Another Case of a PSA/DNA Mistake?
 1990 Topps Andre Rison #300 UER
July 7, 2014
In recent months I have become extremely interested in the errors and variations from the late 80s/early 90s ever since I realized that some of those cards can be highly collectible albeit in a niche market. I have also recently discovered that PSA/DNA, in my opinion, makes more mistakes than they should and this article will tie both of those statements together. While digging through some 1990 Topps football cards I noticed that the Andre Rison #300 Topps Super Rookie card actually pictures Clarence Weathers, not Rison. This card in particular is an uncorrected error (UER) and in most cases can be found for $1 or less. However, in searching eBay to see if any variations of the Topps card did exist, I noticed something very interesting. As of this writing, there are three active listings of this card with autographs obtained in-person and each is certified by PSA/DNA as being authentic. Look at the photos below (end of article) and see if you notice anything out of sorts. Clearly, the first two autographs are different than the third one with the two on the left belonging to Clarence Weathers (the actual player pictured) and the autographed Topps card on the right is signed by Andre Rison but all three are labeled as being signed by Rison. There is an obvious difference between the autographs on the three Topps cards and I am in no way saying that PSA/DNA authenticated a forged autograph. What I am saying, however, is that their labeling of the authentications is misleading and could possibly leave an uneducated collector with an unwanted purchase. PSA/DNA labeled all three as Andre Rison and I'm assuming that was done because of the player name of the card. But, the label absolutely should state that the card is an UER and that the signature affixed is actually Clarence Weathers, not Rison. Here's my second point to this story.....what if the PSA/DNA authenticator of the two cards on the left didn't realize that the signatures were actually from Weathers? Did he/she do their due diligence in verifying the signature? Apparently not. Look at the serial numbers from PSA/DNA...they're consecutive meaning they were authenticated (or at least labeled) one right after another. How did someone not notice that there was a difference in the signatures? One can only hope that this is purely a labeling error by PSA/DNA, not a lack of due diligence. Either way, this could be a cool collectible for someone, especially an error and variation collector.
Baseball Card of the Week ( July 6, 2014 )
July 6, 2014
This week's Baseball Card of the Week is a recent release and comes from my personal collection. It's a 2014 Jedd Gyorko Topps Museum Collection Momentous Material Laundry Tag Relic card and it is a 1-of-1. Now I know that these high-end relic cards are becoming somewhat easier to obtain but I feel like this one, and possibly others, has something that may be overlooked by some collectors. Before I get to the point of this story, let me ask you this. How many times do we, as collectors, wish we knew what game or event that swatch embedded in our cards was actually from? I know we all remember Donruss/Playoff including pictures on the backs of the cards of the actual relics that were cut up and embedded into the cards they produced. Many times they even told us the dates in which they were used. Today, companies giving us that type of information doesn't happen a lot. That's why I love the card I'm showcasing this week...I know the specifics about the swatch embedded in this very card and here's how. Notice the MLB Authentication hologram just above the San Diego "SD" on the right side of the card? Well, those holograms include a series of numbers and letters that you can input here (http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/authentication) to find out the "who, when, where" of a particular piece of memorabilia from the MLB Authentication program. Lucky for me, when Topps cut up the Gyorko jersey that this laundry tag swatch came from, they left enough of the hologram to get a complete serial number. Below is the information I found about my card when I entered the MLB Authentication number into the database: Hologram number EK026870 was located in the MLB Authentication Database under GAME-USED JERSEY. Session Product Description: Session Name: LAD @ SD SPRING TRAINING GAME Session Date: March 15, 2013 Autographer: Authenticator: AUTHENTICATORS, INC. Additional Information: JEDD GYORKO So, as you can see, the hologram provided me with the facts about my jersey and I now know exactly when the jersey was worn, where it was worn, and who wore it. Collectors can sometimes complain about everything that a card company does or doesn't do. But, in this case, I am definitely applauding Topps for what they did in leaving the hologram in a readable condition. It may not have been intentional, or maybe it was. Either way, I'm a happy collector. |
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