Another Cavalcade Of Griffey Cards XV

I already had a double printed back error 1989 Upper Deck Griffey #1, I love error cards, but this one adds in the error of a mostly blank front. The front has an impression of a back on it along the left border, but the rest of the card front is blank.

Where It All Started

Yesterday I posted my #200 Griffey card, today I am going to go back to the beginning with my first Griffey card. When I returned to collecting in 1992 I only was collecting basketball cards. It was not until the 1993 MLB season opened when I decided to turn my attention in that direction and my favorite player’s rookie card was my obvious first “Big” purchase. I picked up this card in early 1993 for $40, I know that you can find the same card today for about 10% of that price but I have never regretted paying that price for such an iconic card.

 

When it comes to collecting Griffey the obvious choice for the cornerstone of any collection is the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. #1 rookie card. Upper Deck was unleashing the “premium” card to the market and what better way to celebrate this new era than using an amazing young prospect as your #1 card? An amazing young prospect who went on to play 22 years, knock 630 homeruns and an almost certain Hall of Fame first ballot selection in 2016.

Is An Error Card By Any Other Name Still An Error Card?

I recently picked up this 1989 Upper Deck Griffey double print error card and it got me thinking about other errors. This card is a printing error, the front is the correct Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card but the back is triple printed with the correct Griffey back with Chuck Crim’s (#501) back double printed on top and Thad Bosley’s (#591) front printed on top of both. Due to the multiple printing on the back you can see the printing stress marks along the top left side of the front.

 

Are all errors created equal? Is there one type of error that affects the price more than others?

 

With errors there are design errors like a misspelled name or the wrong birthdate. There are printing errors like a double print, weak ink/discolored or blank back and there are manufacturing errors like the incorrect relic inserted in the card or when a memorabilia or autograph card is missing the relic/autograph.

 

What is your input?

 

Is there a specific type of error that draws your interest?

Poor Griffey, You Look So Folded

 

Every so often you come across a collector who has a sense of humor, I found one yesterday while searching for Ken Griffey Jr. cards.

 

It seems like sellers look for ways to make the “1/1” claim. I think I came across the best 1/1 card, as long as you like to have a laugh. The seller, who is a regular seller, posted a seriously damaged 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. that was graded as a BGS Poor 1. The card is truly one of a kind, the population for a Poor 1 Grade? One card, this card, significantly less than all of the BGS Gm Mt 10 cards that are available.

 

I sent the seller an email and he let me know that he did this for a couple of reasons, one was he is countering the people who use the “eBay 1/1” term loosely, making fun of the claim if you will. Additionally, as a Griffey collector he can truly say he has one of the more rare graded Griffey card. He never intended to sell the card and at an opening bid of $26,000 I think he has definitely drawn the attention to his card that he was looking to gain.

25 Years And Still The Champ

Last week Ken Griffey Jr. did an interview with the Sporting News, during the interview he talked about his first Upper Deck card. Upper Deck was in such a rush to get him in to their premier 1989 Upper Deck baseball release that they selected an image of him in his Single-A San Bernardino Spirit’s uniform and they airbrushed the hat to appear as a Mariners cap.

In honor of the 25^th anniversary of that first release Upper Deck released some of those original images that were taken during the same photo session. It is interesting to see the original image and the final airbrushed image. 

 I don’t know if this was an Upper Deck photo shoot or UD just happened to select these images to work with but I was wondering if it were UD doing the session why wouldn’t they just toss a Mariners cap on Griffey while taking the photos and not worry about airbrushing the photo afterwards.