1999 Pacific Private Stock

Remember the trading card company Pacific?  They were the ones that seem to start the die-cut card frenzy years ago as well as being notorious for levels upon levels of parallels.  In 1999 they rolled out a new set called Private Stock that to many seemed to go unnoticed.  It must have fared well in it's initial outing as Pacific continued the brand for a few years following.  I recently bought what I thought was a box (turned out to be a blaster), but none the less it's a cool set that isn't too big (only 150 cards) and offers a nice design.

I believe Tony Gwynn had recently signed on with Pacific to be their official representative for their various baseball brands.  Looking at the pack it's hard to tell what you'll get inside outside of 4 cards.  Flip the pack over and you'll see the base set is comprised of 150 cards.  There are 3 levels of parallels:  Vintage #d to 99, Platinum #d to 199 and Preferred #d to 399.  Two insert sets to chase:  Home Run History 1:17, PS-206 1:1 and PS-206 parallel 1:33.  The PS-206 cards are mini that have been popularized in recent years by sets such as Allen & Ginter.

#139 John Smoltz - Off to a great start!  The dilemma for me though is do I put this card w/ my Smoltz collection or keep it w/ the set since I plan on building it?

The cards feature the standard UV glossy coating.  Instead of silver or gold foil stamping however, Pacific opted to use a holographic silver for the dots across the top, the lines and player position across the bottom and for the Private Stock logo.  The design behind the player varies, but they all have the team's logo underneath / behind the player.  The card stock is also a bit thicker than normal which at least to me gives the cards more of an appeal since they don't feel cheap and flimsy.

#122 Hideo Nomo

#73 Tony Clark - PS-206 mini

#20 Kerry Wood - the backs at first glance look really busy, but upon a closer look at the left side of the card and you'll see the box score w/ stats for a particular game!  In this case it was the Cubs vs. the Astros on May 6, 1998.  Kerry was the winning pitcher going 9 innings while giving up 1 hit and striking out 20 batters!  The right side of the card has a small head shot photo along w/ some information about the player.  1998 and career stats are also given.

I really really like this set and even though I was disappointed to learn the box I won on eBay was a blaster and not a full box I'm still happy w/ my purchase.  I plan to build this set along w/ the PS-206 minis so if you are reading this and you have extras laying around please let me know!