Q&A – Did Star Make Chrome Cards?

No. But thanks to Topps collectors found out what Star Chrome cards would have looked like.

Between 1983 and 1985 Star was the only company to issue licensed NBA basketball cards. The cards were issued in team poly bags instead of traditional wax packs. At first they weren’t very popular. But then Michael Jordan decided to become the greatest basketball player of all-time, and then collectors began to pay more attention to the Star brand. The debate on whether Michael Jordan’s 1984-85 Star #101 or his 1986-87 Fleer #57 is his true rookie card is one that will continue to be discussed forever.

Star produced some unlicensed basketball cards after their NBA license ended following the 1986 season. The company eventually went out of business in the early 90’s.

In 1996 Topps created a 50-card Finest Reprints insert set. (25) cards were inserted into 1996-97 Topps Stadium Club Series 1, while the other (25) can be found in 1996-97 Topps Series 2.

The theme of the set is classic basketball cards printed on Chrome stock. (42) of the (50) subjects are from past Topps basketball sets. (8) cards are from Star.

Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, and James Worthy are the (8) Star cards found in the Finest Reprints set.

Each card in the set has a Refractor parallel.

Base Insert

Refractor

Tony Gwynn Did NOT Sign His 2014 Leaf Q Cards

Leaf Trading Cards introduced a new product in 2014 called Leaf Q.

Leaf Q was a high-end, multi-sport product that cost almost $1,000/box. Each box contained (11) or (12) cards. Almost all of the cards in the box were autographed.

One of the athletes that Leaf had planned to include within this set was Tony Gwynn. Unfortunately, Tony Gwynn passed away from cancer before Leaf was able to get him to sign his cards for this product.

Leaf made the decision not to include his unsigned cards within the product. Instead they sold them on eBay shortly after his death.

Where his signature was planned to be Leaf stamped the years “1960-2014”.

These sold like hotcakes. You rarely see them resurface.

My only problem is that the words “Authentic Signature” are printed on the front. And Leaf’s autograph COA is written on the back. It wouldn’t take much for some scummy scammer to forge Tony Gwynn’s signature on one of these cards, and attempt to pass it off as the real thing. Anyone that isn’t familiar with the history of these cards could easily become a victim.

As mentioned before these cards have rarely resurfaced over the years. I’ve never seen any cards containing fake signatures, but it certainly wouldn’t take much to make it happen.

Did Pristine Auction Sell A Fake Willie Mays Autograph?

UPDATE – 12/17/2022

According to Pristine Auction “Looks like that is an auction from 2014. This may have fooled us and others back then but is more known now. We always guarantee authenticity so we would buy it back (if we didn’t already).”

An interesting card sold over at Pristine Auction that I believe is worth talking about.

The card that caught my eye is the Willie Mays 2001 Fleer Tradition Stitches In Time Autograph.

Link to the Pristine Auction listing. Screenshot for when their auction listing comes down.

Its a great looking card, unfortunately Willie Mays never signed them for Fleer.

Fleer inserted redemption cards for these Willie Mays autographs inside packs of 2001 Fleer Tradition Baseball. For some reason Willie Mays chose not to sign them. Possibly due to him not wanting to sign Negro League items.

After Fleer’s bankruptcy the non-autographed cards they had intended Willie Mays to sign surfaced. Because they were originally meant to be signed the cards come with Fleer’s autograph COA on the back.

If you come across a Willie Mays 2001 Fleer Tradition Stitches In Time card containing an autograph there are two possible outcomes.

The first outcome is that the autograph is fake. Many scammers have forged Willie Mays’s signature on these aftermarket cards, and passed them off as the real thing. Collectors who don’t know the true history behind this card will see Fleer’s COA and not think twice about it’s authenticity.

Second would be that an individual purchased the non-autographed card on the secondary market and was able to get Willie Mays to sign it in person. Difficult to do, but not completely out of the realm of possibility.

I would stay far away from any autographed versions of this card. Even the examples that come with PSA/DNA and JSA authentication. If you didn’t get Willie Mays to sign the card yourself assume that it is a fake signature.

Judging by that Pristine Auction listing Fleer’s COA is suppose to be good enough. BAD IDEA! Their description mentions nothing about this card’s history. Either they don’t know about it or just don’t care. You be the judge as to whether that autograph is real or not.

Willie Mays does have an insert and relic found in the 2001 Fleer Tradition Stitches In Time set. Both of these were pack-inserted by Fleer.

Did You “Know” This About 1984 Fleer Update Baseball Cards?

The 1980s are notorious for issuing some of the most overproduced sets.  Despite that, there are a few gems to keep an eye out for.  One that still holds quite a bit of value today is the 1984 Fleer Update set.  This is Fleer’s very first update set, and it contains (132) cards.  It has a short print run, and was only available through dealers.  The set grew in popularity, and prices went up dramatically.  Today a complete set is worth well over $200.  That’s a lot considering most sets from the 80s can’t be given away.  Key XRCs from this set include Roger Clemens, John Franco, Dwight Gooden, Jimmy Key, Mark Langston, Bret Saberhagen, Ron Darling, and Kirby Puckett.  Roger Clemens and Kirby Puckett are the big money cards.  Even though its far from a rookie, the Pete Rose card is popular with collectors too.

• The print dot pattern is different when compared to an authentic card.
• Perfect centering – counterfeit cards usually have great centering.  Authentic cards are known for having terrible centering.
• One of the biggest signs that your 1984 Fleer Update card is a counterfeit is finding a capital “K” in the word “Know” on the back.

Counterfeit

Authentic

Q&A: Did Topps Issue Boxes Of 1992 Stadium of Stars Cards?

Question: Hi!  I came across this odd card of Larry King.  It appears to be from 1992 Topps Stadium of Stars.  Did Topps issue boxes for this set?  What can you tell me about it?

Answer: No.  Topps did not issue these in the traditional box format.  The year was 1992, and the 13th National Sports Collectors Convention was being held in Atlanta, GA.  For the first time in it’s thirteen year existence, Topps decided to setup a booth.  Used as a promotional giveaway, Topps created a 13-card set entitled Stadium of Stars.

• Bruce Jenner
• John Wooden
• Joan Lunden
• Lou Holtz
• Chris McCarron
• Nick Charles
• Larry King
• Ann Meyers
• LeRoy Neiman
• Wilma Rudolph
• Bob Costas
• Nancy Lopez
• Jim Beckett III

The exact number of cards handed out during the show is unknown.  Every celebrity on the checklist received (500) copies to hand out at their discretion.  Two jumbo-size cards were also printed for each individual.  One was given to the celebrity, and the other was autographed.  The signed version was auctioned off, and the money went to a specific charity chosen by that celebrity.

Topps sold 5,000 uncut sheets to dealers at the show.  From time to time one of those will popup.  I believe Jim Beckett III was a late addition and/or had to be obtained differently compared to the others.  You can find his single card on the secondary market, but its not pictured on any of the promotional material like the uncut sheet.  An oversize souvenir sheet featuring these cards is suppose to be floating around too.

A complete set is worth about $30-$50.