1980-present variations

[Cliff Bowman]

This is one of my favorite types of print flaw error cards, and what is cool about this one is the final black ink run wasn't affected by whatever blocked the rest of the printing process, it adhered with no problem.

[ALR-bishop]

Neat one Cliff. Spilled milk

[Deadman31]

I’ve had this silver variation for almost 30 years. I’ve never found an explanation and only other one I ever saw was just a common.

[Tripredacus]

It would be the same for any foil stamping that is the wrong color. The prevalent theory is that the foil was put on backwards, that it is only gold on one side of the foil and is silver on the other.

Similar situation in 1993 Topps Gold but in addition to gold and silver (silver seems quite rare) there are bronze or dark gold foil stampings on those.

Ken Griffey Jr blood stain? about the side of the shin My card is the only one so far with a spot that I have seen

[jacksoncoupage]

Originally Posted by rgpete

Ken Griffey Jr blood stain? about the side of the shin My card is the only one so far with a spot that I have seen

Looks like a stray print blemish. Doubt it was on the plate and fixed.

Here is a close up without the spot sorry for the bad scan

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Tripredacus

It would be the same for any foil stamping that is the wrong color. The prevalent theory is that the foil was put on backwards, that it is only gold on one side of the foil and is silver on the other.

Similar situation in 1993 Topps Gold but in addition to gold and silver (silver seems quite rare) there are bronze or dark gold foil stampings on those.

The raw foil has a backing to make it more durable, and to pull away the center areas. So running it upside down isn't a thing.

It's most likely that the color of the foil wasn't consistent.

[Deadman31]

So would this variation I have been considered rare or more of just a mistake?

[ALR-bishop]

Since there is no official hobby definition of what constitutes a "true" variation, I think you might get differing views. I would tend to view it as a print defect. But many people collect them , me included, if they are recurring. Some would say a true variation must involve an intentional change in the card by the manufacturer. But many long recognized hobby variations are clearly unintended recurring print defects. And in many cases I think it is virtually impossible to know for sure if a defect found on a card was "discovered" and corrected or just popped up accidentally on some sheets

But even a recurring print defect on a super star's card might be of interest to people who collect that player

[saucywombat]

I have discovered a "gold" streak variation for 4 different gold refractors from Series 2 of 1996 Finest.

Gold bar goes top to bottom in the same spot and with same width on all 4 cards.

[Bigdaddy]

You guys are nuts. I'm serious.

Do your wife/girlfriends know about this sickness?

[wpeters]

I have had these since 1986 when I was opening packs. Two of them a=have a very noticeable gray cast to them. The backs are the same as regular 1986s. Has anyone ever seen this before?

[mrmopar]

Pretty sure I have seen that in the past as well. I thought the cards looked like they has oil spilled on them, if I recall my thoughts at the time.

Originally Posted by wpeters

I have had these since 1986 when I was opening packs. Two of them a=have a very noticeable gray cast to them. The backs are the same as regular 1986s. Has anyone ever seen this before?

[ALR-bishop]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

You guys are nuts. I'm serious.

Do your wife/girlfriends know about this sickness?

Tom— fortunately it has not gone airborne and so far seems not to be transferred by contact

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

You guys are nuts. I'm serious.

Do your wife/girlfriends know about this sickness?

Variation hunting is a don’t ask, don’t tell thing. Girlfriends know I’m a dork but I don’t tell them about it. If I did tell them, I probably wouldn’t ever have a girlfriend

[saucywombat]

Originally Posted by saucywombat

I have discovered a "gold" streak variation for 4 different gold refractors from Series 2 of 1996 Finest.

Gold bar goes top to bottom in the same spot and with same width on all 4 cards.

And now also Tim Salmon...

[wpeters]

I noticed this one today. There is a patch of white in the pink area of the small photo. There is also a white splotch on his arm above the elbow. The blue dot above the elbow is on all the cards I have, but the white splotch is only on the cards with the white in the pink area. There is also a small discoloration between the Y and A in Royals. The two print defect cards are on the right. None of the defects are on the cards on the left, which seem more plentiful.

[Republicaninmass]

Lobster bib!

[strike-in]

1986 Topps Cal Ripken Blank back and Tom Foley Finger Print.
Thought they were cool.
Both came from rack packs.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by strike-in

1986 Topps Cal Ripken Blank back and Tom Foley Finger Print.
Thought they were cool.
Both came from rack packs.

That Foley is awesome. I have a few fingerprint cards.

[strike-in]

ya i think it's kinda neat.
now that i'm getting into cards again,
i kinda like the weird misprint cards more than the non.
i can see how you could get whole sections of finger print, double print, less ink etc. in a collection.

[strike-in]

I do think that Cal Ripken is pretty unique. Too bad no back, it is pretty well centered.

[ALR-bishop]

There are some Cardinals players with clear finger prints on the front posted in the long post war pre 1980s variations thread. But no doubt Shane has all of those

[strike-in]

Here are a few 1990's I got a mess of theses I'll post a few more wally joyner randy johnson etc later.
I like the blue splotch ones.
Not sure if they are double print or what but they are interesting.
Thanks

[cardcop]

Sorry about caps, both keyboard shift keys broken. These are my favorite errors picked up from 1989-2008; most on ebay for under $3.00 each!

This 1989 Topps bob welch error missing the stat line is a blank front!
WelchERR.jpg

I don't own this razor blade one, but it created quite a stir when it wound up on eBay.
99UDFBDarnayScottCRAZYError.jpg

i pulled this myself from a pack; 04 fleer multi-signed insert (of ROY) to put into full cards- wrong player signed???
04FleerABerroaAUTOErrors.jpg

1992 Bowman Palmeiro w/upside down base Topps QB player on back (one of my favs)
92BowmanPalmeiroERR Front Back.jpg

Base Topps baseball player w/Mike Alstott gold foil name on front (love this being an a-train fan)
AlstottERR.jpg

1991 UD fielder A.S. W/Cyan only 91-92 hockey player on back
cecilUDerror.jpg

Thought you'd get a kick out of these...:d

James

[butchie_t]

I'm still looking for the Welch 89T partial black stat line. Something tells me I will never find that one.

Nice cards!

Butch

[Cliff Bowman]

I've known about this one for a year or two but I finally got around to finding a couple on eBay after searching through hundreds of 1983 Topps Dave Winfield cards. The ink blob perfectly obliterates his home run totals for three consecutive years. Not exceedingly rare but certainly not common either.

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

I've spent an embarrassingly large amount of time and money studying the 1990 Donruss set. I'm up to about ten 20-box cases, six 10-box cases, and countless rack cases. I've sorted each by case code in a spreadsheet so I could see the chronology of the E&Vs.

I started with the known list of E&Vs, which was pretty cut and dry. Then I began ripping packs and examining every card. If a card had "error or variation" material to it, it got put to the side. If another example was found in a different case from a different seller, it got added to the list. Once it got added to the list, I began accruing them.

The most interesting thing about this set is that it didn't follow the conventional "rare errors are in the earliest boxes" standard. As Donruss went in to correct one EorV, they inadvertently created two more. This process repeated itself over and over.

It's important to recognize just how nonexistent their QC was. It's as if someone called a week before product was due and said "Oh yeah, by the way, we've got to produce a baseball card set for distribution in a week." That, plus the smallest puzzle piece of the era and one of the tightest wraps just laid waste to those bright red borders. A significant portion of the earliest printing got multiple coats of red and are now known as the Magenta Run.

People always ask me "So which ones are the rarest?" Honestly, I don't feel comfortable making that kind of statement yet. What I can tell you is, the Harold Baines Line in Front of Star was in distribution for one day, and it just so happened to be the same day Donruss corrected the "AS Experience" / "Recent ML Experience" errors on the back of the All-Star cards. Theorize with that all you'd like.

I've accrued five more cases that I need to rip and will hopefully get to soon. I know these will never be worth anything but this set captivated me as a kid and was my introduction to "error boxes." I mean, this set had it all: reverse negatives, missing black lines on the back, wrong wording on every All-Star card, Nolan Ryan's switched backs, a line through the front of an All Star, wrong photos, cropping differences, and checklists variations.

Sitting in the LCS watching he grown ups rip the expensive packs and seeing each one of them gush over each error they pulled was fascinating to me. Not to mention those bright red colors and the chase to pull a Ben McDonald Rated Rookie. Every penny I spend on this endeavor is like flushing it down the drain but it's so much fun I simply don't care.

When it's all said and done, '90 Donruss will probably be the most fertile E&V set of the era (and that's not counting splatter patterns or "INC" [no period]).

And please, be a responsible collector. If you see someone advertising a Donruss card as an error because it doesn't have a period after "INC" do the right thing, kick them in the jublees.

Arthur

[ALR-bishop]

How many cards do I need for a master 90 Donruss set Arthur ?

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by HasselhoffsCheeseburger

And please, be a responsible collector. If you see someone advertising a Donruss card as an error because it doesn't have a period after "INC" do the right thing, kick them in the jublees.

Arthur

If I could somehow remove these nonsense cards from ever popping into a search or my entire life until death, it would be a godsend.

This is sage advice that would make Gandhi jealous.

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by Cliff Bowman

This is one of my favorite types of print flaw error cards, and what is cool about this one is the final black ink run wasn't affected by whatever blocked the rest of the printing process, it adhered with no problem.

Lobster bib variation