Don't get too excited. What you're seeing above is NOT a vintage 1968 Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman Topps rookie. Oh, how I wish it was! But that and 99-cents'll get you a cup of joe (maybe).
I've had this card for a few years. It was most assuredly plucked from one of the countless dime boxes I've come in contact with at hobby shows over the past six or seven years.
It is a reprint and it pretends to be nothing more. For one, the front's got a glossy sheen. Plus it's a bit thicker stock than the '68s had.
But, the real smoking gun is found on the reverse side.
Not only does the color of the card stock mismatch the archival card, but the little "REPRINT" designation in the bottom right corner is as blatant as can be.
I read somewhere around the webs recently that this is one of the most reproduced and scammed cards of all-time. In other words, there are plenty of professionally criminal knock-offs of this card floating around, intending to dupe some unsuspecting sap with a zeal for high-end collecting and a fat wallet.
This one, on the other hand, is harmless enough. It's not an official Topps reprint, such as the ones introduced in 1999 to celebrate Ryan's amazing career. Nonetheless, whoever created this particular reprint did so without a desire to deceive. And that's cool with me.
So, that begs the question(s): What is this and who (what company) made this and in what year? Was this part of a larger Nolan Ryan retrospective set? Maybe part of a "Most Iconic Cards of All-Time" issue put out by some fringe hobby company or another? Was it perhaps a one-card promotional item included in a sports card price guide?
The OCD monster within needs to know such things as I attempt to catalog this thing into my Mets collection on Zistle.
Inquiring minds
MK
Hmm...I can't help in identifying it but I can CERTAINLY relate to the annoyance of not knowing what to catalog a card as in your Zistle collection. I've got about 20 scans in a folder I've labeled "unknown" that eat at me any time I look at them. Maybe one day I'll throw them all into a post and see if the blogosphere can at least help me with a few of them. Good luck identifying the mystery Ryan!
ReplyDeleteFunny. There are a number of them on ebay but not one gives any clue as to their origin. There's also one on Amazon that looks the same but has an added gold stamped Ryan signature on the front. Again, no more info.
ReplyDeleteThanks for looking into it, Hack!
DeleteI think it might be related to a Willie Davis card that I have that is a reprint of Davis' '69 Topps card. The back is similar, the same back as the original card, except it's all white. I posted it on my blog, but I can't find it now. Big surprise, I know.
ReplyDeleteWhoops, just found it. http://nightowlcards.blogspot.com/2014/11/minis-without-end.html
DeleteThe Willie Davis card is a Dover Publications reprint. If there is any hint of the Ryan reprint rookie being perforated on the back, it's possibly the same. But I don't know when they were printed.
I appreciate the investigation, Sir Owl! Alas, the card isn't from a perforated sheet. This might be a case for Mulder and Scully...
Delete