Paging THE HUN, Saddam Hussein custom cut rookie card needed

thenavarro · August 31, 2009 1:22AM

I need your services again. I have the following Saddam Hussein autograph, and I want to get a custom cut rookie card utilizing the same typie of technique you used on my Thurman Munson. I have shown the autograph next to a standard sized card, which is the size of the 91 Pro Set Saddam card, so you can possibly play with some mockups in the correct size.

Pictured below is the card I would like to use. I have purchased two of them, in case we go so simple as using one for the back and the other pasted on top with a mat type cutout and the graph sandwiched in between. That may be my preferable choice as I like to incorporate the original cards, but if you could try your hand at a couple mockups like you did on the Munson (again, I want to use the original card, not a whole new creation), that would give me a couple options. I've got the graph in hand and just bought the two cards on ebay this morning, so it will probably be next week before I can ship them to you.

added a better resolution scan of a 91 Pro Set Hussein that I borrowed off ebay

Thanks!!

Mike

billwaltonsbeard · August 31, 2009 1:29AM

Interestingly enough, Juan Gonzales DOES look like Saddam Hussein

vladguerrero · August 31, 2009 2:56AM

<< Interestingly enough, Juan Gonzales DOES look like Saddam Hussein >>

lo

dpuccio · August 31, 2009 3:28AM

Is that an authentic Saddam hair on the Ebay borrowed pic?

CDsNuts · August 31, 2009 3:46AM

I really never understood why there is interest in signatures of truly horrible people (no offense Mike). I mean, what would somebody do with a Hitler or Hussein auto? "Hey kids, look at this. This guy killed millions of people for no apparent reason and I have his signature on a piece of paper!"

digicat · August 31, 2009 4:05AM

<< I really never understood why there is interest in signatures of truly horrible people (no offense Mike). I mean, what would somebody do with a Hitler or Hussein auto? "Hey kids, look at this. This guy killed millions of people for no apparent reason and I have his signature on a piece of paper!" >>

There's nothing wrong with collecting the unusual.

bigwilli · August 31, 2009 4:10AM

I guess its like a Ripleys Believe it or not sorta thing. Some people like the unusual or different.

Didnt Charles Manson do drawings or painting that were sought after at one point?

ChrisStufflestreet · August 31, 2009 4:27AM

<< I really never understood why there is interest in signatures of truly horrible people (no offense Mike). I mean, what would somebody do with a Hitler or Hussein auto? "Hey kids, look at this. This guy killed millions of people for no apparent reason and I have his signature on a piece of paper!" >>

I understand the sentiment, I really do...my wife is Jewish and when we dated, I was taken to task by a couple of her relatives about the extent of my German heritage. Once I explained that the Germans I'm descended from came to this country before it even was a country, and furthermore, my grandfather spent WW2 in an American Army uniform...everything was (pardon the pun) kosher.

That said, I am also a student of history and it makes no sense to me why some people (and I may not necessarily be talking about you) are willing to sweep certain events under the rug in order to forget them. The fact is, the fact that Hitler, Joe Stalin (the real one, not the guy who just got bounced here), Pol Pot, Idi Amin, SoDamn Inasane (a nickname given to Hussein during my Gulf War service in the Army) and any other leader who lusted for blood or exterminated large numbers of people even existed should not be forgotten. Once they're forgotten, those lessons eventually get learned anew; it's one of the constants of history.

I've already mentioned that I was involved in Desert Storm. I have no interest in having a card with Saddam's autograph on it. I'm also not really interested of obtaining one of George H.W. Bush (the man who ordered us to go to Saudi) either. But do I have a problem with somebody else having one? No, it's not my place to dictate what others collect.

IchiroDeported · August 31, 2009 4:42AM

"I really never understood why there is interest in signatures of truly horrible people"

you mean like OJ, Bonds, Stallworth and the like.... all scum of the earth

but still collectible!

CDsNuts · August 31, 2009 6:01AM

I guess since I'm not an auto guy I really don't get it, but it seems to me that the spirit behind autos as collectibles was that someone got to meet their idol and was thrilled to get something signed. I guess I just don't see the historical significance of autos in general, especially those of the worst people in history. I get everything you all are saying, I really do. But to me an autograph is the kind of thing that should be a thrill to somebody who meets one of their heroes. "I met Dr. J at the airport and he signed my boarding pass!" or "Hank Aaron was signing at a show. We had a few words about the Braves and he signed a bat for me!" The spirit of getting an auto is that it is something the collector is happy to procure.

Again, no offense to Mike or anyone else that would cherish a Hussein or Hitler auto. I guess I'm just trying to figure out the allure.

csmtampa · August 31, 2009 6:14AM

Funny you should mention boarding pass. I had Steve Harvey sign a boarding pass of mine at Tampa International.

As for Hussein, I remember 100's of hours patrolling and searching houses looking for that guy.

slantycouch · August 31, 2009 6:15AM

<< I guess since I'm not an auto guy I really don't get it, but it seems to me that the spirit behind autos as collectibles was that someone got to meet their idol and was thrilled to get something signed. I guess I just don't see the historical significance of autos in general, especially those of the worst people in history. I get everything you all are saying, I really do. But to me an autograph is the kind of thing that should be a thrill to somebody who meets one of their heroes. "I met Dr. J at the airport and he signed my boarding pass!" or "Hank Aaron was signing at a show. We had a few words about the Braves and he signed a bat for me!" The spirit of getting an auto is that it is something the collector is happy to procure.

Again, no offense to Mike or anyone else that would cherish a Hussein or Hitler auto. I guess I'm just trying to figure out the allure. >>

I think for many people it's the historical aspect of the item and, like many collectibles, the allure of owning something many other people cannot/do not.

storm888 · August 31, 2009 6:30AM

As a miniature person, I had a great headstart on the subjects
of history and geography as a DIRECT result of stamp collecting.

Trading cards and autographs of historical figures - victorious or
defeated - help to preserve/teach history.

Allen · August 31, 2009 6:45AM

I don't understand it either, but there are some I would love to have. I think a Doc Holliday / Wyatt Earp dual would be awesome or a Kennedy / Oswald Dual. I am not sure why. I guess Hitler is the one that most would think of as "Most Evil" but I also would not want all Hitler autographs and WWII stuff destroyed. If they did that Indiana Jones would have never found the Holy Grail.

lsutigers1973 · August 31, 2009 6:53AM

<< I think a Doc Holliday / Wyatt Earp dual would be awesome >>

Please forward this to Topps. That would be friggin awesome!

majorflux · August 31, 2009 6:54AM

<< 

<< I think a Doc Holliday / Wyatt Earp dual would be awesome >>

Please forward this to Topps. That would be friggin awesome! >>

How about Dr. Evil/Austin Power dual auto ?

ROCKDJRW · August 31, 2009 7:32AM

Was Barry Bonds really mentioned with an alleged killer and someone who did kill someone while drunk driving? Someone takes the steroid thing a little too seriously: ) As for the topic I also don't understand the appeal but people actually collect John Wayne Gacys art work! Who would want to sleep with a painting of a clown done by Gacy hanging in your house??

justmichael · August 31, 2009 8:15AM

I think a Castro/JFK piece would be one heck of a conversation piece.
Mike

thenavarro · August 31, 2009 9:00AM

Lee posed a valid question, and while it would make potentially good theatre, I don't have an unwavering desire to collect items of "truly horrible people". However, I do collect world leaders of all sorts, both famous and infamous, as I have had (and still have some of them) every US President from Washington to Bush 43, Ghadaffi, Khomeini, Hitler, Mussolini, Castro, Fulgencia Batista, Ferdinand Marcos, Hussein, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, Arafat etc., etc., etc.

Slantycouch probably came closest when he wrote:

"I think for many people it's the historical aspect of the item and, like many collectibles, the allure of owning something many other people cannot/do not."

I'm pretty much an equal opportunity collector, in that if an item piques my interest and I can afford it, I get it. Doesn't matter what the person did or didn't do.

Mike

MooseDog · August 31, 2009 9:19AM

As a long time autograph collector, I can understand the sentiment behind people wanting to get someone's autograph if they see them in a restaurant, or got the autograph at a game or something...it's a validation that you shared a moment with the famous person.

In a way the fascination I've always had with autographs is they give you a glimpse into a person's personality - if you believe all the things that have been written on handwriting analysis. I've always been fascinated by handwriting, how some signatures can resemble a work of art. I've also been interested in collecting signed documents, as they can usually be counted on to be genuine.

One thing that autograph collectors share with card collectors is the desire to create sets. Like it or not, Saddam and the like were world leaders and part of history and I support Mike's desire to collect what he finds interesting.

What I don't quite get, being an old fart, is the fascination with cutting items up to fit into 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" cards. Personally I'd much rather have any item in it's original form.

TheHun · August 31, 2009 9:42AM

Mike

PM sent - I'll take care of it.

thenavarro · August 31, 2009 9:53AM

<< What I don't quite get, being an old fart, is the fascination with cutting items up to fit into 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" cards. Personally I'd much rather have any item in it's original form. >>

That's true for the most part. Before the war, Saddam was an incredibly tough autograph to get. You could usually only find him on official State presentation gifts, such as on presentation cards for gold watches, official state photos, etc. It was not uncommon that his signature would fetch four figures and more. Then, the US Soldiers uncovered a lot of books full of these administrative decrees that were brought back from Iraq as souvenirs. They are relatively common now, not nearly as common as US Presidents, but if you want one, you can find one easily. I had mine translated by a language institute in Dallas, and they are just run of the mill decrees. I've got one of those framed and matted as a nice display item, but I like the idea of having this one become "portable", by putting it into a card and having it slabbed by PSA/DNA. Plus, it goes with the theme of my signed rookie card collection. Basically, it's creating a mini-frame job on a card.

What's odd, and perhaps a bit hypocritical on my part, is that while I don't mind cutting up certain documents, I am dismayed at the items such as Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, bats and uniforms, that get chopped up for the modern day cards. I imagine that some of that comes from the fact, that while I've owned enough "historical documents" that I am not fascinated by their rarity, I have not owned Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth bats, and therefore could never see chopping them up.

Mike

Paging THE HUN, Saddam Hussein custom cut rookie card needed

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