The Jordan Collections (Part 10): '96 Jam Session Show Stoppers

'96 Jam Session Michael Jordan Show Stoppers

We all have our "White Whales", and I'm no exception. Sometimes I feel like there are 1,000 sports memorabilia items I'm chasing at the same time, but every now and then I add a piece to my collection that really gets my blood flowing. This week one of those items came in from a conquest on the Bay. This '96 Jam Session Show Stoppers Michael Jordan card is really a centerpiece in my collection. I'm currently trying to put this set together and of course, the Jordan is the toughest card in the set to acquire.

90's insert sets came in all shapes and sizes. Whether it was die cuts or holograms, card designers let their imaginations go wild. One prominent design feature was foiling. I was a big fan of foiled card surfaces back in the day and continue to be a fan to this day. Most cards that have foiling incorporated in the designs today are mainly used as an accent on boarders or around jersey pieces. That's fine by me as the foiling always looks great and really dresses a card up even if it's just used as an accent. However, some companies went all out with foiling during the 90's by creating entire card surfaces made up of the stuff.

The '94 Fleer Ultra Power in the Key set (click here) is a prime example of the use of foiling during the 90's. If that's not enough foiling for you though, checkout this '96 Jam Session Show Stoppers Michael Jordan insert. Not only is the entire surface foil, but it's a taller 2.5 x 4.75 inch as apposed to the traditional 2.5 x 3.5 inch card size. That means a whole lot more foiling. Which I like.

The scan really doesn't do this card justice. These Jam Session cards look a little better in hand. The entire set consists of nine cards and were inserted into hobby boxes at a ratio of 1:48. I only have the David Robinson and Jordan from the set, but I'd love to put this set together. Some of my favorite 90's players are featured in the set including Michael Jordan, Anfernee Hardaway, John Stockton and Grant Hill. Not too shabby of a player checklist.

It's always nice to get the Jordan out of the way when building a set. It's usually the toughest and most expensive card in a set. These Show Stoppers cards don't appear on the Bay that often, but they're also not the most known about cards either. hopefully I can grab a few more of these soon. So if anyone has any cards from this set, let me know. Here's a link to my trade album and want lists. I'm certainly open to trades for this… Yet Another 90's Insert Set.

Happy Collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

The Jordan Collection Part 4: 1996 NBA Jam Session Die Cut

What's better than a tall Michael Jordan card? A die cut tall Jordan card of course. This die cut Jordan card is from the '96 NBA Jam Session product put out by the former Fleer/SkyBox trading card company. The die cut cards were inserted into packs at a rate of 1:1. So this isn't the rarest Jordan die cut ever, but purchasing a box of Jam Session doesn't necessarily guarantee the buyer one of these Jordan die cuts.

There are currently no Jam Session Jordan die cuts on eBay, and there was only one sold on eBay over the last two weeks (click here). If you clicked on the link, you'll notice the very modest $2.29 completed auction price. That's pretty inexpensive for a fun Jordan card like this one.

The Jam Session cards were a nice novelty during the mid 90's. They were very popular when they first were released, but fizzled quickly. I'm a huge fan of the Show Stoppers insert set from the '96 Jam Session product. However, this Jordan card is cool as well. I obviously like the jagged die cut pattern, but I also really appreciate the green outline used to highlight the uneven edges. Also, how can you go wrong with Jordan? You can't.

This is only the fourth post in The Jordan Collection series. I'll try to post these more frequently since Bloggers' stat feature indicates that many collectors are reading these posts. So stay tuned for more Jordan items from my collection and make sure to… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Yet Another 90's Insert Set: '96 Jam Session Show Stoppers

'96 Jam Session David Robinson Show Stoppers 

90's insert sets came in all shapes and sizes. Whether it was die cuts or holograms, card designers let their imaginations go wild. One prominent design feature was foiling. I was a big fan of foiled card surfaces back in the day and continue to be a fan today. Most cards that have foiling incorporated in the designs today are mainly used as an accent on boarders and around jersey pieces. That's fine by me as the foiling always looks great and really dresses a card up even if it's just used as an accent. However, some companies went all out with foiling during the 90's by creating entire card surfaces made up of foiling.

The '94 Fleer Ultra Power in the Key set (click here) is a prime example of the use of foiling during the 90's. If that's not enough foiling for you though, checkout this '96 Jam Session Show Stoppers David Robinson insert. Not only is the entire surface foil, but it's a taller 2.5 x 4.75 inch as apposed to the traditional 2.5 x 3.5 inch card size. That means a whole lot more foiling. Which I like.

The scan really doesn't do this card justice. These Jam Session cards look a little better in hand. The entire set consists of nine cards and we inserted into hobby boxes at a ratio of 1:48. I only have the Robinson from the set, but I'd love to put this set together. Some of my favorite 90's players are featured in the set including Michael Jordan, Anfernee Hardaway and Grant Hill. Not too shabby of a player checklist.

So if anyone has any cards from this set, let me know. Here's a link to my trade album and want lists. I'm certainly open to trades for this… Yet Another 90's Insert Set.