That is a medium to dark fish with red circle. When the fish with red circle lineage gets towards the middle to darker end of the spectrum they all have that same dot towards the head of the fish. I’ve included the link from post #75 below. The last 13 or so cards in the album all have the same dot and range in the amount of green tint over them. It’s tough to tell exactly but the card you posted appears to be more toward the darkest or most tinted.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjmarl...57675341931257

This is very helpful. I really like the progression/ordering of images in your album. Thank you!

Got another amazing Randy in the mail today. It is another beyond silly rare blue version. I believe this is the 4th one of this version that has been found.

EDIT: To update the information. It is the darker of the 2 blue stencil versions.

That is a beautiful card Ben. Congratulations!

Thank you, I am very happy about finding it. Now if I just had my eyesight from 10 years ago back. I am still not 100% sure if it is the lighter or darker version.

It is nice and sunny today so I should be able to get better pics. Plus sunlight helps me a lot in seeing the sign area.

On a side note finding silly rare cards has always been a huge part of the hobby for me. I am always like a kid in a candy store when I find cards like this.:D

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.:D

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

Attachment 621945

Recent pick up. Most of the racks and cellos I've seen have fully corrected versions on front. Fun addition.

Very nice. One of the few 89 Fleer things I have never collected. I don't have what it takes to not rip it open.:)

With the racks and cellos coming after wax production started the Johnson variations were only in them for a very short amount of time. Nice double error on top of the pack with the Romine error too!

Got this one in the mail yesterday.:)

Hey guys, check out this Johnson I recently acquired. I have never seen one quite like this before. The card has weird dark red obstructions on the ad, as opposed to the dark green obstructions more commonly seen.

The PSA link is the best picture.

https://www.psacard.com/cert/94241755

Thanks!

Here is a closeup pic Kevin!

Thanks Jon, that helps a lot!!!

Nice, always good to get them in Gem Mint 10. It looks like what is called the red stencil version but hard for me to tell from pictures. Am I correct? If not what is it?

Hi Ben, it is similar to a red stencil, but there are gaps in the sign coverage, unlike a red stencil version. The entire sign doesn't have that same type filter applied over the whole ad.

I have never seen one like this before.

Nice, I have also found a few different "stencil" type versions. Never seen any like them and all of a sudden I noticed around 6 total for sale. The new type I noticed has way less red and way more blue but still has the little squiggle by Fleer unlike the pure blue stencil cards.

Bought this one the end of last month. I have bought a few of this version hoping it was something else. Weirdly from the sellers picture it looked like it had a lot of green in the sign area.

Upgraded the slab
 

Christmas present to myself just arrived... I had my clear slab reholdered to the new lighthouse label. You can now see the image when you search the cert number. Steve

Nice card! Ive been obsessed with 1989 Fleer the past few months. Picked up a few different versions of this card. This one is very clear, i dont have one quite like this one yet.

Looks great Steve.:)

It is beautiful in hand and looks much clearer.

Thanks Ben!
Good luck with the hunt Mike. Be careful --- as many here have noted it is an addictive card :)
Steve

Card looks awesome, Steve, congrats on the new label!

Thanks, Kevin!

Just got shipping confirmation the USPS is in possession of this card. I get extremely lucky sometimes and find some silly rare stuff. I am sure I have another dark blue stencil version on the way to my house. From the pics this card looks to be extremely nice. Can't wait to get it in hand and post better pictures.:D

Congratulations Ben! It looks like a beautiful card. Is this from the same seller as the other one you found? Please post another picture when you get the card in hand. I'm curious whether it is the dark blue or light blue stencil. Steve

I can't wait to get it.:) So far all I have been seeing is the in transit arriving on time updates.

The 3 other blue cards all came from different sellers. My memory sucks but i think I might have got the dark blue one Brian got and the weird more of a blue box version I sent you to check out from the same seller.

I believe this one is the dark blue version. I have found a couple things that stick out on that version that doesn't on any of the other versions.

EDIT: 3-6-25 They have updated shipping to In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late. LOL
EDIT: 3-8-25 Finally got an update it is at the sorting facility here in town so I should have it Monday. Seems like every time I find a super rare card shipping seems to get delayed and I get nervous about it getting lost in the mail. Always happy when they show up. :)

After a nervous wait Randy arrived today.:)

It is a very nice dark blue stencil version. It is a silly rare version with maybe 6 total known to Randy Johnson Marlboro collectors. I sadly can't get a good picture of it. When you shine a Black Light on the sign area a very cool blue sign really sticks out as does the word Marlboro on this version.

Congrats Ben. It looks like a beautiful card.

Great!...Now the quest starts all over, thought i had just about most of the variations. Now gotta add the "Blue tint" to my list. :)

Thanks, It is the nicest one I have owned.

There is a light and dark blue tint. Here is a picture under a black light of them. They look better in hand under a black light than the pictures. The dark blue one is a solid blue with the word Marlboro being super clear. It is a very cool looking version when looking at it under a black light. This one is for sale/trade.

EDIT:to add better pics. I also went back and looked at some earlier posts and this is the same exact version as the one I posted in post #465 only in a little nicer condition/centering.

Just picked up this one off COMC. It was cheap and my wishful thinking kinda sees a black box on what should be a fully corrected version. Probably just a bunch of well placed print spots but for the price I couldn't pass it up.

EDIT for update. Got it in the mail today and sadly just wishful thinking and a normal corrected version. :(

Got 2 Randy Packages in the mail today. Sadly the card from COMC was just a normal corrected version. On a good note I got offered these 2 cards as Black Box versions recently. The one is clearly a red tint Marlboro version and the other is a Blue Box with Bubble version. Yes I still suck at taking good pics of these cards but the box/sign area is blue in hand when looking at it in good light. It is easiest to see in my crap pics in the bubble area and the 4 dots along the bottom of the box/sign area. In good light with some magnification you can kinda make out the word MARLBORO. Unlike the Blue Stencil versions the blue on this one does not stick out when put under a black light.

Has anyone else seen or have a similar blue version?

That blue background with bubble box is very cool Ben. I've haven't seen one like this before. Is the box blue or just the background? Great find. Thanks for sharing.
Steve

This is the best way I can describe it. The chart(post 143) you made a while back has a card you called "g1". You know how many of the box cards are just that card with way darker tint. This would be the same except blue instead of green as you can see the word MARLBORO when outside in good light. If you want to check it out let me know.:)