From: ssmith1701@aol.com (SSmith1701) Newsgroups: rec.collecting.cards.non-sports Subject: Re: Bab 5 SE - Mira Furlan Date: 14 Jul 1997 00:30:11 GMT Message-ID: <19970714003000.UAA18969@ladder02.news.aol.com> I'm a free-lance author who writes the B5 trading cards. You can verify this through Joe Straczynski . I also post over in the newsgroup. There have been a lot of rumors flying about regarding this card. One wholly false allegation was posted over in . I've seen people claim that Fleer employees siphoned off autographed Mira cards and substituted them with these. Another suggested that Mira was sent autographed cards by mistake (as if she's too stupid to realize the difference!). The truth of the matter is that Mira signed 1,000 autographed cards in exchange for Fleer/Skybox printing up a certain number of cards she could distribute personally. The autographed cards were printed in a separate run from the Special Edition, to give her time to sign the cards before collation began. The personal cards were printed with the Special Edition cards, to save money. During collation, someone made a mistake and dropped a few of the leftover personal cards into the Special Edition sets. Let's be very clear about one fundamental fact -- ALL 1,000 OF THE AUTOGRAPHED CARDS ARE IN CIRCULATION. Wild tales of evil employees stealing cards are flat untrue, and probably libelous. I know how many cards were printed up for Mira. She received what she requested. I also know how many Fleer thinks got into the Special Edition. How many? Well, to be blunt, it's nobody's business except Mira's. They're her cards. It's up to her to reveal that information should she choose. In any case, only a very few of these personal cards made it into the Special Edition. They did *not* replace any other cards, regular or chase. The odds stated on the sides of the boxes are correct. There are always a very few leftover cards, because Fleer prints a few extra to replace damaged cards turned in by collectors. But these personal cards did *not* replace any other cards that should have been out there. Any theories that there's one "mystery" card per case are simply wrong. Any theories that the personal card was substituted in lieu of the autographed card are also wrong. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about -- and may have a hidden motive. I'm told that one person called Fleer demanding he be given an autographed card in exchange for the personal card. Some others are out there trolling for insider info on how Fleer collates and distributes the cards. Normally I stay out of these matters. I'm not a pro card collector, I'm just a writer. But I wanted the record to be quite clear what's going on here. Stephen C. Smith Author, B5 Trading Cards