There are some cards that you realize you need as soon as you see them. This is one of those cards for me. Somewhere in the past few months I read about an infamous error card in the 1977 Star Wars Series 4 set, on which protocol droid C-3PO is shown sporting what looks like a rather prominent golden erection. A card collection is a reflection of the collector, and my collection was incomplete without a good wiener joke to reflect my immature sense of humor.
There always seems to be a handful of these on eBay, and I bid on a lot of them over the last year or so without ever winning an auction. That finally came to an end recently, when I finally won a copy of the card that had eluded me for so long.
There are many theories floating around about what led to the error, such as a randy Topps airbrush artist, an inopportune trick of the light when the photo was taken, a broken-off piece of the costume captured on film in mid-air as it fell, or a government conspiracy to corrupt children. Either way, once the card hit the streets people complained about C-3PO's golden member, and the offending appendage was removed for future print runs. Neither card is particularly scarce, but demand seems to be consistently high for the error version. I guess there are a lot of collectors with a juvenile streak. I don't own a copy of the corrected card, but this is what it looks like:
BORING!
Now that I have a copy of this grail card, C-3PO can stand proudly as a central figure in my Star Wars card collection. Taking a page from San Jose Fuji's blogging style, I will end this post with a question.
Are there any wacky or off-the-wall cards you have specifically sought out for your collection?
The only one I can think of is the Billy Ripken F-Face card. I got it years after the fact so it was very cheap. When it was hot the prices were crazy.
ReplyDeleteI got that Bowman football auto from a few years ago where the guy is flipping a dual bird salute. Oh, also the 72 Topps Billy Martin. Geez, I guess I've got a middle finger minicollection going.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I'd love to someday pick up this C-3PO and the F-face Ripken.
Although I'm not actively seeking out Billy Ripken's FF error card,It was one I wanted as a kid ,real bad!I remember my cousin's mom bought a box of 89 Fleer for him In hopes of pulling the FF.He pulled It, and then called me yelling repeatedly -"I got the F%$# Face,I got the F%^$# Face!" It's pretty funny looking back on it now,but I was soooo jealous at the time.
ReplyDeleteI love this card! Who am I kidding? I love this set. Finally crossed it off of my wantlist last year and made sure it included the "error" card. As for seeking "off the wall" cards... I'm always looking for them.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of Griffey promo and error cards that I have hunted down as well as any of his Japanese cards but the one card that has eluded me for 20 years is the 1994 Skybox The Simpsons Willy “The Dupe” Dipkin diamond promo #P4. I have the #B1 version that has the ad back but the #P4 version has a bio and stats like a real baseball card.
ReplyDeleteMy brother had the F%&% Face card and I hated him for it. I was so jealous of that card. Having that card automatically made you cool.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how influential that Billy Ripken card is. I was mostly a basketball card collector as a teenager in the 90's, so I was aware of that card but not really driven to chase it. I wasn't aware of the Billy Martin or Leon Washington middle finger cards, or if I'd heard about them I didn't remember. Some of those rare promo cards are impossible to find, even ones that were released last year, let alone 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe Frank Thomas out of 1994 Stadium Club also shows him flipping the bird.
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