1992 Marvel Masterpieces Battle Spectra Etch Wolverine vs Sabretooth - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1992 Marvel Masterpieces
Company: Skybox
Type: Insert/Chase - Battle Spectra Etch
Character: Wolverine vs Sabretooth
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: SOLD

In 1992, Skybox came out with a "premium" line of comic trading cards with artwork done by Joe Jusko.  The beautiful art captivated many non-sport collectors and had them seeking the spectra-etched chase cards inserted randomly in packs.  The set, however, was over-produced although gem mint quality cards are still hard to come by.  The battle spectra cards were prone to edge wear and corner dents during the production process although surface and centering issues were rare.  This card was pulled from an unopened box I purchased in the early 2000's.  I submitted it to Beckett in the fall of 2012 and the card was graded gem mint.  It was then sold to a collector a month later.

1996 Marvel Masterpieces Double Impact Punisher/Psylocke - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1996 Marvel Masterpieces
Company: Fleer/Skybox
Type: Insert/Chase - Double Impact
Character: Punisher/Psylocke
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: Personal Collection

This is one of my favorite cards as it includes two of my favorite Marvel heroes - Punisher and Psylocke.  The 1996 Masterpieces set is now one of the most expensive sets from that era since they had limited distribution in the late 90's.  All artwork was done by the husband and wife team of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell.  Their amazing and talented skills were showcased in all the cards of this set, including the Double Impact chase/insert set.  I bought this card raw on EBay a few years ago and paid about $90 for it.  I probably overpaid a bit given that the market price at that time was about $70 but the seller included many close up pictures and I thought the card had a good chance of grading Mint to Gem Mint.  As you can see, my hunch was right!  This card is now part of my personal collection.

1992 Impel Marvel Universe Hologram Promo Venom - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1992 Marvel Universe Series 3
Company: Impel
Type: Promo Hologram
Character: Venom
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: SOLD

Spider-Man's popular arch-enemy Venom got his own hologram card when Impel released their Series 3 Marvel Universe cards in 1992.  In addition, Advance Comics included a promo hologram of Venom in many of their magazine issues, to help promote their company as well as the new comic cards.  The 1992 holograms were printed in different colors, which included green, blue, orange, pink/red, and purple.  This promo hologram card was purchased raw and submitted to Beckett Grading Services.

1990 Impel Marvel Universe Hologram Cosmic Spider-Man - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1990 Marvel Universe Series 1
Company: Impel
Type: Insert/Chase - Hologram
Character: Cosmic Spider-Man
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: SOLD

This was the set that popularized Marvel card collecting in the early and mid 1990's (at least for me anyways).  Many of these holograms can be purchased for a couple dollars on EBay but due to quality issues, the majority are off-centered with surface scratches.  Therefore finding one in Gem Mint quality is extremely rare.  I have known collectors that have purchased multiple boxes without pulling a hologram worthy to be sent in for grading.  This card was purchased ungraded from a online seller along with other non-sports cards.  It was submitted to Beckett and was graded Gem Mint.

1995 Fleer Ultra X-Men Lethal Weapons Psylocke - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1995 Fleer Ultra X-Men All Chromium
Company: Fleer
Type: Insert/Chase - Lethal Weapons
Character: Psylocke
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: For Sale Sold (Updated 7/15/2015)

I obtained this card ungraded from a collector selling off his collection of non-sports cards.  This holo-flash insert/chase card was only found in the all-chromium set Fleer released in 1995. 

You can see it listed for sale at my EBay store below:

http://stores.ebay.com/mcgradedcardstore?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

Updated 7/15/2015 - This card has been sold and is no longer available

2013 Marvel Fleer Retro Precious Metal Green Silver Surfer - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 2013 Marvel Fleer Retro
Company: Upper Deck
Type: Insert/Chase - Precious Metal Gems Green
Character: Silver Surfer
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: For Sale Sold (Updated 2/10/15)

In 2013, Upper Deck released its Marvel Fleer Retro card set, modeled after the successful 2011-2012 Fleer Retro Basketball.  Unfortunately, I was late to the party as I didn't purchase my first box until October of 2014.  Even so, the Marvel Fleer Retro has become one of my favorite Marvel card sets since it included the popular Jambalaya and Precious Metal Gems cards.

I purchased a box from Steel City Collectibles since they were running a sale at the time.  The box contained two mini-boxes for a total of 20 packs.  Each pack had 5 cards so a box break would give someone 100 cards.  I had hoped that a Jambalaya was inserted into my box but no such luck.  However, this Silver Surfer Precious Metal Gems (PMG) Green was a nice consolation prize!  The PMG Greens are serial numbered from 1 to 10, meaning Upper Deck only made 10 PMG Green for each character in the set.  Due to its rarity and the card's fantastic condition, I sent the card to Beckett Grading Services so it could be graded.  After a few weeks of waiting, it came back with a grade of 9.5 Gem Mint.  According to Beckett's population report as of 12/19/2014, it is the only Silver Surfer PMG Green card graded 9.5 and none higher.  The PMG Greens from the Marvel Fleer Retro set have been extremely desirable for character collectors since the cards had such limited print runs.

Updated 2/10/2015 - This card has been sold and is no longer available.