First major redemption-driven letter-card insert program

Why it matters

1993 Topps Black Gold was the mass hobby's first successful redemption-driven insert program. Topps split the 44-card set into four Groups (A/B/C/D), then seeded eight rare letter cards (B, A, S, E, B, A, L, L) into packs of 1993 Topps Series 1 and Series 2. Collecting all eight letters and mailing them to Topps got you a full redemption prize set of the corresponding group. Ken Griffey Jr. at #33 anchors Group A (the AL Batters), and his card is the most-collected single from the program. Every future "win by mail" redemption insert Topps ran across the 1990s traces back to the mechanic Black Gold introduced.

How to identify

1993 Topps Black Gold #33 Ken Griffey Jr. Black cardstock front with gold-foil BLACK GOLD wordmark and Griffey portrait. Marked #33 (Group A, AL Batters) on the back. Distinct from the base 1993 Topps Griffey (traditional white-border design) and from the redemption Prizes parallel that collectors received by mail.