1994 Leaf Limited Promo Card
#1
I was proud to
have submitted this mostly-unknown card to Krause's Standard Catalog Of Baseball
Cards. Tom Leon, a promo specialist noted its existence in his guide, but
only through inference by studying Leaf printing records. At that point (circa
1998)
no physical card had been found.
My submission confirmed that it still existed. It was acknowledged and accepted
by the editor, Mr. Bob Lemke, and my scan (and some of my personal description)
was used in the guide.
As you can see there are several distinct differences between the promo and regular card. Most notable of which is the surface quality on the front of the promo card - it's printed on a smooth, matte finish, light silver cardstock. The issued card was printed on highly reflective silver foil. It's for this reason that I prefer the promo over the actual card. The silver foil, while certainly 'upgraded' for the premium standard, lacks the clean understated look that I enjoy in graphic design. Often when you throw on too much glitz - you end up looking gaudy and trashy, not stylish or elegant.
Other
differences can be found on the card backs:
• The promo card is card #1 (the issued card is #24)
• On the promo it lists the Total Bases Category (TB). It was replaced
with the Slugging Percentage Category (SLG) on the issued cards.
• The background image of Frank is cropped lower on the issued cards.
Notice that on the Promo, the tip of Frank's left foot is overprinted with
the copyright information. While on the issued card his foot is above the
copyright line.
• Ditto the cropping of Frank's left arm. Notice that on the Promo you
can see most of his outstretch arm and white wristband. But on the issued
card it's blocked by the diamond graphic with Frank's mug.
This is similar to the 1993 Studio Promo and the 1993 Leaf Promo: "How many are there?". I'd love to hear from other Frank collectors regarding this issue.
Finally, I want to thank Mike DeLuca of The Strictly Mint Card Company for selling me the example in my collection - mahalo nui loa Mike!