Amazing 1989 Fleer Bill Ripken find

[jp1216]

The first "Mystery" FF card was identified over 20 years ago. It was the only known example for nearly 10 years - and yes - there were a few of us looking. By 2010 one or two would appear on eBay. That continued +/- until this huge discovery.

The "Mystery" FF has many differences compared to the original. Many of those are better on the "Mystery" card. Unlike any fake I've ever seen before. I still feel like these were professionally made and not like 99% of other fakes out there. By who and why? Who knows.....

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by jp1216

The first "Mystery" FF card was identified over 20 years ago. It was the only known example for nearly 10 years - and yes - there were a few of us looking. By 2010 one or two would appear on eBay. That continued +/- until this huge discovery.

The "Mystery" FF has many differences compared to the original. Many of those are better on the "Mystery" card. Unlike any fake I've ever seen before. I still feel like these were professionally made and not like 99% of other fakes out there. By who and why? Who knows.....

I agree that they had to be made in a real print shop. Who, we will likely never know. Why, to make some quick cash. Then after selling some decided it was wrong and the reason we only found a few till this big find.

The big find also makes no sense for many many reasons. Why would an antique shop have them and not have sold them years ago? Seriously at any time in the last 20 years they had at very minimum $30,000 setting there in cards that are as easy to sell as any card in the hobby. Why wouldn't they have sold them before?

It is a "mystery" card for sure in so many ways.

[jp1216]

Also - that antique store find of 1500+ was in eastern PA (near where Fleer was located). Coincidence?

Back in the mid to late 90s - the FF was a $5 card. I really don't think these were made to cash in a profit. Why fake a $5 card?

Flashback link: HERE

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by jp1216

Also - that antique store find of 1500+ was in eastern PA (near where Fleer was located). Coincidence?

Back in the mid to late 90s - the FF was a $5 card. I really don't think these were made to cash in a profit. Why fake a $5 card?

Flashback link: HERE

For me the real question is why would Fleer make a huge stash of low grade copies using different designed stripes, a second generation resized picture, different card stock, cut the wrong size(they are all smaller than a real 89 Fleer), different screening size, and several other differences. Did Fleer really go out of its way to buy and use card stock they never used to make any other card? To me not a single thing about the card makes sense that Fleer printed it.

[jp1216]

Who knows? Why would anyone create a fake/reprint of a $5 card using a non-scanned image with better fonts, images and clarity on the back?

A simple fake would be a scanned, low grade image. The work put in to these is crazy. Not your run-of-the-mill fake.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by jp1216

Who knows? Why would anyone create a fake/reprint of a $5 card using a non-scanned image with better fonts, images and clarity on the back?

A simple fake would be a scanned, low grade image. The work put in to these is crazy. Not your run-of-the-mill fake.

It may have been a $5 card, but it has ALWAYS had a ton of people looking for it. Seemed demand always outpaced supply. So it makes sense to fake a $5 card if you know you can sell 50,000 of them for $5 each.

[steve B]

It's a very strange card. Hopefully now there's 1500 more I'll be able to get one.

I had the chance to examine one from Jon up close a few years ago, and it really is a strange thing.
There are many points as Ben has pointed out that would indicate a fake.
But there are also points that to me point away from a fake.
The vast majority of fakes start with a real card and simply do color separations off that card. That's not horrible, as it keeps the image the same, but it is also at the same time horrible lazy work because they make the solid black an easily spotted halftone.

The mystery card isn't simply cropped smaller as you might think at first, but is slightly enlarged in relation to the borders. The head sitting slightly higher while the other three edges of the image appear "trimmed" is the tip off on that.
To me that looks more like someone had access to the original image and made their own version. It's not a simple "photograph the card through filters as halftones" like most fakes.

There are similar things going on with the reverse, especially with the yellow, where in at least one spot yellow was added in places no other 89 fleer has it.

There are differences in the black layer, and ones that look like a second generation negative except for the MLB logo being too different to be a direct copy from an existing card.
When I went looking to see how consistent some other things were on 89 fleer, I bought a small batch of regular 89 B Ripkens that had the copyright line in slightly different places on a couple cards.

Overall, I'm not positive what it is. It's probably a very ambitious fake, that wasn't necessarily sold in large quantities. (Also a bit odd for fakes)
Maybe an inside job by a Fleer employee?
The possibility I like better is that it was printed specifically for an outfit like shop at home. I have at least one card that came from them, but "wasn't made" It's actually a set that wasn't sold as a set, plus a signed card that wouldn't ordinarily be signed - all sold as a package by one of the TV shopping places.
Plus a couple other items that were not released but ended up in the hobby when the company closed and their stuff was auctioned off.

Either way it's an interesting card.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by jp1216

Who knows? Why would anyone create a fake/reprint of a $5 card using a non-scanned image with better fonts, images and clarity on the back?

A simple fake would be a scanned, low grade image. The work put in to these is crazy. Not your run-of-the-mill fake.

I doubt we will ever know for sure. Is fun to speculate. People fake $1 autographs and many of other items worth less than $5 every day. In the last 20 years if you could get a F Face card for under $10 you got a deal. So why would a antique shop have them to begin with and why wouldn't they have sold them in any of the several times they have sold in the $20 each range?

I agree that they are not your regular cheap counterfeits. These IMO had to be made by someone in a real print shop. So to them this work was really nothing hard or special.

I owned several(around 15 total) back when these were rare. I had one with different card stock, one clearly hand cut, and noticed at least 2 different versions. It would have been cool to be able to check out the big find in person. Maybe with the cards in hand a lot more could be figured out about how they got printed.