Uncut Sheet

1962 Topps Football Uncut Sheet

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This original, uncut sheet of 132 different cards from the 1962 Topps football set was auctioned off in April 2004.

The 27-3/4” x 42-1/2” Ex-conditioned panel presents many of the set’s high-profile stars and short-prints, including Ditka, Groza, Davis, Meredith, Starr, Hornung, Gregg, Jordan, Tarkenton, McElhenny, Tittle, Gifford, Layne, Kilmer, and Brodie.

These black-bordered sheets are incredibly scarce. The only reference I can find online to them is from The Vintage Football Card Gallery, which has a page dedicated to virtual uncut sheets but includes a photo of the other second-half sheet a collector sent him. 

1952 Bowman Uncut Sheet Including Mickey Mantle

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Here’s a cool one from my hobby library auction catalog archives: a 1952 Bowman Uncut Production Sheet with Mickey Mantle (cards 73 through 108).

Mastro offered this one in their “Fine Sports Auctions” November 2000 catalog. It was described as a complete 36-card final production sheet. The sheet’s corners all showed wear consistent with a Very Good card, and a fairly heavy crease runs across the second row from the bottom, along with a few shorter creases and some wrinkling.

I don’t know what it sold for, but the minimum bid was $5k.

REA re-sold the sheet (you can tell from the crease on the Billy Hitchcock card – 2nd from the right on the bottom row) in their 2020 Spring catalog for $45,600.

1935 R321 Goudey 4-in-1 Uncut Sheet of 6 cards

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An item you won’t see often, this one from Mastro’s December 2002 catalog, “a very scarce 6-1/2’’ x 7-3/4’’ final process uncut sheet that contains six 1935 Goudey cards on the front and a complete puzzle-back photo of Chuck Klein on the reverse.”

They wrote that the sheet was in VG condition with a tear near the upper left corner and a stain in the lower right.

The sheet features Dickey, Lazzeri, Ruffing, Vance, Traynor, and Ott.

The major auction houses have moved a few other R321 sheets over the years; Heritage sold this one with Foxx, Dean, and six other HoFers in November 2014 for $2868. 

Heritage also sold a panel with Babe Ruth and nine other HoFers in November 2014 for $4063.

And REA sold this twelve-card sheet (with the Detroit Tigers team on the back) for $8,812 in the spring of 2008.

1956 Topps Baseball Uncut Promotional Sheets

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I shared a pair of 1956 Topps baseball 110-card uncut sheets a little while ago. Well, according to an article and this photo from the Spring 1982 issue of Baseball Cards, Topps also used uncut sheets as store promotional items. Has anyone seen another photo/item like this one?

The article said, “The descriptive advertising poster was pasted in the center of the uncut sheet to hype the sale of ’56 cards.” The author also argued that although the ‘poster’ proclaimed everything in 1956 was the biggest, he contended that the cards were the same size, had similar stars, and were only second in series/set size.

1956 Topps Uncut Sheet of 110 Cards

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Hobby History From A November 2001 Mastro Auction – A 1956 Topps Baseball Uncut Sheet of 110 Cards.

This 110-card production sheet features cards numbered 1-100 plus ten double prints. Included are Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Roberto Clemente, Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Al Kaline, Ernie Banks, and Warren Spahn. Hank Aaron and William Harridge are among the double-printed cards.

I’ve read that the hobby has under 30 1956 Topps production sheets, and many are overprinted errors.

Regarding pricing, REA sold the following example in their Spring 2022 catalog for $57600. Ernie Banks and Jackie Robinson are double-printed on this one!

1938 R323 Goudey Heads-Up Complete Low Number Series Uncut Sheet of 24 Cards

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This incredible 1938 R323 Goudey Heads-Up Complete Low Number Series Uncut Sheet of 24 Cards with DiMaggio, Foxx, and Feller was available in Mastro’s December 2004 catalog.

The sheet contains the set’s entire first series, numbers 241-264, inclusive, and ordered in sequence. Of the twenty-four players, nine are Hall of Famers. The sheet was described as being 14-1/4” x 11-3/8” with some corner and border faults and some visible restoration to suppress surface flaws.

The Hall of Famers include Charlier Gehringer, Ernie Lombardi, Jimmy Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Greenberg, Al Lopez, Bobby Doerr, Ducky Medwick, and Bob Feller.

1969 Topps Display Box Proof Sheet

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Here’s a 1969 Topps Cello Box Proof Sheet. Notice both the purple and red box variations on the single sheet.

The sheet was described as a large 29” x 38” uncut final process sheet that contains six complete 24 count ten cent 1969 Topps display boxes, with each box containing the color photos of Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski, Bob Gibson, Pete Rose, and others. The sheet was folded down and across at the center over the years and was listed as in VG condition.

Here are examples of both 1969 Topps cello box variations.