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  1. #1




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    1995-96 Topps Finest-Mystery - Test?

    I found a set of these Orange bordered Finest cards from 1995-96 in a box I bought for 10 bucks (1996 Copyright date on back, M1 thru M22) and I've seen some on E-Bay labeled as "Test" with the Orange Borders....I have a full set of 22, 2 shown here as examples. The "test" cards I've seen on E-bay are going for high dollars, but are all of the Orange bordered cards the valuable "test" Cards? I've also seen some orange bordered ones going cheap, as the borderless one's do...any informed folks out there who can tell me what I really have?

  2. #2







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    I'm pretty sure it was just the refractors that were the test releases. Here's the article I have for it:

    Selling All My Cards Here------>Hidden Content

    Baseball Autograph and Game Used Only Trade Page: pwaldo.webs.com/
    //s123.photobucket.com/albums/o299/pwaldo/

  3. #3




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    So the Examples I've shown are not Refractors?...they certainly appear to be refractors to me

  4. #4




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    Have always thought the border less were much more valuable, The test examples were promotional pieces, and were given out in bulk. Now the uncut sheets, not much info, likely, handed out to hq or a promotional effort.

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    So the Examples I've shown are not Refractors?...they certainly appear to be refractors to me

    Can't tell from scan if they are or not. The refractors were test issues while the other cards were issued in packs.

  6. #6
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    easy test is to compare with the same scanner:




    Last edited by bballkm32; 05-06-2019 at 03:37 PM.
    Collecting Karl Malone, Ryne Sandberg, Pat Angerer, Tavian Banks, Devyn Marble, Aaron White, Jarrod Uthoff, Tyler Cook, Keegan Murray, Kris Murray, Luka Garza, Joe Wieskamp, Jordan Bonhannon, DJ Carton
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  7. #7




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    Is PSA really THE reliable authority in identifying a Card?

    Soooooo….now I'm really confused.

    I submitted both the Jordan and Shaq cards that I mentioned in the beginning of this thread to PSA, with the thought that I might have a $30 Jordan card... maybe. Viewing the examples of the Karl Malone cards in the replies I got seemed convincing enough. While there were colorful reflections from the cards I had, no amount of light or angle would visually produce the kind of vivid color reflections in the Malone example.

    But….both of them came back certified as Refractor - Test Issue.

    PSA Certification #43893298 -
    1995 Finest Mystery M1 Michael Jordan Orange Border Refractor-Test Issue
    PSA Certification #43893299 -
    1995 Finest Mystery M22 Shaquille O'Neal Orange Border Refractor-Test Issue

    Is the fact that PSA certifies these cards a definitive answer that they are refractors? I could not visually see anything like the scans of the Malone cards shown previously in this thread. Is that sort of image the result of a scan upload rather than an I-Phone picture?


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    Can you post a picture of the cards graded?

    I have seen these graded like this where they obviously look like they are a refractor and also when they look like they aren't one. Every grading company makes mistakes. That being said I have seen PSA grade these even when you can't see the refractor. You can look online at eBay complete sales and you will see examples of both. You have a super nice return for a $10 buy.

  9. #9




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    Here are the graded cards. These uploads and the original were both done on an I-Phone, rather than scanned in. I can't see how that would make a difference, but worth mentioning just in case.






  10. #10




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    For some reference, here is a 1996 from Topps that is LABELED on the back as Refractor(bottom right corner). But no angle or amount of light will produce the kind of vivid "rainbow" lines I see in the scanned images of the Karl Malone cards. I'm really starting to wonder how scanner vs photo might be making some kind of difference...I also emailed Topps the images and asked about them, but I've had no luck at all in the past when asking manufacturers for answers.







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