The Case of the 1996 Upper Deck Game Jersey Sample Card...

Arguably one of the most recognizable and groundbreaking sets of the 1990's, the 1996 Upper Deck Game Jersey set (released in both football and hockey) introduced us to the world of game jersey cards.

After collecting Marino for over 27 years, it always amazes me that stuff just miraculously appears for sale after searching for so long (e.g., 1996 Stadium Club Sunday Night Redemption) or not even knowing that it  existed (e.g., 1997 Stadium Club Pro Bowl), but this case of the 1996 Upper Deck Game Jersey Sample is an extreme curiosity.

Where to start...? I'll just be upfront and say I'm 50/50 on whether or not they are real. I'll lay out my observations and let you make your own opinion.

Plausible

• The photo on the front is from the 1995 Upper Deck SE set and the photo on the back is from the 1995 Upper Deck Choice set (but heavily manipulated/photoshopped). So the time period matches on using images that would have been available.
• The 'SAMPLE' text matches a 1996 UD Meet the Stars sample I have. So that does give it some credence, or it's a nice touch.
  
• The damage on the front where the black meets the color overlay is common with these cards, if this were a true sample I could see it getting passed around and getting a lot of damage.
  

Questionable

• Poor quality of the printing and image resolution. The Play Football and Pro Line logos are downright terrible.
• Some of the font looks the same as the pack issued version, but other text is slightly off. Is the poor printing resolution an attempt to hide the fact the original text couldn't be matched exactly?
• The jersey material is different.
• Very few 'SAMPLE' cards from this era exist from Upper Deck, and even fewer prototypes which this card would be. In fact, I've never seen an Upper Deck prototype card before this one.

The provenance from the seller (maxxattackk) was 'got them from a guy who knew a guy.' The seller had five of these up for auction, but only two different sets of pictures were used. The first listing went for $362, followed by $275, $158, $100, and $72. Would a poor quality sample/prototype have at least five made? I don't know. 

Real? Fake? Decide for yourself.