'89 Fleer Parody cards

I've been noticing several 'Parody' cards online lately.  They are fun to see.  Long live the FF!

30th Anniversary of the FF

The 30th Anniversary of the FF is here.  Celebrating it today with a nice "Quad-FF".  Red, Blue, Yellow and Black offsets. 

Beckett January 2019 - Special 1980s issue

Beckett January 2019 - Special 1980s issue

Just got my copy of the new Beckett Baseball magazine.  I helped with the F-Face article.  It turned out great!  I'll post larger pictures later on in 2019. 
*Note - the picture of the white proof card graded by SGC on page 44 was mislabeled as a Circle Scribble.  I included a CS1 picture at the bottom.

Nov. '18 Card of the Month - Whiteout

This version is controversial to say the least.  Even now, I don't know for sure if this is a real version or not.  I've seen hundreds of examples of 'whiteouts' and would like to believe that some are 'real'.  Fuzzy ovals covering the bat knob, white circles or box patterns, white stripes, whiteout correction fluid - you name it.  Here are 4 examples that were authenticated by 3rd party grading companies:

Some of these clearly have the Black Box underneath.  Why is that?  Has anyone seen one on top of a rack pack?  I've heard stories of people pulling these from wax packs - but nothing has been confirmed.  Some people have told stories of employees smuggling out weird or different versions from the factory.  Who made them?  How were they made?  We may never know.  Buyer beware on these.  
 

A Podcast about the FF??

Thanks to David Peterkofsky for producing a Podcast about the FF card!  David even tracked down photographer Steve Babineau to get his story.  Great work David!

FORKEEPSPODCAST - FF CARD (LINK)

Oct. '18 Card of the Month - F-Face

OCT. '18 Card of the Month - F-Face Original

Back to basics for the October card of the month.  Time for the Original.  The F*** Face.  This is the one that started it all.  Hundreds of thousands probably exist.  Rare?  No.  Collectible?  YES!  

 LINK 

 

BEWARE - Fakes are out there!

BUYER BEWARE - FAKES ARE EVERYWHERE!

I've been seeing these 'Reprints' on eBay for the past year or more.  I can usually spot them a mile away but recently I've been receiving emails from confused and concerned collectors.  I decided to pick one up for $5 and see for myself.  I don't want to get into how to tell etc - but when compared to a normal 1989 Fleer, it's obvious.

What I've been seeing lately are 2 versions - F-Face and White Scribble - that have been faked.  These are unauthorized and shouldn't be called 'Reprints' or 'RP' etc.  They are FAKE.  Good fakes?  Yes.  With technology, card collectors will (unfortunately) see more of these deceptive tactics in the future.  For years, you always had to be alert for a fake Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky.  Now I'm seeing $5 cards being copied/faked.  Kind of like making counterfeit $5 bills.....

Buyer beware.  I'm seeing too many people buying $50 White Scribble cards on eBay lately.  These appear to be fake.  Do your homework and be careful.  Currently, there are dozens on eBay for sale.

Sellers that make and sell these are terrible for the hobby.  They may justify it by saying that they put 'REPRINT' or 'RP' in the title.  They know that people are buying these for $ and selling them as 'originals' for $$$$.  My opinion is that all 'REPRINT' cards need it clearly stated somewhere on the card.  Sure, it's nice to have a copy of a T206 Honus Wagner, but it needs to be clearly marked or clearly different than the original.

Happy Hunting.

New Pickup - FF w/ Yellow & red offset

Thanks to Joey for trading me this nice new addition.  FF version with a really good yellow & red offset.  PSA 9 is a plus.

Sep. '18 Card of the Month - Circle Scribble (Semi-Airbrushed)

Sep. '18 Card of the Month - Circle Scribble (Semi-Airbrushed)

Time for some rare versions!  This is the card I've referred to as the 'Circle Scribble'.  I've also seen it referred to as the 'Semi-Airbrushed' scribble.  It appears to be a black circular airbrush pattern over the FF.  There appear to be 4 distinct variations of this card as well - all with varying levels of coverage and color.  All 4 of these have been found with and without factory saw-cuts. 
These versions are needles in the haystack.  Tough to find!

Hagerstown Suns Bobblehead

Nice to see the Hagerstown Suns (Class A affiliate of the Nationals) gave away these bobbleheads on August 17th.  The smiley face is a nice touch.

Beckett Link

Pickup - FF tri-color Double Die w/ Dots

Picked up this beauty a few weeks ago.  FF card with a nice 'tri-color' double die and a unique pattern of print dots on the back.  Cheap fun!

Recent Pickups

Found a couple nice FF sawcut cards with similar 'slanted' cuts.  I've seen a few of these - all with the same length.  Unfortunately, I traded away a matching cut that went through the bat knob many years ago.  Exactly in between these 2 cuts - RATS.

Aug. '18 Card of the Month - Black Box (rounded left side w/ Straight white line)

August '18 Card of the Month - Black Box (rounded left side w/ Straight white line)

Similar to May's card of the month - this Black Box version features the Rounded upper left corner of the box.  What makes it different is the straight (not jagged) upper left vertical white line.  These Black Box cards were produced in bulk as a way to catch up and replace the FF cards that were removed earlier.  In fact, they had their own dedicated 132 card sheets at the factory.

July '18 Card of the Month - Scribble w/ Loop

July 2018 Card of the Month - Black Scribble with 'Loop' or Partial F.

Of the 3 basic black scribble variations - I'd consider this the #2 on the list.  A mild correction to the first basic black scribble that included the first large letter F.  It appears to be an attempt to somewhat hide the F.  What is left is a partial F or a 'Loop' pattern.  I've attached a combined GIF file (3.5 MB) showing the transformation of a 3 of these 'basic' black scribble versions.

Recent FF sighting on eBay

Saw this on eBay this week.  😁

June '18 Card of the Month - White Scribble

June 2018 Card of the Month - The White Scribble (aka white airbrushed).

Beckett lists it as the #616C.  This was an early correction to the FF error.  Fleer used a light color to hide the original FF.  Not a very good job.  Many people consider this card the real 'Whiteout' version.  PSA once listed these in the same group as other 'Whiteout' cards - "Whited out Vulgarity".  A few years ago, they added the label 'Scribbled out in White' to this version. 

May '18 Card of the Month - Black Box (rounded left side w/ Jagged white line)

This version was part of the regular 132 card sheets - not the complete Black Box sheets.  What's unique about this card is the Jagged White Line in the upper left corner.  This is the only version (besides the blue back glossy version) that has this.  So any card with this Jagged White Line was originally a Rounded Black Box.  Many 'authenticated' white out cards have this JWL.  Hmmm.

Peanuts - FF edit

Nice little FF edit to a classic Peanuts comic.

April '18 Card of the Month - Scribble w/ No F

April 2018 card of the month - Black Scribble w/ No F
I've seen it also referred to as the 'Lite Loop' or 'Airbrushed F' version.  Of the 3 most common black scribble versions - this is likely the less common of them.  Probably one final attempt at obscuring the FF with a scribble before the Black Boxes arrived.  I've seen a few saw-cut versions as well.

Puck Face Beer?

Stumbled upon this today.  Can't believe I didn't see it sooner.

PUCK FACE BEER LINK

Beckett ran the article in 2016.  RaR Brewing in Maryland is selling 'sour' PUCK FACE beer!  Haven't tried one yet - but will someday.

Mar. '18 Card of the Month - Glossy Black Box

March 2018 Card of the Month - The Glossy/Tin set #616.  Only the rounded Black Box w/ Jagged white line can be found.  Glossy front and Blue 'Collector's Edition' back.  Relatively difficult to find well centered.  Cards only came in factory sealed metal tins - complete sets in a metal case.  I've read online that about 30,000 may have been produced.

Recent odd ball pickups

Picked up these 2 recently.  Nothing too special but different.
1)  F-Scribble card with a odd red ink mark on the hat
2) Black Box with a red/yellow 'bullseye' mark on the Orioles logo.

Feb. '18 Card of the Month - Black Scribble w/ F

Card of the month for February 2018.  The Black Scribble w/ F.
Likely the most common of the scribbled out varieties.  I've seen this card listed as 'scratched out' or 'blacked out' too.  One of the first correction attempts for the original F-Face card.  Scribbles, in general, are undervalued.  Not rare, but certainly more scarce than Black Box corrections or even the F-Face cards.  This scribble version clearly shows the first letter F.  A correction, but not a very good cover up job.
Shown here with a double factory sawcut.

Website mention 'slackiebrown.com'

Nice write up on the #616 FF card:

SlackieBrown.com - LINK

Jan. '18 Card of the Month - Black Box w/ Square left edge

Had  someone suggest making a 'Card of the Month' post.  Not sure if I'll remember to do it every month but here goes.....

Not in any particular order.  First card to spotlight is the Black Box w/ Straight left edge.  First of the Black Box creations.  Less common that the Rounded Black Box varieties but doesn't command a premium.  I even found one with a factory saw-cut on it.  Only one I've seen like this.

New Pickup for 2018

Something new for 2018.  Just picked up this 12 card strip with a Rounded Black Box w/ Jagged upper left white line.  First time having one of these versions with the color bar bottom.  Cheap fun!

F-Face Saw-cut strip

Big thanks to Brian K. for his generous donation of this 12 card strip of '89 Fleer that includes a FF version with the factory sawcut notch at the bottom.