Pack – 1999 E-X Century

Beckett Set Notes (verbatim from Beckett pack page)

“This 120-card set features color action player photos silhouetted on extra thick transparent plastic card stock. Each pack contained three cards and carried a suggested retail price of $5.99. The set contains a 30-card Rookie short-printed subset (91-120) with an insertion rate of 1:2 packs. A promotional sample card featuring Ben Grieve was distributed to dealer accounts and hobby media shortly before the product’s national release. This card can be easily identified by the “PROMOTIONAL SAMPLE” text running across the back. Notable Rookie Cards include Pat Burrell.”

Pack Contents

3 cards

Cost

$0.88 on eBay (part of a lot of 17 random packs on eBay)

Description

Wow. Three cards for $5.99. These were some pricey packs for 1999.

Insert / Parallel List (taken from pack)

Rookie Cards – 30 cards – 1:2 packs
Essential Credentials Now – 120 – no insertion rate listed
Essential Credentials Future – 120 – no insertion rate listed
E-X Quisite – 15 cards – 1:18 packs
Favorites for Fenway ’99 – 20 cards – 1:36 packs
Authen-kicks – 9 cards – no insertion rate listed
Milestones of the Century – 10 cards – no insertion rate listed

Cards

20 – Travis Lee
93 – Adrian Beltre

73 – Tino Martinez
73 – Tino Martinez (back)

Comments

Before I opened this pack, I could feel ridges on the top card. “Awesome,” I thought. “There is going to be a real hit on the top of this pack.” As it turns out, every card is made of plastic, and every card has ridges on its surface. The player and swirl are raised relative to the rest of the card. I showed one to my wife, and even she admitted that the cards are “kind of cool”.

One of the cards – Adrian Beltre – was a short-print. The odds on the short-prints, a full 1/4 of the set, are 1:2 packs. Pulling one of these cards was a 50:50 shot. You’ve got to play to win.

These are not cards as much as sheets of plastic. Most of the card is clear. The shadowing of the text for the player’s last name is actually a real shadow from my scanner. It is not part of the card. With so much of the card being clear, there is precious little space on the back for stats. Therefore, the backs are pretty minimal.

These cards are a bit out there for my tastes. While looking them over, I found myself unsuccessfully trying to keep fingerprints off the plastic. Smudges are particularly noticeable because the cards are transparent. My dad has always wondered why anyone would have stainless steel appliances in a house because they show finger prints. (For the record, my wife and I have stainless steel appliances.) Worrying about fingerprints is not a great way to be around your cards. On the other hand, I would guess that these plastic cards do not easily get dinged on their corners.

While these cards are not to my tastes, it was fun to open what was at one time a high-end pack. For the results of a full box break of 1999 E-X Century, check out a post from Old School Breaks.