Top 15 Error Cards of All Time

Error cards are some of the most fun cards in the hobby to collect. A wrong photo, a misspelled name or a mix-up on the back usually gets caught and corrected, and that fix is exactly what makes the original rare. These are the 15 errors we think matter most, from a 1909 tobacco card to a 2006 rookie Topps tried to pull from packs. Every card on this list was printed one way and then changed, so collectors now chase both versions.

1. 1990 Topps Frank Thomas No Name on Front (NNOF)

A small number of 1990 Topps Frank Thomas rookies were printed without his name on the front, a printing-plate problem Topps fixed early in the run. Estimates put the number of surviving NNOF cards in the low hundreds, which is why collectors have opened entire cases of 1990 Topps without finding one. The regular Thomas rookie is easy to get; the NNOF is one of the true white whales of the junk-wax era. Thomas was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) in 2014.

2. 1909-11 T206 Sherry "Magie" (Misspelling)

The most famous error in the T206 set. Sherry Magee's name was printed "Magie," caught, and corrected, so the error is far scarcer than the corrected Magee card. It sits alongside the Honus Wagner, Eddie Plank and Joe Doyle variations as one of the set's great rarities. Magee himself was a star of the Deadball Era for the Phillies, finishing with a .291 career average and 2,169 hits.

3. 1989 Fleer Bill Ripken "FF" Error

The most famous error card of all time: Bill Ripken posed with an obscenity written on the knob of his bat, and Fleer printed it. Ripken later admitted he wrote it himself to mark a batting-practice bat. Fleer's fixes produced five versions, from the original to the white-out, white scribble, black scribble and black box. Read our full guide to every version of the Ripken error.

4. 1969 Topps Mickey Mantle #500 (White Letters)

Mantle's final Topps card as a player comes in two versions. Most show his last name in yellow; a scarcer variation prints "MANTLE" in white. The white-letter version carries a significant premium at every grade, and it is easy to miss if you don't know to look for it.

5. 1952 Topps Johnny Sain (Page Bio)

Early printings of 1952 Topps #49 Johnny Sain carried Joe Page's biography on the back, while Page's card carried Sain's. Sain is a great story in his own right: he was the last man to pitch to Babe Ruth in organized baseball, in a 1943 Red Cross benefit game, and the first major league pitcher to face Jackie Robinson in 1947. A black-back version of the error is scarcer still.

6. 1952 Topps Joe Page (Sain Bio)

The other half of the swap: 1952 Topps #48 Joe Page with Johnny Sain's write-up on the back. The corrected version is far more common, and as 1952 Topps in general becomes harder to find in high grade, the error has only become tougher. Like Sain, it also exists with a black back.

7. 2006 Topps Alex Gordon #297

Topps put Royals prospect Alex Gordon in its 2006 set before he had played a major league game, which the rookie card rules of the time did not allow. Topps tried to pull the card by cutting Gordon's image out of the sheets, so most copies are an empty frame. Gold and silver foil blank versions also exist, and the rare intact card, estimated in the low hundreds, is the one collectors want. Gordon debuted on Opening Day 2007 and went on to win the 2015 World Series with Kansas City.

8. 1948 Leaf Gene Hermanski (Misspelled)

The 1948 Leaf set first printed Gene Hermanski's name as "Hermansk." The error was corrected, and the original remains a key piece for collectors of this early postwar set, especially in high grade. Hermanski played for the Brooklyn Dodgers alongside Jackie Robinson.

9. 1987 Donruss Opening Day Barry Bonds (Johnny Ray Pictured)

The 1987 Donruss Opening Day boxed set first showed Pirates teammate Johnny Ray on Barry Bonds's card, in a dark jersey. Donruss caught the mistake early and replaced the photo, so the error is much harder to find than the corrected card.

10. 1977 Topps Star Wars C-3PO #207

The most famous non-sports error. The photo on card #207 showed C-3PO with an unfortunate-looking detail that led Topps to airbrush it out on later printings. The original is one of the most sought-after Star Wars cards ever made.

11. 1954 Bowman Emlen Tunnell ("Tunnel")

1954 Bowman #102 first spelled Emlen Tunnell's name with one L. The corrected version followed. Tunnell was the first Black player for the New York Giants and the first Black player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (HOF), in 1967, which keeps demand for both versions strong.

12. 1990-91 Hoops Sam Vincent #223 (Jordan in #12)

Not a correction so much as a famous oddity. The photo on Orlando's Sam Vincent card shows Michael Jordan in the background wearing #12. Jordan's #23 jersey was stolen before a February 14, 1990 game in Orlando, and he played that night in a number 12 jersey. It is one of the few cards anywhere that shows Jordan in a number other than 23 or 45.

13. 1989 Upper Deck Dale Murphy #357 (Reverse Negative)

Upper Deck's first set printed Dale Murphy's photo backwards, making the right-handed slugger look like a lefty. The reverse negative was corrected, and the error was one of the big chase cards of 1989. Fun fact: the 1957 Topps Hank Aaron is also a reverse negative, and Topps never corrected it.

14. 1981 Fleer Graig Nettles ("Craig" on Back)

Early copies of the 1981 Fleer Graig Nettles card spelled his first name "Craig" on the back. Fleer corrected it. Nettles anchored third base for the Yankees teams that won back-to-back World Series in 1977 and 1978.

15. 1988 Topps Al Leiter #18 (Wrong Player Pictured)

Al Leiter's 1988 Topps rookie card first showed Yankees minor leaguer Steve George instead of Leiter. Topps fixed the photo, and the error remains a fun piece for Yankees and error collectors alike. The error is pictured on the left.

Shop error cards at Cardboard Picasso

We keep a rotating selection of famous errors and oddballs in our Error Cards and Oddballs category, including two graded 1989 Fleer Bill Ripken FF errors. We also have graded Frank Thomas rookies and the standard 1969 Topps Mickey Mantle #500 in our Baseball category. Every card is graded or authenticated, fixed-price, and US orders of $99 or more ship free.