In The Cards: Check out the Stanley Cup – hologram style

In this installment of In The Cards, our memorabilia expert, Sal Barry, looks back at a rare hockey card that put Lord Stanley's mug in a whole new slant of light.

Short-lived trading card company Pro Set released one hockey card that made a lasting impression. In 1990, the company randomly inserted a hologram of the Stanley Cup in packs of their Series One Hockey cards. It was the first ever “chase card” for hockey collectors – a card so rare that fans would buy many packs hoping to get it.

More than 20 years later, the card is still one of the hardest to find from an era when cards were grossly overproduced. Hold it in the light just right and the Cup is illuminated in an explosion of colors and appears to float off the surface. The hologram was limited to 5,000 copies and – like the Cup itself – has to be seen in person to be truly appreciated.



Sal Barry is the webmaster of the hockey card site PuckJunk.com