1968 Ryan Rookie Test on eBay

ajw

I know there are some serious Ryan collectors, so I thought you'd be interested in this one.

Does PSA grade stuff like this?

Ryan Proof

CON40

At first, I was ga-ga when I clicked on this auction thinking it was a real printed (ink on paper) proof. It's not. And I'm not ga-ga anymore.

The scary thing with printer's proofs is that there is no way to determine their age, authenticity, or if they've been reproduced. After all, they are closer to photo prints than cards printed with ink on paper. I am not accusing Topps of any wrong doing at all, but these "proofs" were manufactured/trimmed into "card-like" appearance by being cut down from the original proof sheet (or "matchprint" as they are referred to in the industry). It's possible that these "proofs" were made a year ago as long as the art were still on file somewhere and no one would be the wiser. We know the original art for the Ryan RC exists in some form or has been re-created because they've reprinted it a zillion times. Maybe that Ryan "proof" is from the 1999 reprint. Topps does not specify the year that the proof was created in its description.

Now, if they had the whole proof (a complete 132 card sheet as it was manufactured) with registration marks, calibration bars, date of origination and so forth, that would be MUCH more desirable because it would have historical signifigance into the production of some famous cards.

Needless to say, these little mylar and acetate "cards" leave me pretty skeptical.

CON40

I emailed Topps to ask them to describe the history of this proof... this is their reply:

Yes it's an original proof generated in 1967. The spotting (yellow tones) is on the original transparency and was later corrected. Topps would generate color correction sheets to determine what needed to be corrected before generating a final version. Although the Ryan card is quite rare, it's not one of a kind as more than one correction sheet would be produced and many times, cut up for multiple people to proof. Topps would generally keep one or more proofs and toss the remaining production materials away after the set went into final production. It's unlikely we will uncover another Ryan in the archives like this one. Topps does hold another partial sheet containing this card but it will remain in the files. Hope this helps.

So, it is genuine, but not unique! Obviously not the final proof, but one of the proofs generated along the way. Sounds nice!