An Oldie But Goodie

The 1997 Donruss Significant Signatures set was pretty innovative for the same.  It predates the glut of sticker autographs, and is around the time that premium products were really beginning to come to the forefront of collectible cards.  The set is comprised almost entirely of Hall of Famers, except for Don Mattingly.  The cards all feature on card autographs, which is a huge plus as well.  Unfortunately the cards had a lot of glossy areas, so some of the autographs have bubbled or smeared a bit with time.  Some of the old timers signed on the back of the cards too, which makes for an interesting display.  Really, the gripe that most people have with this set is that the gold foilboard is really not that good looking.  I guess that's kind of being kind.

I do think the next year, the 1998 Donruss Significant Signatures, is actually really much better looking, but has less action shots.  I think that set features Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax, which makes for a more expensive but also arguably more significant set completion.  See what I did there?

That being said, it's a nice older set full of Hall of Famers that is still, even more than 20 years after it was released, pretty easy to put together.  The serial numbers and production is huge, and these are still available all the time on eBay.  It's also a great way to inexpensively teach younger collectors about some of the Hall of Famers of yore.  Unfortunately, a lot of these legends of the game have passed away since 1997.  Maybe the timing is right to put these together.