When is a 1/1 not really a 1/1?

When you make the same card in a slightly different color, or with a slightly different background design, or with a bit more shine, and count it as a different 1/1.

Same thing is done with all the Pop Century 2023 short-numbered ranges. The sellers can't even tell all of them apart, so some are using Leaf's made-up names to identify them, and others are not because they can't be sure.

If the big names are all 1/1s, then there are probably about half a dozen of them signed. I would think that there also might be a 1/4 or 1/5 range in there, but yeah, not much more than that.

Remember that any small number of stickers that the big names signed aren't all going into this one product. They are divided up to have some left for next year and the year after that too. Gray hypes the new signers, but never says how many copies are seeded in the boxes. He only needs to do one for it to be true.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
So far the biggest names (Eastwood, Pesci, Culkin and Pratt) are all 1/1's.

I expected Clint Eastwood to be really tough, but there are way more people who seem to be only 1/1s than I was expecting.

In addition to the above list I also think Marissa Tomei, Paula Abdul, Jean Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris are 1/1s too.

Just way too many.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
So far the biggest names (Eastwood, Pesci, Culkin and Pratt) are all 1/1's.

Nice little scam to crank up case prices I do believe.

So far I have pulled in 5 and a cut for a bit more than the price of a single box. That includes tax and shipping

I'm going the same route and should be able to get the 4-5 cards I want for the price of a box without risking getting a silly no-photo costume card, a lame concert ticket to a show I wouldn't have attended for free (which is 90% of them), or worst of all, a ridiculously chopped up backstage pass.

So far, I've got 2 cards for about $70, so I've still got plenty left (from a box price) to pick up a few more singles. I'll post them up once I have them all in hand.

Like webjon mentioned, I too have lost 95% or more of of the auctions I've bid on. In fact, the better of the two cards I've bought was a buy-it-now.

I think Molly Ringwald is also only 1/1.

Liv Tyler also seems like 1/1 only as does Emilio Estevez.

Also I've really grown to hate the knockouts design. It's ridiculously busy.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: webjon,

Ari Lehman is claiming that he never signed the Pop Century autographs.

More details are on Facebook and Blowout.

Like I said, Leaf is running different colors, backgrounds and themes, like Perfectly Cast and duals. So, if some big name got divided into only 6 for this release, they could all easily be 1/1s, but it would total 6 autograph cards.

This is why card makers love stickers and autograph card collectors can never be sure how many autographs were signed or when and where they will turn up.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Like I said, Leaf is running different colors, backgrounds and themes, like Perfectly Cast and duals. So, if some big name got divided into only 6 for this release, they could all easily be 1/1s, but it would total 6 autograph cards.

Also the way Slick Brian runs his numbers you could have a celebrity sign one of every card style and parallel and still have them all be 1/1

Past signers like Chuck Norris could easily be vault holdovers. Which creates a handful of "rare" cards that came from the same batch of less rare cards.

I did pick up a Jon Cryer sig for $30 that is more of a full signature. I hate the lines in the card but it is pink which adds to my cast of the film.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155727274956

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Ari Lehman is claiming that he never signed the Pop Century autographs.

More details are on Facebook and Blowout.

Dare I bring up the variety I have been noticing among the Eastwood signatures?

Looking at Ari's other signed items the Pop Century stuff really stands out as particularly bad.

Thoughts?

Yikes. I'm no signature expert, but that would concern me if I were looking for an Eastwood autograph.

So get this email from Leaf that I just received entitled, "Addressing Immediate Changes at Leaf Trading Cards".

"Brian Gray steps down as CEO of Leaf Trading Cards, effective immediately".

The rest is about strategic moves to enhance leadership, position for growth and success, transition point, innovation and dynamic products, legacy of unique and exciting sports cards and pop culture, yada yada yada. Yeah, right.

"The team at Leaf Trading Cards would like to wish Brian Gray success with any and all future endeavors." Or in other words, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

So what happened I wonder? Some people will enjoy trying to find out.

And he was so happy in that Pop Century video.

In spite of how much I hate it case prices have been on the upswing under his leadership.

Much of the product settles hard on the secondary market

Is there more to the Ari Lehman story than we know?

To be fair this is a product that puts itself into the public eye. It's not smart to misrepresent celebrities.

Either he is legitimately moving on or a bomb is about to drop.

The wording at the end of the announcement is interesting as I thought Gray owned Leaf -- he founded it. . . It doesn't mention anything of selling it just naming a new CEO, but the wording of the email makes it seem odd.

There is speculation on the Lehman story that perhaps whoever supplied those autographs supplied others, but who knows. Also people are mentioning Al Pacino Leaf autographs failing PSA, but outside of the people mentioning that I'm not familiar with the story.

In 2023 this is unforgivable. Everyone has a cell phone -- take a video signing. . . it's not hard. Also if you have sheets of autographs stickers a cursory look at the autographs should make anything odd -- like autopenned signatures look pretty obvious.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
The wording at the end of the announcement is interesting as I thought Gray owned Leaf -- he founded it. . . It doesn't mention anything of selling it just naming a new CEO, but the wording of the email makes it seem odd.

There is speculation on the Lehman story that perhaps whoever supplied those autographs supplied others, but who knows. Also people are mentioning Al Pacino Leaf autographs failing PSA, but outside of the people mentioning that I'm not familiar with the story.

In 2023 this is unforgivable. Everyone has a cell phone -- take a video signing. . . it's not hard. Also if you have sheets of autographs stickers a cursory look at the autographs should make anything odd -- like autopenned signatures look pretty obvious.

Yeah, I thought he was in the driver/owner seat as well.

I hadn't heard of the Pacino thing until all of this. Matching the older Americana/Pop sigs to the more recent ones and there is a difference. I'm assuming there was a problem with those?

I know the autopen has hit several card companies and I am happy that most of them (suck it Panini) honor the mistake. I still can't help wonder what is missing in the manufacture process that doesn't catch it before it goes live.

For anyone not following this on the other sites:

Brian Gray has said he has retired.
He has also said that the Ari Lehman autographs are legit.

Been trolling the Official Pix facebook page looking at several dozen results, I am now convinced that at least 3 of the Eastwoods in my post are fake.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
Been trolling the Official Pix facebook page looking at several dozen results, I am now convinced that at least 3 of the Eastwoods in my post are fake.

That really makes me wonder how they acquired these.

The assumption I frequently see is that they bought through a signing.

If some indeed are fake and others are real then. . . who did the faking?

Friendly advice, be careful about throwing that word around before someone else confirms it, like the signer, as with those Lehman stickers. The big autograph cards always attract the most attention. Unless you're buying it, let someone else call it.

It's a fair point. I have sent the 4 examples I am looking at to Official Pix with my suspicions. Still waiting for a response. If Pop Century didn't cut a deal these were very expensive. We don't know if there were any facilitators between Leaf and OP cashing in on the deal. I don't know why Official Pix wouldn't at the very least document the signed sticker sheets. They claim to be building a lookup database that will go back to 2015.

Two of the ones that concern me have already sold for $2500 and $3500.

I can't find any authenticated signatures where the "l" loops higher than the "C" or that the t in Eastwood is crossed when missed with the E. None of the 2 or 3 dozen examples on Official Pix page do this. The "C"s don't even start in the right place. It is also not common when he will space out his first and last name or sign his full first name but it does happen. They just don't look like it was signed by a child.