Quite a bit of confusion exists regarding the Crown Jewels Elite cards produced by Wheels in 1996. I have digested all of the information I could find, weeded out all of the unsubstatiated and conflicting information, and here is all of the information that I have reson to believe is true:
| Card Set | Types of Packs | |
| Ruby Base Set * | Hobby Only | |
| Topaz Base Set * | Retail & Diamond Tribute | |
| Sapphire Parallel Set * | Hobby Only | |
| Emerald Parallel Set * | Hobby Only | |
| Citrine Parallel Set * | Retail & Diamond Tribute | |
| Ruby Treasure Chest Parallel Set # | Treasure Chest Only | |
| Sapphire Treasure Chest Parallel Set # | Treasure Chest Only | |
| Emerald Treasure Chest Parallel Set # | Treasure Chest Only | |
| Diamond Redemption Parallel Set + | Gemstones Redemption Only | |
| Garnet Dual Jewels Insert Set * | Hobby & Diamond Tribute | |
| Amethyst Dual Jewels Insert Set * | Hobby & Diamond Tribute | |
| Sapphire Dual Jewels Insert Set * | Hobby Only | |
| Garnet Dual Jewels Treasure Chest Insert Set # | Treasure Chest Only | |
| Amethyst Dual Jewels Treasure Chest Insert Set # | Treasure Chest Only | |
| Sapphire Dual Jewels Treasure Chest Insert Set # | Treasure Chest Only | |
| Birthstones of the Champions Insert Set * | Hobby & Diamond Tribute | |
| Birthstones of the Champions Treasure Chest Insert Set # | Treasure Chest Only | |
| Earnhardt Seven Gems Insert * | Hobby Only | |
| Earnhardt Seven Gems Treasure Chest Insert * | Treasure Chest Only | |
| Earnhardt Seven Diamonds Insert * | Diamond Tribute Only | |
| Crown Signature Amethyst Insert Set *# | Diamond Tribute Only | |
| Crown Signature Garnet Insert Set *# | Retail Only | |
| Crown Signature Peridot Insert Set *# | Retail Only | |
| Diamonds in the Rough Sapphire Insert Set *# | Diamond Tribute Only | |
| Diamonds in the Rough Ruby Insert Set *# | Retail Only | |
| Diamonds in the Rough Citrine Insert Set *# | Retail Only | |
| Gemstones Interactive Redemption Insert Set * | Hobby, Retail, & Diamond Tribute | |
| 1,125 | Hobby cases |
| 1,125 (est.) | Retail cases |
| 375 | Treasure Chest cases |
| 300 | Diamod Tribute cases |
I have stayed away from calling any of the sets "Diamond Tribute" on purpose, since it is unclear which card set this name would refer to. According to the checklist cards, the Diamond Tribute packs contained the blue "Topaz" set base cards plus the various inserts.
The name of the prize set which was "awarded" to anyone who sent in a complete set of the Gemstones cards was quite enigmatic. The Gemstones cards say that they are redeemable for a "DIAMOND" set. As sent out, these prize sets were labeled as:
| Base Cards with Car Number in the Background |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby (Base Hobby) | Ruby Treasure Chest | Topaz (Base Retail & Diamond Tribute) | |
| Foil Cards with Car Number in the Background |  |  |  |
| Sapphire (#'d of 1099) | Sapphire Treasure Chest (#'d of 1099) | Citrine (#'d of 999) | |
| Foil Cards with Nut in the Background |  |  |  |
| Emerald (#'d of 599) | Emerald Treasure Chest (#'d of 599) | Diamond Redemption |
The Serial Numbers on the Sapphire and Emerald cards are slightly misleading. At first glance, it looks like the Treasure Chest cards were produced in numbers equal to the regular Sapphire and Emerald cards, but that is not the case. I went through the calculator excercise, using the stated insertion ratios, the number of cards per set, and the production figures for the number of cases of each product made, number of boxes per case, and number of packs per box, and found that, in order to make the numbers work, the serial numbers must be a combined total. In other words, the Sapphire and Sapphire Treasure Chest cards combined were serial numbered to 1099. Also, the Emerald and Emerald Treasure Chest cards combined were serial numbered to 599. For anybody who wants to check the math, here are the statistics and formulas:
Number of Hobby cases produced = 1125
Number of Treasure Chest cases = 375
Number of boxes per case = 16
Number of packs per box = 24
Sapphire insertion rate = 1 card in 7 packs
Emerald insertion rate = 1 card in 13 packs
Total number of cases that contain Sapphire and Emerald cards = 1125 Hobby cases + 375 Treasure Chest cases= 1500 total cases.
Total number of boxes that contain Sapphire and Emerald cards = 1500 cases * 16 boxes per case = 24,000 boxes.
Total number of packs in those boxes = 24,000 boxes * 24 packs per box = 576,000 packs.
Total number of Sapphire sets produced = 1099
Total number of Emerald sets produced = 599
Number of cards per set = 78
Total number of individual Sapphire cards produced = 1099 sets * 78 cards per set = 85,722 cards
Total number of individual Emerald cards produced = 599 sets * 78 cards per set = 46,722 cards
So:
There were 85,722 Sapphire cards inserted into 576,000 packs for an insertion rate of 1 Sapphire card in every 6.719... packs.
There were 46,722 Emerald cards inserted into 576,000 packs for an insertion rate of 1 Emerald card in every 12.328... packs.
For the sake of truth in advertizing, since fractions of a pack are not sold, these figures were rounded up to the stated insertion rates shown above.
To take the calculation one step further, the actual population of each card can be calculated using the fraction of cases that were Hobby cases and Treasure Chest cases.
1125 Hobby cases out of 1500 total cases = 3/4 of the cases were Hobby.
375 Treasure Chest cases out of 1500 total cases = 1/4 of the cases were Treasure Chest.
Thus, out of 1099 Sapphire cards, 3/4 of them (approximately 824) were plain and 1/4 (about 275) were Treasure Chest versions.
Likewise, out of 599 Emerald cards, approximately 449 would be plain and 150 would be Treasure Chest versions.