1989 Fleer Randy Johnson #381 Marlboro Errors - 30 Years Later

[Hatorade]

That’s unreal Ben! How do you keep coming up with these? That’s 2 in the last couple months and finding any of the blues is like finding a needle in a haystack!

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Hatorade

That’s unreal Ben! How do you keep coming up with these? That’s 2 in the last couple months and finding any of the blues is like finding a needle in a haystack!

There are very few people that look at more cards per day than I do. Before these 2 blues it had been close to a year since my last find of a silly rare card. Amazingly I think I might have found another blue and can't wait for it to arrive.

[philliesfan]

I never pulled any Johnson variation but always wanted to.
I still buy packs here and there for the fun of it but no luck.

[bnorth]

WOW has mail been slow for me lately. Well except one that arrived in 2 days but the small flat rate box was seriously beat to heck.

Anyway my new Randy Johnson card(on left side) arrived today. Of course it is cloudy/rainy out so I can't see it well or get a decent picture.

I have to get with a couple other collectors and see if any have seen this version before. It looks exactly like the more common red stencil version just without the red. There is some red on the new card but just on the extreme edge of the sign with none in the middle. In hand and under magnification I can see the blue appears to be exactly the same as the very small amount of blue on the way more common red stencil cards. This card also has the little red squiggle thing by FLEER.

[bnorth]

I took my red phone case off and got a little better pictures of my new card compared to the regular red stencil version.

[jacksoncoupage]

I believe its safe to say that these cards have officially reached a broad, widely-known level of popularity and pricing closer to their values.

Sales for obscured but visible "Marlboro" versions are hitting new highs consistently. Some a bit shocking. Other further obscured (green tints, black scribble, etc) are as well. Even occasional "box" version sales have been higher than usual.

It seems like the only deals to be found over the last few months are the product of being the first to hit a BIN before anyone else sees it. Also worth noting is how, as far as ebay listings go, we've entered an era of incorrect descriptors are leading to higher sales. Lots of listings with titles like "very clear" "clearly visible sign" etc.

I feel bad (just slightly) for selling my big collection of them last year when there were so many fantastic examples of "early tint" variations in the lot and while I have been casually rebuilding another collection since selling, this new market has slowed that down dramatically.

[jacksoncoupage]

I should also add how fun it is to constantly have my bids cancelled on 1989 Fleer Randy Johnson cards. Such fun hunting this stuff down!