Don’t Know Much About Wrong-Back Cards
February 23rd, 2010 | Published in Football Card Oddities
My friend Chas sent me this scan today; it’s a 1955 Bowman Harlon Hill card with an inverted Chet Ostrowski back. Chas asked if I knew anything about the card–scarcity, value, etc.–and I had to admit that I didn’t. Maybe someone here can chime in and tell us more.
Wrong-backed cards aren’t unusual: there are always a bunch on eBay, both vintage and modern. I’ve accumulated a few myself, in the course of buying lots for my 1960 Fleer set. My wrong-backs are listed on my 1960 Fleer virtual uncut sheet page, and I posted some scans there, too. As on Chas’s card, the backs on my wrong-backs are all inverted. My theory is that a plate was installed upside down in the printing press, but I know zilch about printing, so I don’t even know if that makes sense.
The hobby appears to consider wrong-back cards printing flaws, rather than error cards, so they’re not included in set checklists, and they’re collectible mostly as curiosities. I can think of one exception: the Gaynell Tinsley and Whizzer White cards in the 1955 Topps All-American set can each be found with the back of the other, and they are considered error cards. I assume that the backs of those two cards were switched on the uncut sheets, whereas other wrong-backs were caused by mishaps in the printing process, not the configuration of the sheets.
If you know more about wrong-backs, or if you have one to share, post a comment!
