Golden Boy Is Finally Home

A 2009-10 Upper Deck SP Authentic Sign Of The Times Autographed card signed in Gold Ink. These cards are nomrally signed in Blue. A first for my collection.

Who says you can't teach an old card new tricks?

With the increased trend of different coloured autographs on the scene, this "new" pickup for the Jhonas Enroth card collection hits the nail on the head this week.

After stumbling upon this SOTT (Sign Of The Times) card late last week, this autographed jumped out at me straight away. The autograph itself looked more than fine, but the colour stood out to me the most..

...Golden Boy has arrived. 
​

Golden Boy - Seinfeld

After seeing what I had saw, I reached out to the owner of this card to make a deal. The card arrived today and I couldn't be happier with this card for my collection. 

But why the fuss over a gold autograph?

Since the inception of hard-signed autographs on cards, blue ink was the standard colour used within the industry, so having a clean Sign Of The Times (SOTT) autographed card with a golden autograph was a must for this collection. As someone who is always looking out for something new and unique to add to my collection, this fit perfectly.

Although the regular Jhonas Enroth autographed card from this SP Authentic set isn't rare or knowingly Short Printed (SP'd), I did catch myself wondering just how many of these cards were signed in gold? Ten, maybe five, dare I say only one single card? (Note: As of December 1st 2021, I have now confirmed another copy of this gold autograph variation is out there)

I could speculate on how this card came to be for weeks on end, but I ultimately suspect it was a normal case of a Sharpie running out of ink which caused Enroth to sign this card in gold. I know he had signed a few other sets in gold ink as requested by Upper Deck, so that doesn't leave much to the imagination. I've also seen it play out where leftover, unsigned cards were later signed by the player and distributed at a later date with a different coloured autograph, so maybe that is the case here with this golden autograph?

Although nobody in the hobby knows truly knows the answer or how this card came to be, that type of card mystery will draw me in every single time, especially as a collector who is always on the lookout trying to add new cards or different variants to my extensive collection. 

​Have you ever stumbled upon an unknown "variantion" in your card collecting travels? 

Happy Collecting, 

- Crease

Blue Ink

Gold Ink