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Verified Trader,
1995-96 Fleer Metal - [Base] #51 - Steve Yzerman
Courtesy of COMC.com
Usually when I do one of these catching up segments, it's with a set that I have a personal connection with. This is not one of those sets. Fleer released its inaugural (and technically only) "Metal" set while I was on forced hiatus from the hobby because I was a poor college student. So for me, this is more of a "Discovering 1995-96 Metal". And why discover it? Well, with all the excitement over the upcoming Skybox Metal Universe set, I wanted to find out where it started.
*Per my usual, I will be using COMC for images as it is convenient to do so. And per usual, I (now) own most of these cards.
The Product
1995-96 Fleer Metal - Sample Panel #PRFP - Felix Potvin, Theoren Fleury, Richard Park, Jeremy Roenick [Noted]
Courtesy of COMC.com
Metal is a 200 card base set with 4 inserts sets and one special chase card. The sample panel gives the odds, although I've noticed that there are at least two different boxes for the product. There's a 36 pack box (featuring a robot on the cover) which changes the odds on the Heavy Metal from 1:30 to 1:60 and does not include the rarer Metal Winners at all. The 24 pack box, which has the picks visible through cellophane, abides by the Promo odds.
Let me start by saying that scans do not do these cards justice. These are really pretty cards! I don't know what they mean when they say each card is "hand-engraved etched", but there are a lot of interesting patterns that really work well with light. They can sparkle like refactors.
1995-96 Fleer Metal - [Base] #97 - Mark Messier
Courtesy of COMC.com
1995-96 Fleer Metal - [Base] #56 - Bill Ranford
Courtesy of COMC.com
The 200 base card set contains 168 veterans, 30 rookies, and 2 checklist cards. 29 of the 30 rookies have a special background proclaiming their status. For reasons unknown to me, Marcus Ragnarsson does not.
1995-96 Fleer Metal - [Base] #196 - Antti Tormanen
Courtesy of COMC.com
1995-96 Fleer Metal - [Base] #189 - Marcus Ragnarsson
Courtesy of COMC.com
And unusual for the era, many of the 30 rookie cards are true rookies, having not been pre-empted by Upper Deck's WJC cards. Key players include Daniel Alfredsson, Todd Bertuzzi, Shane Doan, Miro Satan, and Tommy Salo. Now granted, none of them are worth much of anything - this is still a 1990s set - but at least they are featured in their NHL uniforms (and they are very shiny.)
The Inserts
1995-96 Fleer Metal - International Steel #11 - Pat LaFontaine
Courtesy of COMC.com
International Steel is a celebration of hockey's global diversity. The 24 card set had the easiest odds and has minimal value, even for superstars such as Gretzky and Lemieux. The Iron Warriors celebrates players who were willing to mix it up as well as put up big numbers (Neely, Tocchet, Tkachuk, Ron Francis...Ron Francis?)
1995-96 Fleer Metal - Heavy Metal #9 - Mario Lemieux
Courtesy of COMC.com
The Heavy Metal set appears to be the big chase set, despite the Metal Winners having worse odds. But to me, it's disappointing. I was expecting a set called Heavy Metal to be, I don't know...heavy? Like the Leaf Preferred Steel cards? But they're the same thickness as any other Metal card and no shinier. The Metal Winners set is a look at players with WJC accomplishments, not NHL Trophies as I would have expected.
Finally, there's this:
1995-96 Fleer Metal - Sky Mint Redemption Prize #JOSA - Joe Sakic
Courtesy of COMC.com
This was a redemption card found in one out of every 360 packs, so basically a case hit. But since it is the same card appearing in each case, there is no shortage of them. My copy is starting to show the strain of having a small coin imbedded in it, with the glue holding the card together starting to yield.
Dressed for Success
A few teams featured brand new uniforms in 1995-96. Some teams, like Ottawa, made minor tweaks. Others like the Bruins had substantial changes, but still more or less looked like themselves. Then there were the Capitals and Islanders:
1995-96 Fleer Metal - [Base] #157 - Jim Carey
Courtesy of COMC.com
1995-96 Fleer Metal - [Base] #89 - Wendel Clark
Courtesy of COMC.com
Fishsticks! There's a place in my heart for the misguided Old Man of the Sea uniforms, but I've never had any affection for these Capitals jerseys. The Blues are currently rocking their loud red and blue jerseys, which also burned retinas. But Metal came out too soon to include any images of the notorious 3rd jerseys soon to be unleashed upon us.
1995-96 Fleer Metal - [Base] #11 - Kevin Stevens
Courtesy of COMC.com
Kevin Stevens as a Bruin is unusual, as he only lasted half the season. Seeing him dressed in the 1994-95 uniform means this shot must come from the pre-season.
And of course, we had a brand new team which would go on to win the Stanley Cup, breaking the hearts of pretty much every single person in Quebec province.
1995-96 Fleer Metal - [Base] #36 - Joe Sakic
Courtesy of COMC.com
Checklist Oddities
Card #200 has a weird typo. It lists 25 International Steel cards with #1 being rookie Aki Berg. Ultimately, Fleer decided to drop Berg and do 24 cards instead. Everyone else on the checklist moved up a slot.
Another item is that the checklist is alphabetical by team, which each team in alphabetical order. The rookies are then listed in alphabetical order as well, except for Denis Pederson. He appears between Robert Svehla and Antti Tormanen. This intrigues me. Who did he replace? I decided to check another Fleer product - Ultra - to see who was included in Series 2...only to find the same situation! Pederson was there again, exactly between Svehla and Tormanen!
Who lost his spot? My guess is that Pederson came in in relief for teammate Petr Sykora. Sykora, a 1st round pick, debuted as a 19 year old and put up 42 points in 63 games, but did not make his debut until October 28th. I don't know if Sykora were hurt or failed to get the job out of camp, but Pederson broke camp with the Devils instead. It didn't last long. Once Sykora joined the team, Pederson headed to Albany. But it was long enough to steal Sykora's cardboard!
Summary
This is a really nice set. At $2.49 SRP, it was definitely on the pricy end for 1996, but the base set was not a challenge to complete. Like all other 90s sets in the pre eBay days, the inserts were likely a nightmare to finish. The last Beckett Monthly that I happen to own is July 1996, so I can take a look at what Metal was priced at close to its debut. The base set went for $35, which is about what it goes for now. But the Heavy Metal insert was a $200 set, a far cry from where it stands today. The somewhat scare Metal Winners booked for $150, Iron Warriors at $60, and the International Steel at $45. The Sakic redemption maxed out at $35. The most valuable card? Eric Lindros's Metal Winner - $35 - $60.
As the set is not particularly rare, I would not expect it to benefit greatly from any resurgence in interest for the Metal line. If something were to ignite, it would be the incredibly weird 1996-97 Metal Universe set. But that's a post for another time.
1996-97 Fleer Metal - [Base] #15 - Pat LaFontaine
Courtesy of COMC.com
"Oh no, not the bees! They're in my eyes! ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"
Mike
