1989 Fleer Bill Ripken 616 Baseball Card Error Version Appraisal

1989 Fleer Bill Ripken #616 Baseball Card (Error Version)

This is a standard-sized 2.5 by 3.5 inch baseball card from the 1989 Fleer set, featuring Baltimore Orioles second baseman Bill Ripken. The card design is characterized by a gray background with vertical white pinstripes and a diagonal orange stripe cutting across the lower third. Ripken is depicted in a waist-up portrait wearing a white Orioles home uniform and holding a bat. This specific card is highly significant in the collecting world due to an obscenity written on the knob of the bat Ripken is holding, which was missed by quality control during the initial printing. In subsequent print runs, Fleer attempted to correct this by using black boxes, white dots, or scribbles over the text, making this 'un-corrected' version a famous error card from the 'junk wax' era of the late 1980s. The card shows moderate wear, with visible softening of the corners and slight chipping along the left edge. The centering appears slightly shifted toward the top and left. The surface displays some slight graininess typical of Fleer's 1989 card stock. The top right corner includes the 1980s Baltimore Orioles logo, and the bottom right features the Fleer brand mark in black text. Despite the mass production of this era, this 'Fuck Face' error variant remains a desirable novelty item for sports memorabilia collectors.