The 1996 Finish Line set basically just an average set. The Silver parallel is better looking then the base and fairly easy to complete.The Printers Proof offer the collector a bit of a challenge.with a limited print run of 500 per card.
Inserts run from mediocre (Man and Machine) to fairly nice (Gold Signatures). The presence of a slew of phone cards (Finish Line LOVED phone cards) presents almost another full set to collect if you wish. I personally passed on virtually all phone card sets
It is too bad Finish line could not put the same effort into their base set as they did with the high end Black Gold. This was also the last year Finish line produced a card set. In 1997 all cards produced were of the phone card type.

The 1996 Black Gold set was the Finish Line companies one true high end product. And for the time it was one of the most expensive packs on the market with a SRP of $6.00 per pack and each pack contained only 1 card. Took a lot of trading to make a set.
And what I set it is! One of the most beautiful sets ever produced.The cards consisted of a 20 point paper stock back and a micro etched metal front. After 22 years in plastic the cards are still pristine. Surprising since one would think the metal would dull with time.
The 30 card set consisted of 16 drivers and 14 cars (the Musgrave car was pulled in favor of a send away game card). In addition there were 2 "Gold" cards, Gordon and Elliott. The other insert set was 4 Mega sized phone cards gotten as box toppers. Both insert sets were first rate.
Because off the limited production run this set has increased in value over the years. Expect to pay book or overbook for the Gold Gordon and Elliott cards.