[sanjosefuji]

I recently picked up this 2005 Bowman Sterling "Original Autographs" card of Michael Young, because he's a solid player who hits for average and the price was right ($7 + shipping on COMC).

However, I must have quickly purchased this card without looking at it, because upon further inspection (when I received my package)... I realized I made a regrettable purchase.




Problem #1: Poor Sticker Placement

Topps made several foolish mistakes when they created this card. The first one is deciding to place a sticker on the front of the protective casing that states "certified autograph issue". Seriously? The fact that the card is inserted into your "tamper proof" plastic holder, along with your Topps hologram affixed to the back side of the card gives me enough peace of mind about the authenticity of this autograph. You don't need put a sticker in the middle of the card holder, because it just looks tacky.




Problem #2: Scratches

If you look beyond the sticker, you'll notice a number of scratches on the protective casing. I guess it's not the end of the world, since I was planning to free it anyways.




Problem #3: Damaged Card

If Topps is going to place that "certified autograph issue" sticker on the front, then the card was probably meant to be popped out of its case... right? Well... then my next question is... why would you insert damage cards into your protective holders? The black borders on this card allows the "chipping" to stand out in all of its glory. This card has one major ding on the left edge of the front and two small chips on the side edges of the back. And if that wasn't enough, there was a nice big "finger print smudge" on the front of the card. Unfortunately, it doesn't show up in any of the scans.




Problem #4: Two Autographs?

Okay, I take full responsibility for my actions. I could have passed on picking up this card, but I chose to "Buy It Now". But I'm just wondering... why did Topps think this was a good idea? I understand that Bowman base card traditionally have a "facsimile" autograph on the front. Isn't that good enough? Do we really need two autographs? If this isn't a perfect example of "cardfoolery", than I don't know what is.



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