Context: The 1993-94 Topps Finest set is very important historically. The Chromium technology indicated by the patents on the back of the cards was the origin of not only Finest, but other Chromium sets like Bowman’s Best and Topps Chrome. And this was the birth of refractors. This was the start of really pushing technology in card construction. But we need to address the elephant in the room.
These cards turn green! It’s really upsetting. This YouTube video shows these cards already green straight from the packs during a box break! Topps Finest was pushing boundaries on innovating card construction with that Chromium technology and their patents. And put yourself back in 1993-94 seeing this type of card with its unique, metallic shine and rainbow background for the first time! That busy, colorful background was pure ’90’s without apology! Unfortunately, in the effort to innovate, sometimes effects of decisions aren’t known until years after the fact. So years later comes what collectors today call “greening.” Or, if you want a touch of humor, “Hulking.” Unfortunately, there’s not much we can say that’s conclusive. Stories abound… One half of a set turned green while the other didn’t. Cards turned green in BGS slabs and PSA slabs. A collection avoids greening for 15+ years and then suddenly, one day, the cards begin to turn. As you can see in the video mentioned earlier, cards can come from packs already green. There are people who swear that if humidity and light are avoided at all costs, they won’t turn. But there are also people who seem 100% confident that the fate of all early Chromium cards is to turn green at some point in time. So what can we say for sure? First, it never hurts to avoid humidity and sunlight whether this is the solution to greening or not. Secondly, many factors probably contribute, but there seems to be a reaction between the ink and other materials in the cards causing the greening. Changes were made and cards produced after 1998 aren’t yet affected by this phenomenon.
This #114 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf shows a fully complete greening process. The color leeches from the non-chromium parts of the card, mainly the player himself, leaving a very pale, green. Not as fun as the actual Hulk.
This card is part of a 40-card subset that appeared in the middle of the 1993-94 Finest set, cards 90-129. Ten players were selected from each division and they are labeled: Atlantic’s Finest, Central’s Finest, Midwest’s Finest and Pacific’s Finest. The #114 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf is the fifth card in the Midwest’s finest group. These cards are very similar to the base cards in design. Like all cards in this set, the player’s name is in a blue bar in the upper-left corner. On the back, the player’s name is in a gold bar in the upper-right corner. And also like the base cards, on the reverse, the player is shown interacting with a background that’s usually described as marble. It always looked like rock to me. The card number is identical to the base as well. The difference with these subsets on the reverse are that they show the player’s statistics within their division, something that isn’t seen very often. And the front of these subsets differs from the base cards in two important ways. There is a brick wall behind the player, and the division name appears above the “Finest” on the front.
Other than this 40-card subset, the rest of the 200-card set is just base cards, both veterans and rookies, scattered randomly. Overall, despite the greening, don’t underestimate the historical importance of this set. This was cutting edge when it came out!
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