Finest cards was probably still used in the production of later Chrome cards, but the company removes it after printing before packaging. It’s a really cool blog post and really worth a read! And when you see the patents, you’ll realize just how much effort Topps was putting into this design.
Greening: Unfortunately, with this technology came something we call “greening,” or “Hulking.” Unfortunately, there’s not too much known for sure about this. What have collectors said? One half of a set turned green while the other didn’t. Cards turning green in BGS slabs, a possible issue with the plastic sleeve in the slab? But we’ve seen cards change within PSA slabs too. Cards avoiding greening for 15-18 years and then suddenly, one day, they begin to turn. Cards coming from the pack with some green. There are people who swear that if humidity and light are avoided at all costs, there is no change. But others seem 100% confident that the fate of all early Chromium cards is to eventually turn green. What can we say for sure? First, it never hurts to avoid humidity and sunlight whether this is the solution to greening or not. Many factors probably contribute, but there seems to be a reaction between the ink and other materials in the cards. Changes were made and cards after 1998 aren’t yet affected by this phenomenon. It’s upsetting and is starting to affect valuation.
One last item to discuss is the protective film on these Finest cards. Whether it’s left on or taken off doesn’t seem to impact value. Some collectors like the card closer to pack fresh with the film on and don’t want to risk damage when removing it. It’s intimidating to start picking at the edges or (god forbid!) the corners when attempting to remove it. But there are good arguments for removing it. The design is busy enough and the film clutters it with “Topps Finest Protector Peel and Remove Coating” scrawled across the front. Also, when grading with film on, defects on the protector could lower the grade.
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