1998 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems PMG Shaquille O'Neal /50 #25 PSA 6 EXMT

In 1998, the Metal Universe design took an approach that paid tribute to the set’s roots as Fleer Metal. Utilizing silver foil, the new design was a significant deviation from the Marvel-themed 1997 checklist and the cityscape-based 1997 Championship Edition sets that collectors still love today. In 1998, Fleer/SkyBox gave its Metal Universe cards an actual metal appearance by printing embossed foil nameplates that appear to be forged from steel and riveted into the card. Fleer/SkyBox covered the 123 non-checklist cards with a refractive golden finish and a limited production to only /50 for the PMG parallel, giving Shaquille O'Neal a fourth style of PMG for collectors to chase after the Red and Green versions from the 1997 base set and the holographic scope pattern from 1997 Championship Edition. Collectors widely rank PMGs among the most iconic parallels ever produced. The set was conceived from Fleer/SkyBox’s desire to design cards differently from other manufacturers. “If you could take a design and make it pop by doing physical applications to the cardboard, that’s what really drove a set, from a design quality standpoint,” recalled Jeff Massien, who served as Fleer’s President and COO in the early 1990s and coined the company’s internal “Different by Design” slogan. “You couldn’t overdesign a card, as long as the player remained in the foreground. You can’t overglitz it. So, that’s what we did.” Every year, the Metal Universe checklist was filled with condition-sensitive cards because of the full-bleed designs, so any time collectors find any example of a PMG, especially one featuring a star of Shaq's caliber, there is reason for excitement. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 06/12/2025.