Quick Look: 1990 Upper Deck Checklist #800A Black Box On Back & Mike Witt #702

Since they seldom turn up, I’m sure some collectors have yet to see this card and may still find it interesting. Though now it resides in a great, permanent collection, here are images of the only copy that I have personally held in 30 years of searching.

It is worth noting that unlike the 1990 Upper Deck Mike Witt #702, just a few copies of this card have ever been offered for sale. And while it stands to reason that if an 800 count box full of Witt cards can turn up, there may exist one full of these as well, but, to date, they remain among the most elusive junk wax era variations.

Quick Look: 1991 Stadium Club Jamie Quirk Variations

Here is a glimpse at all three versions of Quirk’s 1991 Stadium Club card. Interestingly, Quirk was featuring on series two packaging and promotional materials, though, I doubt many would argue that Stadium Club could’ve picked a number of better photos that this somewhat dull image.

Quirk was original printed with a 1990 Topps notation for his rookie card on back. This was changed to his correct, 1976 version. However, there exists two variants: one, printed clearly and correctly and another, printed with a 90-degree rotated “ghost” image over his corner of his rookie card image on back. This is not the result of a wet-transfer or errant ink strike, it is beneath the gloss layer and always printed in the exact same way. In fact, this version appears to be slightly more prevalent than his clean, 1976 version.

Quick Look: 1989 Score Paul Gibson #595 – Four Different Variations

For a few years in the early-mid 90s, the 1989 Score Paul Gibson card had P1, P2 and P3 notations in certain catalogs denoting three separate printings and while most are familiar with the ‘obscenity’ in the first printing of the card, few are aware of the 3rd and 4th versions that exist for this card. Similar to the 1989 Fleer Bill Ripken and Randy Johnson, Score made more than one correction attempt to cover the infielder’s arm adjusting his cup.

Here are a few images showing all four types. In the first image, from left to right, you will see the first, uncorrected version followed by the commonly found correction type, then a rarer type of whiteout/correction with a yellow shape where the player’s arm would be and, lastly, the rarest type of correction without the yellow “ghost” of the arm.

Next is an image showing a closer image of the four types:

And last, a close up of just the two rarer correction types, P3 and P4 (or 595c and 595d):

Quick Look: 1991 Topps Desert Storm #186 Variation

Another seemingly rare variation to turn up from the Topps Desert Storm set, this time from the relatively variation-light series three. I reached out to the few remaining DS master set collectors that I know for info such as origin source and potential ownership but all denied knowing anything about it.

Previously sold on COMC, a copy of card #186 King Fahd, showing his named spelled incorrectly on front. Some collector out there is the lucky recipient of a King Faht.

Quick Look: 1990 Donruss Grand Slammers Red Star Error (Todd Benzinger)

The first and only example, until recently, that I had seen of this variation turned up in 2015 on eBay. I can’t recall if I found it completed or was outbid but I have been trying to track down this variation since. Not on any of the dozens of want lists or master set checklists sent to me by E&V collectors, this elusive variation, so far, has only shown up on Todd Benzinger’s card. A few 1990 Donruss experts have claimed that other cards in the Grand Slammers set can be found with the red star on front too, however, I have yet to confirm this.

If you have photos of any other 1990 Grand Slammers with a red star on front, please send to: jacksoncoupage@yahoo.com and I will update this post with a credit.

Quick Look: 1990 Pro Set Paul Gruber #310A Missing Name & Number On Back

Recently unearthed the one and only image I have of this card. Another Pro Set collector told me that there was a recent-ish eBay sale for this extremely scarce printing variation but somehow I didn’t catch it in any of my searches. This is quite possibly the last, super-scarce 1990 Pro Set issue that can be found in packs. At this point, aside from Dexter Manley in the Final Update sets, most of the big ones came directly from the company in promotional or inter-company gift form.

1990 Action Packed All-Madden Team Roger Craig #32 Prototype or Withdrawn Variation?

Here’s a bizarre item I stumbled across a few years back. A set that for the most part I have zero interest in diving into, but like many other new entries into the market at the time, it’s a set prone to mistakes and likely preceded by a number of proof and prototype cards in it’s efforts to secure a license. And as many collectors already know, this often leads to new variations and oddities for the collection.

Card 32 in the base set is reserved for Ronnie Lott but either early on in the run or prior to production, a card of Roger Craig was issued as 32. Take a look at the pics below. Feel free to comment with any info on the source or history of the card.

Quick Look: 1991 Pro Set ‘Special Promotional Sample’ Stamped Promo Cards

My memory may be off but I am fairly certain that I was given one of these stamped 1991 Pro Set cards upon visiting their booth at the 1991 National Collector’s Convention in Anaheim. I want to say it was Randall Cunningham’s base card. Or maybe Jeff George. All I know is that I was disappointed it wasn’t Emmitt or something more “valuable.” In the years since I have only seen a handful of these cards pop up. The image below of Rocket Ismail’s card was one I found in a box of various early 90s “hot” cards in sleeves, picked up at a thrift store in Van Nuys, CA. As of now, it is impossible to say whether Pro Set stamped the entire series one set or just certain players and exactly how many of each were issued. I do not believe that any more than two copies of any player have been confirmed. Because of their non-descript fronts, I turn over every 1991 Pro Set single I find mixed with other promo/oddball/hot cards of the time.

Quick Look: 1991 Topps Desert Storm Norman Schwarzkopf “Smiling” Photo Variation

This card was only recently checked off my list after nearly 15 years of sporadic hunting for it. For an image of it even! For me, this niche corner of the hobby is like fishing: I find out about, learn about, hear whispers of a variation and I chase after it but I have no intention of keeping. This card is a perfect example. Easily in my top-10 most elusive Topps variations, I just don’t feel the need to own it despite the fact that it is an unbelievably scarce junk era item. One reason being is that it is a withdrawn card. Another is that it comes from the second series of a product that was already experiencing a drop in collectors/collecting activity after three (3!!) printings of series one (excluding the deluxe/tiffany factory set issues). And it is a drastic change from 1st to 2nd printing: the image, its tone and size of subject are very different from one another, something not seen very often in post-1960s Topps issues.

There are four other very short printed errors changed early in the second series set and three confirmed in the third series set. I will update with info as it comes in.

Quick Look: 1988 Topps Keith Comstock Yellow Name Variation

It appears that the answer to ‘what would have to happen to get me back to this blog, posting new content?’ is: a global pandemic and an excess of (arguably unwanted) “free time.” Anyway, for those getting alerts, welcome back. Very excited to have exhumed this image from the mass grave that is archived message board posts. Since many have asked and so few have seen one, I present one of the last, truly RARE, junk era Topps cards, the 1988 Topps Keith Comstock #778c “Yellow Name” variation: