In 1999, Metal Universe issued their only set of baseball cards made entirely of metal instead of the traditional cardboard stock that most baseball card manufacturers used. The unique metal construction set these cards apart from anything else on the market at the time and captured the attention of both collectors and the mainstream media.
The concept for a metal baseball card set came from Metal Universe founder and CEO John Smith, who had previously worked in the collectibles industry producing metal figurines and coins. He saw an opportunity to do something new and innovative with baseball cards by producing them using the same metal fabrication techniques used to make his other collectible items. After securing licensing deals with Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, Smith began work on what would become the iconic 1999 Metal Universe Baseball Card set.
Each card in the 288 card base set was constructed entirely of zinc alloy and measured 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, making them slightly larger than a standard card. What really set them apart visually was their mirrored silver coloring that gave them an almost holographic shine when held at different angles in the light. On the front of each card was an action photo of the player along with their name, team, and stats. The backs featured more stats and career highlights printed directly onto the metal surface.
To authentically capture all 30 MLB teams, Metal Universe included base cards for every player on each team’s opening day roster as well as manager and coach cards. Some of the biggest star players like Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Cal Ripken Jr., and Derek Jeter received unique metallic parallels and special inserts in the base set as well. Griffey’s card, for example, featured a silvery blue tint while McGwire’s had red undertones.
In addition to the base set, Metal Universe also produced insert sets that could be found randomly inserted into factory-sealed boxes or packs. Some of the most popular included “All-Stars” featuring foil stamped silver logo parallels of major award winners from 1998, “Rookies” highlighting top prospects like Nomar Garciaparra and Ben Grieve in their rookie seasons, “Legends” recreating iconic photos of retired greats on metal, and “Stadiums” honoring each MLB park with metallic artistic renditions.
Much like the modern-day Prizm and Optic parallels in today’s sports card products, Metal Universe also started the trend of scarce “platinum” and “gold” parallel inserts for their metal cards that were highly sought after by collectors. Finding an elusive parallel version of a star player’s card in one of the nonguaranteed insert slots added another layer of excitement to each unopened pack.
With its innovative construction and premium looks, the 1999 Metal Universe Baseball Card set immediately caught the eyes of the mainstream press leading to features in local newspapers, sports magazines, collector publications, and even segments on sports/hobby television shows like Sports Collectors Digest. Their unique metallic shimmer was simply unlike anything else on the market at the time, before refractors and other flashy card technologies became commonplace. This widespread coverage helped drive initial interest and sales leading Metal Universe become a success story in the late 90s card boom.
In the years since, the Metal Universe cards have taken on cult status among card collectors and become highly desired vintage pieces, especially for teams collectors seeking complete vintage rosters in a unique non-cardboard format. Pristine mint condition base cards from the popular players can now sell for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. Meanwhile, the parallels and inserts maintain their status as some of the true holy grails from the late 90s/early 2000s card boom era due to their extreme scarcity.
Though short lived as just a one-year production, the innovative 1999 Metal Universe Baseball Card set helped launch a new standard of premium construction techniques, flashy parallels, and overall “blinge factor” that went on to shape the entire sports card industry in subsequent decades. They remain some of the most iconic and recognizable vintage cards to this day due to their truly pioneering metallic construction and shimmering finishes that were ahead of their time. For the collectors who experienced the 99 Metal Universe cards firsthand, their memory and beauty continues to endure fondly as one of the true innovators from hobby’s golden era of the late 90s/early 2000s.
