800 copies of 1990 Upper Deck Mike Witt #702 Discovered!

A card previously believed to be quite rare, with under 50 copies estimated in circulation has now jumped to closer to 1000 known copies with the recent discovery of an 800 count box filled with 1990 Upper Deck card 702, featuring Mike Witt. The cards were believed to have been pulled from production and destroyed, however, it appears that at least one box made their way out of the factory.

A collector named Gilbert claims to have found the box at a flea market in California. After corresponding privately with collectors he found via commenting on this blog, he took to posting at FreedomCardboard.com for more information on the Witt card. Here is a link to that discussion, which provides so very interesting information: Mike Witt 800ct Discovery Freedom Cardboard Forums Discussion

Below is the initial emails I received upon their discovery:

Hey guys,

I have a guy looking for my help. I have been assisting him. He opened a factory set and instead of the high numbered set being included there were 100 Mike Witt Black Box’s inside.

He found in California, and my thought is that it is a employee box that was filled with them.

Have either of you guys found any counterfiets of these ?

More importantly, how can you tell counterfiet UD like the griffey to help him out…..

Olbermann told me he had 12 and would buy any more from me…….

and I knew of another 15 out there…..so I know there were appx 30 out there I know of…..

What do you think this will do to the price….I told him the first one will sell for 400 and each one after less and less

 And a follow up.

May 31 at 8:28 AM

scratch that….the Whole 800 were all mike witt black box!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A very interesting situation which is certain to bring down the value of the Witt tremendously. While the card is still a great oddball piece of collecting history, the value on them has steadily decreased over the years with the last 10-20 copies discovered being offered for sale. 800 new copies entering the market will certainly see a major drop off after 50 or so have sold. Another question that comes of this is: how many of these boxes of Witts are out there? With UD’s reputation for manufactured errors, extra “executive” print runs of hot cards and back door removal of hot cards in their early years, I would guess that this will not be the only find.

UPDATE: July 12, 2016 post on FCB from the owner of nearly 800 Mike Witt errors:

Gilbert writes:

“Hey Guys,just wanted to update everyone on these cards,ive sold a total of 10 cards so far,some less then $100,my intentions was and will try to get them out to all collectors who would want one for their collection,I’ve made a lot more money from these then I can imagine for something I spend $10 on,talked to a lot of cool people from all over the U.S…made some friends and had a few who tried to take advantage,lol..but it has been an experience,its gotten me into the collection world,the guy I got them from continues to have a huge collection and I’m there every Saturday and Sunday looking thru them,And my “Gem Mint 10″ is now on eBay,so I’m excited about that,i just want that card to be sold for a little higher then the most expensive one sold for(1300)…only time will tell,after that,i might sell a total of maybe 10 after that,but I won’t give them away,lol…so after that,the will be put away…there might be over 800 cards,but not a lot out in the market,what hopefully they keep some value…I admire all you guys,maybe some day I can be a master collector like you all…have a great day people!��”

1990 Upper Deck Baseball Errors & Variations: Ongoing Checklist

54a Ben McDonald Orioles logo on front

54b Ben McDonald Star Rookie logo on front

54c Ben McDonald Blank circle on front *UNCONFIRMED*

60a Orioles TC Jamie Weston

60b Orioles TC Mickey Weston

79a White Sox TC clipped 7 in 79 on back

79b White Sox TC fully-printed 79 on back

Confirm or Debunk: 1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald #54C with White Circle on Front

Another long-running mystery variation, first cataloged by Dick Gilkeson in his 1990 Error & Variation guide, the possible third variety of one of the most iconic error cards from the error craze days: 1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald #54 with “White Circle” on front.

I say ‘possible’ because not only have so few examples shown up in the last 5-10 years, it’s a very likely candidate for counterfeiting due to the astronomical sales that the Orioles variation saw upon it’s release ($50-100). Add to that, the 1989-1991 Upper Deck cards were often erased by unethical dealers looking to cash in the error craze. I can personally recall being warned specifically about the erased McDonald card back in 1990-91. With little effort, these cards can be erased to show a blank white area on just about any section of the cards, this makes it extremely important to be able to hold a copy and tilt it under a good light source to see if the gloss has been dulled, before purchasing.

(copy owned by e.v. of the freedomcardboard.com forums)

The above copy is just the third I have seen. The previous two were found on ebay with $100 buy-it-now’s during 2007-2008.

Some things worth noting:

Quick Look: 1990 Upper Deck #101-199 Copyright Variations

Although they are not listed individually in any major catalog, all cards in the #101 through #199 sequence found in Upper Deck’s sophomore issue can be found with or without the copyright line under the MLB logos on back.

Several key players and HOFers can be found in both varieties: