[slufan83]

I was 14 and turned 15 in Nov. 1998. At the time I collected a ton. Even at 14-18 I was using the old Beckett Buy/Sell/Trade site and did just as many deals then since I started this account in 2006. At the time I more-so collected football and had a massive collection of well over 1500 different cards of Steve Young. I collected some baseball too since 1998 was the big home run race year, but just didn't get as much baseball as I did football. I was pretty much a spoiled brat back then and looking back, my mom did a lot for me because she knew a hobby like this kept me out of trouble and I guess figured it was worth the price. My dad was awesome too, but just thought it was a waste of money haha. Here lately I've just been buying random Cardinals lots off eBay to build up my collection of just any and all Cardinals cards. As I'm buying lots and seeing cards from across the years, I'm remembering that 1998 was one BA year for collecting. Some of the Topps brands from 1998 are still awesome! Just a quick list:

Gold Label - one of the most beautiful cards ever...not to mention the black and red labels are just awesome looking.

Tek - by far one of the most complex sets in the way of parallels. The fractal/refractor effect in combination with the parallel designs is just sick!

Stars - every single card in Topps Stars was serial numbered. Base to Parallels...they are all stamped.

This doesn't even include Bowman's Best and Finest from 1998...just some really nice sets! Even outside of Topps, Donruss has some killer products this year too. Showcase was very nice as well as the Donruss Collections and so on.

I loved when you could hit a $100 atomic refractor card and it had no hint of jersey or autograph on it. We sure have come a long way!

[patrickhef30]

Are you reading my mind? Do I need a tinfoil hat? Lol. Just the other day I was looking through some of my stuff and came to the conclusion that 1998 was a boon year for awesome cards. You touched on some of them but boy oh boy there were some great sets. I'm fond of all the Donruss/Leaf stuff from that year, lots of cool #d inserts. Crusades, anyone?

Was actually going to start a thread about 1998 Donruss Collections. Seems like that set was Donruss' attempt to mimic Chrome, with the Prized Collection being the refractors. Interesting set for player collectors such as myself. Most of the Prized Collection cards I have were obtained by dumb luck in lots. I guess a lot of people just assume they are base cards and don't realize that those things only had a print run of between 55 and 560.

I just recently scored one of the two Prized Collections Elites of Griffey I needed, still need the other. Also need the Prized Collections PreferredPower (which I have never seen anywhere) to complete the "rainbow".

[cweiland]

Ha, yes, I too indulged in the cards from 1998. Lets not forget the 1998 Leaf Rookies and Stars with the all too elusive SPs rookies and the quest to pull a JD Drew or Troy Glaus RC along with all those amazing inserts and subsets. By the way, I still need the Glaus to complete my set. On the lower end I enjoyed opening the Circa Thunder from that year. I think I put together 6 sets of that. I just liked the colors and designs-it was something different. And the Boss inserts were cool.

[tntmclmm]

Gold Label has got to be one of my favorites of all time. They just don't make cards like that any more.

[slufan83]

Gold Label has got to be one of my favorites of all time. They just don't make cards like that any more.

I'd have to agree....super premium look and wasn't super expensive.

[spazmatastic]

I really miss Gold Label. That set didn't stick around long enough at all!!! It's funny you bring up '98 sets though. The last time I bought hobby boxes of MLB cards (about 2 years ago), I bought a box of '98 Bowman's Best and '98 Finest Series 2 Jumbo. That Finest box was really nice. The BB wasn't bad, but the inserts were the only thing that saved it. Finest was just an awesome break. It was a lot of fun and I got better value per card. I am still missing a few cards to complete the series though. I can't remember which cards but they are in my ORG as wants. I think I am missing 6 cards.