Top 100 Jose Canseco Baseball Cards – 1999 Pacific Prism Retail Red / Holographic Blue

So, let’s talk about the red first.  Boy, has it been a roller coaster ride with this one!  I had this on my want list for YEARS before actually landing one, and I thought it was holographic red.  Unfortunately, when I did land one, I was underwhelmed, because the ’99 Prism reds are not in fact holographic, but rather just regular ole red.  Shiny? Yes.  Holographic? no.  

As with many other cards I got back a second time, I had a newfound appreciation for it.  Sure, it isn’t “holographic-shiny” but it is shiny.  Plus, it is a super tough card to get a hold of.  Packaged in retail boxes, it ran the same risk as other retail boxes did of that era – the dumpster.  Stories have been told about overstock of cards from retail shelves being tossed.  Just 35 of all players have been graded by PSA with many in the 5-7 range.  

If that wasn’t bad enough, the retail red card is liable to suffer the black plague, that is, black splotches all over the front of the card.  Thankfully, my copy is clean. 

So onto the holographic blue.  I didn’t realize this until the other day, but it has actually shown up *less* in the sales data than the red!  I had no idea. Just 43 have been graded by PSA, with many in the 6-7 grade range.  Like the red, this card too is susceptible to the black plague – in fact, my first copy had it. 

In any event, these two cards are gorgeous gems from the 90s that typically fly under the radar of those who aren’t hardcore collectors.  

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