[altz11]

I see people posting this card on ebay often and some have the designation "Championship" and some don't. I'm actually a little embarrassed to say this but I bought a BGS 9.5 championship version a while back and don't even know the difference between the two.

Could someone tell me the difference between the championship version and the non-championship version?

below is a picture of my "championship" version and also the ebay listing number to a bgs 9.5 that has just sold, it is listed as championship but is not labeled as such on the BGS label.

Thanks.

Ebay listing number; 232097265267

[djohn]

They were 2 completely different sets, each in their own boxes and packs. The Championship cards were meant as a series 2, but they started the numbering over instead of continuing the card numbers. There are some design differences that make them easy to tell apart, especially on the back. However the easiest way is if you look at the back of the Metal Universe Championship cards, you will see the line "Metal/2/'97-98" at the bottom, this represents that it's the series 2 metal set from 1997-98. The Metal Universe cards (non-Championship version) have a "1" instead of a "2" in that line.

[altz11]

You're the man Djohn!

[djohn]

You're the man Djohn!

You're welcome. Glad I could help resolve that for you.

[taffster74]

The other difference is this - while the metal cards (series 1) have a "patterned" background, the championship cards have a city skyline background.

[altz11]

Now im confused again, because I've seen some graded versions that look identical (both city skyline background like the one I posted) but one would be labeled as "championship" and one not.

[djohn]

Now im confused again, because I've seen some graded versions that look identical (both city skyline background like the one I posted) but one would be labeled as "championship" and one not.

That problem is with the grading companies, as they don't always get the brand name correct. I have seen a lot of different cards, not just these championship metal cards that have the wrong description on the label. One of the most annoying are the Upper Deck Game Dated cards from the late 90s, as I have seen some graded ones that say "Game Dated Foil" yet they are the regular versions. I am not sure if the problem is that the graders don't always know what the cards are or if they simply are trusting what the submitter tells them. Simple lesson, don't always trust what grading companies have on the label.