Ever seen the 1989 Ripken FF Mystery card?

[JoeDfan]

Here is one, fresh from the mailbox after a trip to PSA.

Real? Fake? Who knows?!?!?!?
Either way, all around a fun card to own.

[bnorth]

Nice card Sean! Our friend Jerry just bought a raw one a few days ago.

[CW]

Cool card. What's the distinguishing feature of the error card?

[ALR-bishop]

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=181041&highlight=fleer+1989+rypken

[JoeDfan]

Other than the bad word on the knob of Billy's bat; the "Mystery Card" has a different photo crop, plus a few other key details.
Rather than have me explain it, check out:
http://www.billripken.com/
Jon has a cool site that explains all the variations.

The reason I love this card is because I was in grammar school when this set came out. All of my friends were selling their souls to find this card (including me). I still remember vividly when our buddy Doug showed up one day with the real deal original FF in his hand. We all drooled over it for the whole day. He wouldn't sell to any of us, or even say where he got it. He was the king of cards for probably the entire season.

Now, years later, I have put together almost all of the known variations. How do you like them apples, Doug? I betcha don't have one of these! Heehee. :)

[jp1216]

Great pickup Sean! These 'Mystery' cards pop up about once a year. I look for the upper right Orioles logo and the trademark symbol (R) next to it. The bigger (R) catches the eye.

LINK (http://www.billripken.com/mystery/mystery.html)

Thanks to Ben N. for trading me another PSA graded example last year.

[bnorth]

Great pickup Sean! These 'Mystery' cards pop up about once a year. I look for the upper right Orioles logo and the trademark symbol (R) next to it. The bigger (R) catches the eye.

LINK (http://www.billripken.com/mystery/mystery.html)

Thanks to Ben N. for trading me another PSA graded example last year.

You are welcome Jon.

I have spent a lot of time researching this card. There are approximately 14 know copies of this variation. There are 5 graded by PSA with two 9's, two 8's and this latest 7. There is also one in a GEM Elite slab.

[JustinD]

I have always been in the party of those that think they are fakes printed at the height of the craze. However, PSA grading them makes it a interesting piece of collecting history, I like it!

[JoeDfan]

The first one I ever sent to PSA, I specifically made a point to make sure they understood that this was the "Mystery Card."
They still liked it!

[bnorth]

I have always been in the party of those that think they are fakes printed at the height of the craze. However, PSA grading them makes it a interesting piece of collecting history, I like it!

Have you ever owned one or seen one in hand?

[JustinD]

I will certainly admit to not holding one.

This is a card I would like to have at one point as I do enjoy errors, oddballs and test issues. This definitely falls under that category to me.

The cropping with the photo and the MLB logo on the back cause me concern. Mind you, I have gained my knowledge only from scans and net research. So not holding in hand I can say nothing of paper stock or the cut.

[ALR-bishop]

I have not studied all the variants of this card in depth, but have gathered a few of them for my set. Given the notoriety the card received and the fierce competition for sales in those days I agree with Justin we will likely never know how many of the different cards that have surfaced over time were after the fact creations by Fleer or even others . To me they are all still fascinating and collectible as a hobby phenomena, no matter what their origin. Thanks to OP for pointing this one out

[bnorth]

I will certainly admit to not holding one.

This is a card I would like to have at one point as I do enjoy errors, oddballs and test issues. This definitely falls under that category to me.

The cropping with the photo and the MLB logo on the back cause me concern. Mind you, I have gained my knowledge only from scans and net research. So not holding in hand I can say nothing of paper stock or the cut.

I was not questioning your opinion. I have expressed mine on here several times and also on Jons awesome web site.

I still look for rare Bill Ripken cards but not as much as before. I made a list of all known copies of this version. It shows who owns them, how many, and where they bought them. Wanted to keep my list updated if you owned one.

Without digging through folders I believe there are 14-15 known copies. I know of 5 Net54 members that account for 7 of the known copies. They have all originated within about a 200 mile area of the north eastern US and I have never seen 2 from the same seller.

This is a very rare and cool card and if anybody has any info they would like to share please do. If anybody has any questions I would do my best to help.