Whiteouts - real or not? It's been asked a million times.
I have little doubt that there were 'whiteout' cards created by Fleer employees that entered the market. But I think these
could've been individual creations by workers - post production. True? Who knows. Were workers told to create variations to drive interest? Did workers make creations to sell on the outside? People were paying $$ for factory scraps.
Before the internet, rumors spread about a 'whiteout' or 'white scratch' version. Beckett first coined it the 'White Scribble'. Many believe this to be the real 'whiteout'. Pictures weren't as easy to share back then. I'm sure that many, many people made up there own 'whiteout' versions to sell/collect.
There is a chance that Fleer did make a real 'whiteout' but it is so rare that either we haven't seen yet or we couldn't recognize them amidst all of the bogus crap out there. Tons of crap.
Here is a set of 'Whiteout' progressive proofs. These aren't the same as the legitimate 'White Scribble' version. Maybe a real version that just hasn't surfaced yet or is ultra rare? Remember - there are other confirmed versions out there that only have a few examples known. Maybe real 'whiteouts' are somewhere yet to be found.
That being said - it's safe to say that at least 99% of 'graded' whiteout cards are either homemade creations by fraudsters or post production creations by Fleer. Likely the first. Buyer beware. The number of newly graded examples is alarming. Too easy to turn a 50 cent card into $200.
Also note that until a few years ago, PSA didn't differentiate between 'whiteouts' and 'white scribbles' on their flips. That makes their POP reports way off.
Happy Hunting.