Metal Universe is one of the seminal sports card brands of the late 1990s. Flamboyant, eye-catching designs were a hallmark each year, closing out the decade with embossed foil as the defining feature. All 300 cards in the 1999 Metal Universe base set came with two parallels, Precious Metal Gems that are /50 and 1/1 Gem Masters.
At the time, 1/1 cards were still relatively innovative, having debuted just a couple of years earlier. A lot of sets still didn’t include them, which makes any such printing, much less one of one of the most beloved players of not just his generation but all-time.
1999 Metal Universe Gem Masters Cal Ripken Jr. is part of the MLPD subset, which highlights some of the game's biggest stars.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 06/02/2026.
