Anonymous UD Source: ‘Asterisk Card' Legit, Scarce

Dec 11 2007 2:41PM

UPDATE: Check out Elon Werner's Error Card blog here.

Some of the mystery surrounding the much ballyhooed 2007 Sweet Spot "asterisk card" was lifted on Tuesday when a source at Upper Deck confirmed the legitimacy of the controversial release.

In addition, the source, who requested anonymity, expounded on the scarcity of the issue.

"It is legitimate," the source said. "And it's one of the scarcest cards people will see in a long time."

Exactly how scarce is unknown at this point as Upper Deck officials have been largely tight-lipped about this and a seeming slew of lightning rod releases in recent weeks.

This much is certain: The first "asterisk card" to surface on the secondary market sold last night on eBay for the astounding sum of $955. Two others have since surfaced -- one with a Buy It Now price of $1,200 and one that's been bid up to $202 with more than four days left.

"It's certainly one of the most unique cards I've ever seen," says Beckett Baseball Price Guide Editor Brian Fleischer. "Many fans feel that an asterisk should be placed next to Bonds' record so the tongue-in-cheek card probably gave a lot of collectors, myself included, a good laugh.

"Is it a shot by Upper Deck at Topps? I don't think so. Is it a shot at Barry Bonds and his record? Definitely. Whatever the motives behind the card being produced, collectors were willing to pay big bucks for the card. Twenty different bidders placed 41 bids on the card before bidding ended last night."

The "asterisk card," which released within the Sweet Spot product last week along with a controversial lampoon card of new Topps' owner Michael Eisner, features No. 756 as its number and seems to speak volumes about UD's stance on Bonds' all-time home run record.

Also, in late November, Upper Deck released at least four different versions of Alex Rodriguez's 2007 SP Authentic base card featuring the foil logos of the Angels, Dodgers, Mets and Red Sox and the player name "Ex Rod.".