The 1966/67 Topps hockey set is one of the decade’s most popular issues: wood-grain borders and Bobby Orr! I ran across this uncut sheet featuring the complete set of 132 cards in Mastro’s April 2004 auction catalog.
Mastro described the 26” x 43” final production sheet, arranged in the standard 11×12 layout, as being in Near-Mint condition, with only minor edge wear.
Now, let’s look at a few uncut sheets from this set that have popped up for sale over the years.
In May 2016, Heritage Auctions sold a different example of the regular issue Topps uncut sheet, printed in Canada, for $7,170.
On the lower end of the condition spectrum, but perhaps more unique, is this sheet I found listed on eBay at a $6,000 asking price. It’s described as having a blank back (but without a picture).
Lastly, there’s this incredible 1966/67 Topps USA Test uncut sheet that has been available on eBay, with an asking price of $44,000, courtesy of Vegas-Cardhouse.
The “1966-67” Topps American test set was pushed in 1967-68. Despite the doubling of size by the NHL in 1967, 65 of the 66 players in the American set did NOT change teams despite the massive expansion. If these cards came out before the upheaval, the editor of the set was a clairvoyant. The likelier explanation is that these 65 survivors were selected after the draft in a rush-job test for the six new American markets. The 66th card is of Red Kelly, listed with Toronto – who became the first coach of the LA Kings. Also contemporary accounts have the American cards being handed out by Ice Cream Truck operators in Southern California in the winter of 1967-68