This is the fourth card from 1999 Ultra WNBA that we’re adding to our video collection. We now have three rookies and a base, that was Christy Smith whose grandfather was in the real Top Gun program. We’re going to talk about where this card falls in the set, and a little about care in submitting cards for grading.
The first WNBA set was Pinnacle’s in 1997 (a “cards-in-a-can” set). It was just Pinnacle until Fleer/Skybox brought out two sets in 1999, Hoops WNBA and this 1999 Ultra WNBA. This Ultra set arrived after Hoops in August of 1999, probably a marketing decision to catch a tailwind of energy right before the WNBA Finals got underway in September. The 1999 Ultra WNBA set is a nice, compact one with only 125 cards (90 base, 10 All-WNBA, and 25 rookies). The rookies, like this #117 Katie Smith, are a bit more desirable with a slightly lower placement (1:2 packs). The rookies have a border on the bottom in the color of the team logo with “Rookies” printed in foil. You see the green of the Minnesota Lynx here. This was their first season here in 1999 by the way. Katie Smith jumped over from the ABL, a league that doesn’t exist anymore, to play for the Lynx.
But back to the design… The design of all the cards is classic Ultra with the same borderless, full-bleed, simple design that Ultra had become known for since their ’92-93 NBA set. I didn’t send this card for grading, but it’s a reminder that grading isn’t a lottery. Especially when you have cards with a full-bleed photograph. Full-bleed images make defects on the corners and border very visible, and you should be able to save some money with very little effort. This card shows very slight wear on three corners. You might argue that this isn’t enough to warrant a PSA 8, but please turn your cards over first. The borders looked perfect on the front, but this top border on the back, where the card was probably cut, is very rough. In my opinion, I think a top loader would be fine for this one.
I understand the collector wanting a slabbed Katie Smith. When this was printed she was the career scoring leader in the Big Ten and she’s still in the top ten today. She was also the career points leader for Ohio State and remains number three today. And she has a gold medal from the 1998 World Championship. These cards are also notable for the trivia present and, we see here, that Katie Smith was a tap and ballet dancer before basketball became her primary interest.
Subscribe and collect with us! We’re making videos of every card we can, one individual card at a time. It’s something a bit different from the usual big-money investing or box breaks.
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