You can’t fully understand this card without reading… This link about the 1995-96 Finest set as a whole.
Putting it in Context: The Topps Finest cards energized the hobby when they were first produced. The set was considered premium and referred to simply as “Finest.” And the use of what Topps called its “Chromium” technology, giving the cards a unique shine, helped with this strong reputation. The 1995-96 Finest set carried on this strong tradition, especially the 140-card first series. Within this series is a 29-card subset of rookies, these having an orange border and “NBA 1st Round Draft Pick” on the front. The Kevin Garnett rookie solidified this set’s reputation.
The Card: The Joe Smith rookie is certainly not to be overlooked. He was, of course, the number one draft pick, and therefore, the player who starts the 29-card rookie subset. But this card is also important because it is involved in an uncorrected error!!! If collectors happened to pull the checklist that ends this series, technically card #140, they would also see #111 just like this Joe Smith rookie! You can imagine the temporary confusion this could cause. Why does the rookie subset begin with a checklist? I can’t seem to find card #140 anywhere?
The card was a really exciting pull at the time. The number one draft pick and a nice action shot. (The Kevin Garnett rookie from this set is a draft day picture in suit and ball cap). But the connection to the uncorrected error checklist adds some importance to this card!
In Short: If you were collecting in the ’90’s…did this catch you off guard? ’95-96 Finest has two cards with the same number, check this out! So you’re opening packs, building the set and you find this checklist, #111. But it’s those rookies with the orange border we want. Here’s the big one, the #115 Kevin Garnett, check. And now the #113 Jerry Stackhouse, the third pick in the draft, and #112 Antonio McDyess, the second pick… So we’re clearly going in draft order. Gotta find that #111 Joe Smith. Wait, what?! We already have #111, this checklist, where we clearly should have the number one pick, Joe Smith? Well, he’s #111 too. If you kept building the set, it’s clear this checklist was supposed to be numbered 140 ending the first series. But did it give any of you a moment of confusion thirty years ago? Definitely makes this checklist and Joe Smith card a little more special than some. Please subscribe and collect with us. No card is too common here! Every card gets a video on our channel!
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