pinnacle

 
 

Well, what can I say about the Pinnacle series?  It started off lousy.  The 1991 set was awful.  It didn't use the card to its fullest, (See #5 on My Least Favorite Sets).  The card had two huge unused areas on the front that was useless and you couldn't have it signed because the areas were black.  I have to admit that the small inset picture usually gave us a very nice close up of the player.  That was a nice touch, but the unused portions were too much to overcome in my opinion. Things didn't stay bleak for long the 1995 and 1996 series were great.  The Gold tinting on the 1996 series was really nice design.  The inserts for that year were nice too including the Die Cut Jerseys Insert Set.

I really didn't feel for the Summit series either way. I didn't hate it, but I really didn't like it all that much either.  It was kind of lost in all sets that were on the market in the mid-nineties.  I did like the card stock that the Summit series was printed on.  I think the thick card stock made for a better feel, i.e. it wasn't flimsy and the cards weren't easily torn or creased and the corners held up better. The photography was decent, but Summit reverted back to the fully enclosed border cards again, (See the 1996 Summit "Marvin Harrison" #174 RC below).  Now border cards aren't bad and they've been around forever, but sometimes I think they take away from card design.  Whatever the case the Summit brand isn't with us any longer and in my opinion it just failed to develop a good steady following. 

I will say one thing about the Summit brand, it had some very memorable and unique insert sets. In particular, the "Hit the Hole", Inspirations and "Turf Team" inserts are very cool, (See the 1996 Summit "Alex Van Dyke" Inspirations #2 and the 1996 Summit "Curtis Martin" Turf Team #3 below). The Inspirations set was a nice idea and concept, showing current players on the front with a short write-up about players who were their inspirations on the back. The Turf Team insert was just plain neat. I really liked the look. 

Well, I group the Zenith series in with the Summit / Metal series of cards.  An interesting series, but not good enough to develop a cult following.  I really enjoyed the 1995 series, in particular, the Rookie cards, (See the 1995 Zenith "Willie McGinest" #Z134 RC below).  I also thought the 1996 series was really great design with a thick durable card stock, but I never could grasp why the creators of Zenith would want to include the stats that they did on the back.  The Passing yards, Rushing yards, Receiving yards per 0-15, 16-30, 31+ yards never did anything for me.  Those stats just aren't what you talk about around the water cooler on Monday morning.  I'd have to blame the designers of Zenith for underutilizing the backs of their cards.  I guess I'm just spoiled by the designers at Topps. With that being said, I did like the insert sets that were included in the 1995 Zenith set. The Rookie Roll Call and Z-Team, (See the 1995 Zenith Lake Dawson Rookie Roll Call and the 1995 Zenith Chris Warren Z-Team below), were very well thought out and put together.

My Photos

September 5, 2009

 

I have the following sets:

 

Pinnacle Series:

1) 1991 Pinnacle Set

2) 1992 Pinnacle Set

    A) Team Pinnacle Insert

    B) Team 2000 Insert

3) 1993 Pinnacle Set

    A) Rookies Insert

    B) Team 2001 Insert

    C) Team Pinnacle Insert

    D) Men Of Autumn Insert

4) 1994 Pinnacle Set

    A) Performers Insert

    B) Team Pinnacle Insert

    C) Draft Pinnacle Insert

5) 1995 Pinnacle Set

    A) Showcase Insert

    B) Clear Shots Insert

    C) Game Breakers Insert

    D) Team Pinnacle Insert

6) 1996 Pinnacle Set

    A) On The Line Insert

    B) Black 'n Blue Insert

    C) Team Pinnacle Insert

    D) Double Disguise Insert

    E) Die Cut Jerseys  Insert

    F) Die Cut Jerseys Holofoil Insert 

7) 1997 Pinnacle Set

    A) Team Pinnacle Mirrors Insert

    B1) Epix Orange Insert - Incomplete ( 19 / 24 )

    B2) Epix Purple Insert - Incomplete ( 3 / 24 )

    B3) Epix Emerald Insert - Incomplete ( 1 / 24 )

 

 

Pinnacle Inscriptions Series:

1) 1997 Pinnacle Inscriptions Set

    A) Autographs Insert - Incomplete ( 29 / 31 )

    B) V2 Insert

2) 1998 Pinnacle Inscriptions Set - Does Not Exist

    A) Pen Pals Insert - Incomplete  ( 6 / 11 )

 

 

Pinnacle Mint Series:

1) 1996 Pinnacle Mint Set

    A) Coins Set

2) 1997 Pinnacle Mint Set

    A) Coins Set

3) 1998 Pinnacle Mint Set

    A) Coins Set

    B) Mint Gems Insert

    C) Impeccable Insert

    D) Minted Moments Insert

    E) Lasting Impressions Insert

 

 

Summit Series:

1) 1995 Summit Set

    A) Team Summit Insert

    B) Rookie Summit Insert

    C) Backfield Stars

2) 1996 Summit Set

    A) Inspirations Insert

    B) Turf Team Insert

    C) Third And Long Insert

    D) Hit The Hole Insert - Incomplete ( 11 / 16 )

 


 Zenith Series:

1) 1995 Zenith Set

    A) Z-Team Insert

    B) Second Season Insert

    C) Rookie Roll-Call Insert

2) 1996 Zenith Set

    A) Z-Team Insert

    B) Noteworthy '95 Insert

    C) Rookie Rising Insert

3) 1997 Zenith Set

    A) Rookie Rising Insert



Other Pinnacle Series:

1) 1996 Pinnacle Laserview Set

    A) Eye Of The Prize Insert 

    B) Inscriptions Autographs Insert

2) 1997 Pinnacle X-Press Set

    A) Bombs Away Insert

    B) Pursuit Of Paydirt Insert

3) 1997 Pinnacle Certified Set

    A) Certified Team Insert

    B1) Certified Epix Orange Insert

    B2) Certified Epix Purple Insert - Incomplete ( 5 / 24 )

4) 1997 Pinnacle Inside Set

5) 1996 NFL Lasers Set