Well not really.

But I did have a unique COA issued to me recently by one of my collector friends – Alex Magraw. Check his interview out and you might get some insight into the type of mind that would create such a COA:

http://vintagestarwarscollectors.com/collector-interview-1-alexander-magraw-the-beard-behind-that-luke-bespin-limelight/

It was actually this interview that sparked the events leading to this post. In the interview Alex flagged the “Dark Ginger” Bespin Luke as one of the hardest to find variants of this figure. I have almost 20 of these variants and I was pretty sure one of them was the elusive dark rangas (non-Aussies can google that), oops I mean dark gingers. I emailed Alex a photo but he couldn’t quite tell from the pic so he offered to examine it in person. I sent it to him and a few weeks later, much to my pleasant surprise, I received a nice little package from the big man. I was even more surprised when I found this one of a kind COA:

And here is the little fella standing proudly with his brothers, no longer is he conflicted by the existential angst of not knowing what variant he really is.

I’m not necessarily against AFA, except for their u-grading antics, but this really highlights that we don’t always need their assistance to identify hard to find variants and I’m pretty sure this same logic can be applied to the AFA’s identification of repros, reseals and other surreptitious methods of ripping off collectors. Let’s help each other out once in a while and strengthen the bonds that tie our community together. It shouldn’t all be about money or having the best collection. That said, I recognise that all collectors aren’t lucky enough to have friends in the collecting community that can help them out. Then again, Bill McBride, Darth Vader collector extraordinaire (see his interview with us here – http://vintagestarwarscollectors.com/collector-interview-2-bill-mcbride-dark-lord-of-the-sith/) issues COAs for double telescoping saber, for which he charges a very small fee. He used to do it pro bono but I guess getting 100 requests a week can take some of your time! If Bill and Alex can do it, then I’m sure other experienced collectors can do it.

Thanks again Alex and thanks all for reading!