1987 Fleer Glossy Brown backs

[Exhibitman]

Yeah, Patrick, but that's not it; the cards I used to illustrate are regular and gold trimmed. The latter is on the same stock as the regular issue but has a gold Topps water mark. Every regular I went through was standard white stock except the Elway.

[Exhibitman]

Arthur: Another hypothesis is that the cards just got roached somehow.

[Gary Dunaier]

Is it possible that the brown backs are a result of a different quality cardstock, or some impurity in the cardstock, that wasn't noticed at the time? And that the brown backs weren't brown backs at the time, but have become so over time due to any such impurities?

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

Adam & Gary, that's definitely in play and makes sense. My only thought would be that we would see varying degrees of brown, no? The backs are just about identical to each other and yet they have been stored in different conditions for the past 40 years -- Al's in a cardboard box and mine in a metal box that was wrapped in cellophane.

That may not have anything to do it with though. It may just be a matter of time, no matter what the conditions are. It's probably the most logical theory so far though, considering no one has noticed them until now. I think it has to be that the cards were printed on a stock that wasn't treated or had a different trait that would allow them to brown over time, not that the cards were from a smoker's home. If it were an outside agent then more than one card would have been affected.

Arthur

[Exhibitman]

I agree. Good thing we resolved that!

[ALR-bishop]

Very proud to have been a minor participate in this endeavor. I now have a better appreciation how archeologists in Egypt feel when they have solved the riddle of some tomb.

Hard to believe this set is now over 30 years old. This is likely to most attention it has gotten since the turn of the century. And I now have gone back through my set, front and back

Good work Arthur. Look forward to seeing you in March

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

What did I say? 40 years? Ugh. Me math good no.

I have a more glossy sets that I opened around here somewhere but like a horse's arse I put them in my monster boxes instead of leaving them in the tins. I probably should have labeled the boxes, too.

Arthur