1995 Finest Baseball Refractor Variations

saucywombat

I believe that all of the first series of 1995 Finest baseball refractors (Cards 1-220) can be found as one of two distinct variations.

One group has the word "REFRACTOR" printed in black on the reverse of the card.

The other group is a refractor card but lacks the "REFRACTOR" designation on the back.

I have about 75 out of the 220 cards without the designation.

There appears to be no such variation for cards in the second series of 1995 Finest (#221-330).

BunchOBull

Dave,

Have you found a Frank Thomas like this?

vladguerrero

Topps has the same variation for 1995 Bowman's Best Refractors (Only the Red cards 1-90), the non designated are more rare by a large margin for that set.

kwtoz

Do you have any specific cards both with and without REFRACTOR on them? I've always that this was just a screwup.

vladguerrero

The 1995 Bowman's Best Refractors technically weren't 'printed without the word refractor' but rather printed with wrong backs (regular card backs), this can be confirmed by closely examining the 'fine print' as the non refractor cards have a different arrangement than the refractors (the designated style). I suspect the press guy just fell asleep at the wheel and they printed a bunch of the cards with the regular backs. Can someone confirm that this is not the case for the 1995 Finest cards? Many player collectors aren't even aware the variations exist.

jackstraw

I would be interested in if a Griffey exists and if you have a photo that would be even better..

saucywombat

<< <i>Do you have any specific cards both with and without REFRACTOR on them? I've always that this was just a screwup. >>



The 75 cards I mentioned I have both the marked and unmarked versions, I would guess that all series 1 cards have two versions.

I'll post a list later today of all the different cards I have cataloged.

saucywombat

Interesting development.

When following up on whether Griffey or Thomas were included in these variations, it made me wonder if the entire first series was in fact included or if it could be specific to a particular print sheet.

Looking on Ebay someone had an uncut sheet of 1995 Finest Refractors for sale. 1995 Finest was produced on 110 card sheets. All of the variations I have appear on the sheet in the Ebay Auction, I have no variation that did not appear on the sheet. So apparently only the 110 cards from this sheet will have that variation.



I will get a checklist of those 110 cards together that appear on that sheet. Unfortunately that excludes Thomas and Griffey, but

notable players w/ the variation include:

Jose Canseco
Greg Maddux
Bernie Williams
Mark McGwire
Sammy Sosa
Paul O'Neill
Rafeal Palmeiro
Kirby Puckett
Tim Raines
Robin Ventura
Andy Van Slyke
Allan Trammell
Ozzie Smith
Larry Walker
Pedro Martinez
Roger Clemens
Tony Gwynn
Jim Thome
Mike Mussina
Fred McGriff
Edgar Martinez
Carlos Delgado
Manny Ramirez
Jim Edmonds
Garrett Anderson
+all of the "ROOKIE" refractors

vladguerrero

The 1995 Bowman's Best Red Refractor cards all appear on one sheet (it's a 90 card sheet), Saucy can you examine the 'fine print (mlb properties, etc..) on the non designated and designated cards to see if they are in the exact same position?

saucywombat

<< <i>The 1995 Bowman's Best Red Refractor cards all appear on one sheet (it's a 90 card sheet), Saucy can you examine the 'fine print (mlb properties, etc..) on the non designated and designated cards to see if they are in the exact same position? >>



The "fine print" is identical in characters and in position.

jacksoncoupage

Do you have an extra Ventura by any chance?

saucywombat

As promised the complete checklist of cards with the lack of REFRACTOR variation:

1 Raul Mondesi
2 Kurt Abbott
3 Chris Gomez
4 Manny Ramirez
5 Rondell White
6 William Van Landingham
7 Jon Leiber
8 Ryan Klesko
9 John Hudek
10 Joey Hamilton
11 Bob Hamelin
12 Brian Anderson
13 Mike Lieberthal
14 Rico Brogna
15 Rusty Greer
16 Carlos Delgado
17 Jim Edmonds
18 Steve Traschel
19 Matt Walbeck
20 Armando Benitez
21 Steve Karsay
22 Jose Oliva
23 Cliff Floyd
24 Kevin Foster
25 Javy Lopez
26 Jose Valentin
27 James Mouton
28 Hector Carrasco
29 Orlando Miller
30 Garret Anderson
33 Roberto Kelly
36 Edgar Martinez
37 Jim Thome
47 Rickey Henderson
48 Mike Mussina
49 Greg McMichael
56 Kenny Lofton
58 Eric Karros
59 Wally Joyner
94 Tom Candiotti
103 Fred McGriff
106 Allen Watson
132 John Kruk
133 Jeff King
134 Royce Clayton
136 Ray Lankford
142 Mark Langston
144 Wilson Alvarez
146 Kevin Mitchell
153 Mike Henneman
157 Darren Lewis
159 Dave Hollins
160 Jimmy Key
161 Roberto Hernandez
162 Randy Myers
165 Mike MacFarlane
166 Bret Saberhagen
167 Kirby Puckett
168 Lance Johnson
169 Mark McGwire
170 Jose Canseco
171 Mike Stanley
172 Lee Smith
173 Robin Ventura
174 Greg Gagne
175 Brian McRae
176 Mike Bordick
177 Rafael Palmeiro
178 Kenny Rogers
179 Chad Curtis
180 Devon White
181 Paul O'Neill
182 Ken Caminiti
183 Dave Nilsson
184 Tim Naehring
185 Roger Clemens
186 Otis Nixon
187 Tim Raines
188 Dennis Martinez
189 Pedro Martinez
190 Jim Abbott
191 Ryan Thompson
193 Joe Girardi
194 Steve Finley
195 John Jaha
196 Tony Gwynn
197 Sammy Sosa
198 John Burkett
198 John Burkett
199 Carlos Baerga
200 Ramon Martinez
201 Aaron Sele
202 Eduardo Perez
203 Alan Trammell
204 Orlando Merced
205 Deion Sanders
206 Rob Nen
207 Jack McDowell
208 Ruben Sierra
209 Bernie Williams
210 Kevin Seitzer
211 Charles Nagy
212 Tony Phillips
213 Greg Maddux
214 Jeff Montgomery
215 Larry Walker
216 Andy Van Slyke
218 Geronimo Pena
219 Greg Jefferies
220 Lou Whitaker

saucywombat

Bump for Mark.