Gregg Olson, 1990 Topps Coins #3

When is a baseball card not a baseball card? When it's a small metallic coin, of course. That also explains why the scan is so crummy. As you can see, the scanner focused on the outer edge, which was pressed directly against the surface. But chances are that you know what Gregg Olson looks like anyhow. This coin is from a 60-coin set that Topps released in 1990; the other two Orioles on the checklist are Cal Ripken, Jr. and Mickey Tettleton. This is the first coin in my baseball card collection, received last year in a blind trade. (I have since picked up a 1964 Brooks Robinson Topps Coin in another trade, incidentally.) I can see why these didn't catch on. They're an interesting novelty, but they're no match for the tactile experience of flipping through a stack or pack of cardboard. Besides, there's always the danger of rust, though this one has held up well over the strain of the last two decades.

These coins remind me of Pogs, which were an absolute mania for myself and most other kids in the mid-1990s. I still have a binder packed with those goofy cardboard milkcaps, including a full set of 50 Simpsons characters. Considering that I could count the number of times that I actually attempted to "play" with the Pogs on one hand, it seems likely that I wouldn't have been the type to flip or pitch cards in the 1950s and 1960s. My personality is more of the buy and trade and organize and gawk variety.

By the way...pink?