1997 Pinnacle Inside Can

I've had two of these "cards in cans" for WAY too long...I'm talking years here and they have been packed up in a couple different moves across the country. For whatever reason, I've decided that ends today and it is time to get a can opener and crack this tin! 

(Pro Tip!: If you plan on opening a tin for yourself some day and care about keeping the tin afterword, open the BOTTOM of the cap and leave the top alone. I guess people who collect these always want the top intact.)

This is a tin of 1997 Pinnacle Inside which was the first cards-in-a-can product. Each can has 10 cards and were originally sold for $2.99 and I got mine for $1.00. The can itself give some odds of pulling inserts and here are the stats:

Club Edition (150 cards) 1:7
Dueling Dugouts (20 cards) 1:23
Fortysomething (16 cards) 1:47
Diamond Edition (150 cards) 1:63

The cards come in a clear cellophane pack with White Sox second baseman Ray Durham. The cards have been banging around in can for nearly two decades so the corners are dinged up on each card which is something you should consider when buying unopened packs of this product.

Along with the cards, Pinnacle threw in an informational card with an offer for a display case to show off your cans!


The informational card also serves as a game piece. My can was not a winner but card does remind me of the amazing slogan for Pinnacle which was "Guaranteed Scarce...Pinnacle." It's a shame that scarcity doesn't equal value!

Of the 10 cards, I got two interesting ones including a Matt Williams for my Williams PC and a Hall of Famer in Barry Larkin.

Of the 150 cards in the Pinnacle Inside set there are 20 rookies and I got two good ones in Andruw Jones and Billy Wagner. Wagner was a seven-time All-Star who currently sits at 5th all-time for saves. Jones statistics fell off a cliff after the 2007 season but he still ended his career with more home runs than Cal Ripken Jr., Mike Piazza, Duke Snider, and Al Kaline.

And here are the rest of the cards from the pack. It was a fun pack to rip and if you happen to come upon a sealed can at a card show I would say go for it!