Upside-down airplanes, double dies, ghost images, spelling errors, small dates, etc.

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Posted By: warshawlaw

I find that as I develop a greater appreciation and understanding of the cards I collect, I am interested in the manner in which they were produced. Printing freaks tell you a great deal about how the cards were made.

I think ghosts are eminently collectable because of their uniqueness. Most ghosts are wet sheet transfers. They are very rare results of random occurrences in the factory and offer a collector something very different from a run of the mill card that nicely complements a regular set. It also allows you to continue to pursue a favorite set even if you complete the base set. For example, I readily completed my 1948 Leaf boxing set but can still collect it by going after blank backs, ghosts, wrong backs, missing ink cards, etc.

Ditto for back variations, esp. T cards. Collecting a master set or a back variations set is a whole new level of complexity and challenge. I am master-setting some of the T boxing sets and having a great time doing it. Plus, there is the treasure-trove aspect to it, as anyone who's located a T206 Piedmont 460 factory 42 in a commons bin knows.