1997-98 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Basketball Cards

In a conversation with a friend about the significance of the 1997-98 Metal Universe Basketball set, he said the Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems are the Donruss Crusades of basketball cards.

What this means is that Precious Metal Gems are ultra highly collectible. So much so, in fact, that commons can bring hundreds, and superstars can bring thousands to sometimes tens of thousands depending on the version – Red or Emerald.

The 1997-98 Metal Universe Basketball set consists of 123 cards. The player roster is packed to the brim with names that dominated the era. With a fierce roster of ultra talent and two incredibly desirable and equally valuable parallels, which are covered here, this set is enough to make things dangerous for master collectors.

Collector, Nat Turner¹ has given me permission to showcase his collection of 1997-98 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems basketball cards here. With the exception of a few images in the Emeralds set, everything in the following galleries belongs to Nat.

The Red versions are more common (relatively speaking) with a print run of 90. Each card is serial numbered to 100 but serial numbers 011-100 are stated only on the Red versions. The following is visual reference of a complete run of the Red set.

The Emerald versions are incredibly elusive with a print run of just 10. Again, each card is serial numbered to 100 but serial numbers 001-010 are stated only on the Emerald versions. These examples are quite a bit more valuable in comparison. Scroll down to see a near complete run of the Emerald set.

Images of the following cards are still needed to complete the Emerald gallery:

• 2 Dell Curry
• 9 Chris Mullin
• 17 LaPhonso Ellis
• 19 Brian Grant
• 21 Anthony Mason
• 24 Dale Ellis
• 27 Allan Houston
• 29 Loy Vaught
• 30 Walt Williams
• 41 John Wallace
• 68 Voshon Lenard
• 91 Robert Pack
• 95 Jerry Stackhouse
• 109 Kevin Garnett
• 110 Christian Laettner
• 115 Mark Price
• 118 John Starks
• 119 John Stockton
• 120 Mookie Blaylock

To view the current eBay auctions for 1997-98 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems basketball cards, click here.

References:

1. natsturner. www.flickr.com ↩︎