For their 1991 release, Topps randomly packed every card from every complete set produced by Topps over the last 40 years in 1991 retail packs, including the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card – though technically, the pricey and oversized cards were a redemption. On top of the instant-win cards, they also offered an anniversary sweepstakes, where they gave out complete sets from all 40 years to 40 winners. But the grand prize was all 40 sets from 40 years of Topps Baseball to a single winner!
The “incredible consumer prizes” were detailed to dealers on Topps’ sell sheets.
Topps then highlighted the instant-win prizes on their boxes, packs, and posters to collectors.
Jack Glenn won the grand prize but ended up selling all the cards, including the 1952 Mantle, to Mr. Mint Alan Rosen for $34k.
Rosen wrote in his book True Mint that even though Topps advertised the cards as being worth a lot more, their grades were only Vg to Ex.
The following engravers’ uncut proof sheet of a 1933 R333 Delong Gum complete set was described as “one of the finest and most magnificent uncut sheets of baseball cards in our entire hobby.”
The 12” x 13” sheet has great colors, a blank back (I can’t recall ever seeing a production sheet around the hobby), and includes all 24 images in the set. The consignor was said to have been tasked to create the color template for the issue and kept this one as a memento.
The April 2003 auction lot’s description described the arrangement of the cards on the sheet, commenting that the positioning of cards appears unrelated to the set’s numbering. So, the sheet dispelled previously held notions of relative scarcities with the production. However, you can see that Gehrig, Gehringer, William (Bill) Terry, and Pepper Martin occupy the sheet’s four corner positions, which would make them more susceptible to production line damage.
I’ve always loved wrapper collecting. Too bad I wasn’t buying yet in 2005 when this incredible lot of 100 (1949 to 1972) baseball, basketball, football, and hockey wrappers were auctioned off together.
Most were described as being in clean EX to NM condition. There was also a bit of duplication amongst the collection: BASEBALL: Bowman 1949 one cent green/orange, 1950 one cent dated, 1952 one cent. 1953 Color (GD), 1954 dated (VG) and 1955 (VG). Topps 1951 Red Back one cent, 1952 (VG), 1953 one cent (a NM beauty), 1954 one cent, 1955 one cent, 1955 Doubleheader one cent, 1956 one cent, 1957 one cent, 1958 one cent, 1959, 1960 (2), 1961 (2), 1962 (2), 1962 Baseball Bucks one cent, 1963 one cent, 1964, 1964 Giants, 1965, 1966, 1967 (3), 1968 (3), 1968 Posters, 1969, 1969 Posters, 1970 (2), 1971, 1971 Tattoos, 1971 Super, 1972 (5) and 1972 Posters. Leaf 1948-49 and 1960. Fleer 1960, 1961 and 1963. FOOTBALL: Bowman 1951 one cent, 1953, 1954 one cent and 1955. Topps 1951 Magic, 1956, 1957 one cent, 1958 one cent, 1959 one cent, 1960 one cent, 1961-71 and 1972 (5). Fleer 1960-63. Philadelphia 1964-67 Also 1961 Nu-Card, 1963 Topps Canadian and 1972 O-Pee-Chee. BASKETBALL: Fleer 1961-62. Topps 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72 and 1972-73. HOCKEY: Topps 1968-69, 1969-70, 1971-72 (2) and 1972-73.
Wrapper collecting isn’t for everyone, but they are way more affordable than unopened wax packs. And, stored in binders, vintage wrappers display very well together. Another cool thing about wrappers is that there’s usually exciting hobby history involved, as Topps often advertised giveaways on them.
I ran across this ad, from Mastro of all people, in the July 1981 issue of Trader Speaks, looking to sell or trade full unused mint tickets for the world heavy-weight championship boxing match between Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott at Chicago Stadium.
He mentions having five different tickets, each with clear portrait photos of the boxers, for $10 each (or for trade).
After exploring the PSA registry, it looks like Mastro was advertising a combination of phantom tickets for April 10th (white, orange, pink, and cream) and the actual fight on May 15th (blue and orange variations). Here are all the examples from Heritage Auctions.
When PSA first started grading tickets, I don’t believe they were not putting the ticket color on the slab, like the following example.
In the summer of 2006, Mastro had every pack from a 1968 Topps Football 1st Series Wax Box authenticated, graded, and slabbed by GAI.
The packs’ potential stars include Starr, Meredith, Namath, Sayers, Unitas, and Butkus. The grading breakdown was as follows: GAI Gem Mint 9.5: 1 pack; GAI Mint 9: 9 packs; GAI NM-MT+ 8.5: 9 packs; GAI NM-MT 8: 4 packs; GAI NM+ 7.5: 1 pack.
The lot also came with the empty display box, with the Pin-Up insert image of Johnny Unitas on its front panel, but I can’t get a good scan of it from the huge catalog, so here’s an example of a box that REA sold back in 2010.
Today, these boxes and packs are really pricey. REA sold a BBCE-authenticated wax box for $78k in the spring of 2022, and PSA-slabbed packs are selling for ~$1500 these days.
Topps began releasing unique baseball card sets in Venezuela in 1959, targeting the country’s strong baseball fan base. These sets, released in 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1968, closely resemble their American counterparts but can be challenging to differentiate. So, I thought I’d share the basics to help collectors identify them.
First, the consistent attribute across all years of Topps Venezuela baseball cards is that the card stock is darker, rougher, and less glossy than the American cards. Additionally, each set has a few unique characteristics, like copyright/trademark information, language, color, and size differences that I’ll cover below.
1959 Venezuelan Topps
1959 Venezuela (Left) and American (Right) #50 Topps Willie Mays – Fronts
1959 Venezuela (Left) and American (Right) #50 Topps Willie Mays – Backs
The unique thing about the 1959 set is that some cards have a Venezuela trademark; however, some don’t. That trademark that some cards have says, “Impreso En Venezuela Por Benco C.A.”
1959 Venezuelan Topps Trademark
1960 Venezuelan Topps
1960 Venezuela (Top) and American (Bottom) #10 Topps Ernie Banks – Backs
The 1960 Venezuelan Topps cards are the hardest to identify, so having the card in your hands is the best thing. But there is some information that can help with online sales. For the first series of cards, the Venezuelan ones are on gray paper stock, and the Topps are on white. For the second series, both are gray, so the best thing to look for is the gloss on the American cards and the matte finish of the Venezuelans. Also, I’ve read that the whole first series has a trademark, other than the three-team cards (but those Topps cards don’t have a trademark either). In the second series, 46 cards don’t have the trademark, and 42 cards do.
1962 Venezuelan Topps
1962 Venezuela (Top) and American (Bottom) #50 Topps Stan Musial – Backs
1962 Venezuelan Topps cards are pretty easy to identify, so long as you have a scan of the back because they are printed in Spanish.
1964 Venezuelan Topps
1964 Venezuela (Left) and American (Right) #216 Topps Mike de la Hoz – Backs
The 1964 Venezuelan Topps cards are easily distinguishable from the American versions because their backs are black, and the cards are usually cut a little smaller.
1966 Venezuelan Topps
1966 Venezuela (Left) and American (Right) #50 Topps Mickey Mantle – Backs
It can be tricky to identify without an American example nearby, but the biggest thing to notice about the 1966 Venezuelan Topps cards is that the back’s color is orange while the American cards are more pinkish. The Venezuelan cards can also be found cut slightly smaller.
1967 Venezuelan Topps
The 1967 Venezuelan Topps cards are also super easy to identify. There are three distinct groupings of cards in the 338-card run.
Cards 1-138 are Winter Leaguers.
1967 Venezuela Topps #92 Francisco Moscoso
Cards 139-188 are Retirado cards.
1967 Venezuela Topps #146 Ty Cobb
And cards 189-338 were active players (but the backs were totally different).
1967 Venezuela Topps #270 Pete Rose
1968 Venezuelan Topps
1968 Venezuela (Left) and American (Right) #144 Topps Joe Morgan – Backs
The 1968 Venezuelan Topps cars have a trademark on the back that reads, “Hecho en Venezuela – C.A. Litoven.” Since the printing was of a lower quality, sometimes the ink bled, so it can be hard to see the white lettering, and occasionally it’s not really there at all. The back is a different color too.
In conclusion, it’s important for those interested in collecting Venezuelan Topps cards to educate themselves on the card’s nuances to avoid misidentification. There are a lot of resources available, including a few experts who tend to hang out in a dedicated (private) Facebook group to help with this. While graded cards can be helpful, third-party graders have made some mistakes. Keep this in mind if you decide to tackle this tough hobby niche. Happy collecting!
Topps wasn’t going to acknowledge what led to them trying out some new things in their own magazine, but I think we all know the end of the Topps monopoly and competition from Donruss and Fleer drove the innovation.
Nevertheless, Pearlman’s article in Edition 9, The Winter 1992 release of Topps Magazine, provides a nice overview of some unique ’80s releases. In the comments, let me know which one’s your favorite.
