Monday, January 9, 2012

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - No 'Fabrique' Gold

When it comes to my Trevor Linden collection - I am a completest.

I want one of everything....show cards, oddballs, regional issues, food issues, parallels and variations. Just the slightest difference is all that I need to add it to the list.

And this pickup is definitely one that has been a long time coming.


1997/98 Katch
#146 Gold version
**no 'Fabrique au Canada'**

For years, I have known about these Katch coins. A simple product release with a regular, silver and gold version.

It took a while, but I eventually tracked down all three colors and was happy to brag about the trifecta. That was until I learned about a slight variation to the coins.

I called it - the 'Fabrique au Canada' version.


You can see here on the back of this one....well.....nothing. But stay with me...you'll soon learn of my geekness towards variations.


If you take a close look at the two coins, you will see a difference.

Here's a closer look.


The simple text on the one saying 'Fabrique au Canada' has turned one coin on the list into two.

Now when I first learned about this alternate version I searched high and low for the non-'Fabrique' versions (since I had the ones with the extra print). It was a few years before I tracked a regular version down and for a while, I was even questioning their existence (although I had seen the variation on other players' coins).

Now with the regular copy in the books, the search for the silver and gold was on.

Obviously, with a smaller print run, it would be a tougher task. Again, I questioned their existence until one day just a few years ago I found the silver copy. That was the real breakthrough.

Now I knew that the gold version existed. But those coins almost never came up on ebay or hobby boards in general. Finding one would be near impossible.

Key word - near.


I can now proudly present the six pack of Katch coins - and I think they look stunning all together.


A real accomplishment for the Linden pc and some of my favorite pieces. That's the geek in me talking.

It's a great reminder to me that even though an item may be on the list for many years, it's never a reason to stop looking for it.

10 comments:

  1. Oh man, now I have to track down the Axelsson versions of these. Thanks a lot, man. Thanks, a lot.

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  2. Thanks for pointing out that a variation exists, I had no idea they were out there. Just means there's more hunting for me to do for my Roenick, Samsonov, Thornton, and Yzerman collections!

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  3. how big are those? They look like jar lids, but I'm guessing they're smaller...

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  4. They're a little larger than the Mcdonald Olympic coins. They won't fit in a standard sized top loader, so I had to go with one of those flimsy deals.

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  5. I've never actually seen or heard of these before, cool stuff though...

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  6. What is price difference with the siler and the gold? Substantial?

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    1. I can't remember the final values, but I believe the silver was in the $5-7 range and the gold $15-20.

      For each of the coins I bought, I feel I paid a fair price.

      Nothing too drastically different.

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  7. Great article Brett, thanks for shedding some light on this. Just pulled in my 4th variation, still need the silver & gold Fabrique versions.

    Al

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  8. Replies
    1. You are very welcome Mika. Thanks for commenting.

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