Sets I'm Currently Attempting To Assemble

Here are the sets I'm currently working to put together ('97 UD SPx Duo View Hockey is not shown as I do not have any cards in that set, but I am interested in building it!!!). If anyone has any cards in these sets and is interested in trading, let me know. I have a number of cards in each of these sets. I would like to complete a couple of these by the end of the summer. If you are interested in trading, send me an email to Hoopography@yahoo.com or leave a message on the Hoopography Facebook page. Thanks!

         '98 Metal Universe Titanium                                      '97 Upper Deck SPx Cornerstones

            '98 Ex Century Dunk N' Go N                                '98 Topps Finest Mystery Test Refractor

                          '08 Upper Deck SP Rookie Edition Auto's                                         '97 Fleer Ultra Court Masters

                                   '97 Upper Deck SPx Holoview Heroes                                   '99 SPx Rookie Auto's

                                '96 Jam Session Showstoppers                                       '97 EX 2000 A Cut Above

                                                  '97 & '98 Big Man On Court                   '98 SPx Hardcourt Holoview (Football and Basketball)

                                                              '97 SPx Promotion                                                   '98 SPx ProMotion 

                                                             '98 SPx ProMotion                                                '97 SPx Cornerstones

Update: Yet Another 90's Insert Set ('97 Ultra Court Masters)

As I'm sure you're all well aware of, I love 90's insert sets. The quality of design and creativity was at its peak during that time. Whether it was holograms, die cuts, acetate or the early jersey and auto'd cards, 90's card companies had it going on. I have about five separate 90's insert set collections going right now between basketball and football products, but none is more exciting to me than the '97 Ultra Court Masters acetate basketball set.

I've been working on putting the 15 card set together for sometime now. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about the first few cards I was able to add to start the collection, but was recently able to buy a four card lot for a very reasonable price. Actually, these cards normally sell for right at or just above book value (BV). I paid less than half of BV for the lot.

The lot contains a few of the bigger names in the set like Malone, Stockton and Robinson. The Richmond is certainly a nice card and sells well, but it's not on the same level as the other three featuring HOF'ers.

Here are the other four cards in my Court Masters collection pursuit and a closeup of one of the newly added cards:

Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown #3: '94 Fleer Ultra Scoring Kings Michael Jordan

'94 Michael Jordan Fleer Ultra Scoring Kings

I know it's been over a week since the last installment of my PC countdown, so let's get right to it. This '94 Fleer Ultra Scoring Kings insert is easily one of the most sought after Jordan cards in the hobby and for good reason.

The front of this tremendous looking card is all foil. That means two things. First, the card surface looks great with that lightning image in the background. The second importance of the foiling is the effect the foiling has on the condition of the card. Similar to the '93 Upper Deck SP foiled Derek Jeter RC, chipping and corner wear is prevalent with this card. I was able to find a mint version of the card at a very affordable price, and was very happy to add it to my collection.

This is easily one of my favorite Jordan cards in my collection. I have a number of cards in this set, and will complete it one day. Luckily, I have a strong start to the set with the Jordan. Stay tuned for the final two cards in my PC Countdown and remember to "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball" this holiday season.

Yet Another 90's Insert Set: '97 Ultra Court Masters

As I'm sure you're all well aware of, I love 90's inserts sets. The quality of design and creativity was at its peak during that time. Whether it was holograms, die cuts, acetate or the early jersey and auto'd cards, 90's card companies had it going on. I have about five separate 90's insert set collections going right now between basketball and football products, but none is more exciting to me than the '97 Ultra Court Masters acetate basketball set.

I've been working on putting the 15 card set together for sometime now, but it seems there are also a number of other collectors assembling the set. Many of these cards sell for above their book values. Not by much, but enough to make it difficult to put the set together quickly. I'm used to the half priced cards on eBay, so $5 or $10 over book value is expensive to me.

The set has all the usual 90's suspects including Grant Hill, David Robinson, Charles Barkley and John Stockton. Of Course, the Michael Jordan is the most sought after card and fetches the highest price tag of $100 to $125 (checkout this overpriced BIN Jordan Court Masters). The Hardaway is the gem of the set for me. His cards are easily my favorite to collect (click here), and the Court Masters PSA Graded 10 is a very nice addition to my "Penny" Hardaway collection.

The other three cards in the set I've been able to secure are of Juwan Howard, Reggie Miller and Shaquille O'neal. I'm not a huge fan of graded cards. Basically, I only search out graded cards if I'm looking for a vintage card. The reason I have three graded cards in the start of this set is solely due to price. Most of the time there are 3 or 4 cards from the set listed at the same time by one seller. In order to keep shipping costs down or to get a jump on completing the set, collectors are driving the bid prices up by zeroing in on the multiple listings. I bought all four of these cards from sellers who only listed one Court Masters card at a time. Three of them just happen to be graded.

Either way, these cards are fairly rare with an insertion ratio of 1:180. The set isn't cheap either at $450. So I'll try to grab these awesome acetate cards anyway possible, graded/ungraded, trade/buy, whatever. I have a ways to go with 11 more cards in the set, but hopefully I'll be able to update any progress soon.

Hoopography Top 25 Countdown: # 7

(1994 Michael Jordan Fleer Ultra Power In The Key)

The 90's was filled with great Michael Jordan inserts and this '94 Fleer Ultra Power In The Key insert is one of the best. Sure there are Jordan inserts that dwarf the $30.00 book value, but not many that look better than this foil covered gem. I know card perfection is subjective, but this is as close to perfection that I've seen. That's why this '94 Michael Jordan Fleer Ultra Power In The Key insert is # 7 on my Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown.