Topps Tiffany… much demand or no?
 

Am curious to hear from experienced collectors of more modern cards what their take is on the collectibility of the 1980’s Topps Tiffany cards.

I have read anecdotally that the production run of, for example, 1985 Topps Tiffany was a very small one compared to the massive production of the go-go, never stop printing 80’s cards.

If true, does there seem to much demand for the Tiffany cards?

I’m an older Clemens guy from his Red Sox days and am hoping he sneaks into the Hall later this month - I picked up a couple of his 85 Tiffany cards just to have something a bit more interesting and scarce (plus I always liked his 85 Topps card anyway)

Are Tiffany cards in relative demand for modern issues or are they more just artificial “rarity?” Trying to figure if I just wasted my $$ 😂

Thx all

Jeff

Tiffany cards will prove to be an unbelievable investment.

The production numbers don’t lie

I have always collected Topps Tiffany sets every year. Agree with poster above about being a superior investment. I believe most mid-range collectors / investors do not realize how limited the production runs were.

About 20 years ago when I completed my 1984-1991 run of the Topps Tiffany sets, I was surprised then how under-appreciated these cards were value wise. Even today, with all of the breakups of these sets for key singles and the card value explosion witnessed over the past two years, these sets still seem undervalued...especially considering their low populations. I keep thinking that anytime these sets/cards will explode in value as compared to their standard counterparts.

View the time capsule thread from 8 years ago regarding Tiffany cards:


https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=195396

I think they're great cards.

Is there a way to validate that a raw card is actually a Tiffany version?

It's glossy and the reverse side is brighter than the normal card. If you have them in hand it's very easy to tell.

I did the run of Tiffany sets and Tiffany traded sets from 84 to 91, and then added the limited edition sets issued in 2000, 2001 and 2002. All still in unopened boxes

Thanks Dan…

While collecting at the time as a kid, I knew nothing about Tiffany cards. Now collecting again, if I want to pick up a Topps card from that era, I opt for the Tiffany version - I only have a few though but do have more on the Want list. I've had to do some basic learning about the cards and how to identify them from base (turns out that raw cards listed as Tiffany on eBay aren't always Tiffany, can you believe it? :rolleyes:), but their improved appearance and relatively limited runs make them more appealing to me.

https://www.cardboardconnection.com/...aseball-cards:
1984 Topps Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: 10,000

1984 Topps Traded Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: not available

1985 Topps Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: 5,000

1985 Topps Traded Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: not available

1986 Topps Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: 5,000

1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: 5,000

1987 Topps Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: 30,000

1987 Topps Traded Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: 30,000

1988 Topps Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: 25,000

1988 Topps Traded Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: not available

1989 Topps Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: 25,000

1989 Topps Traded Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: 15,000

1990 Topps Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: not available

1990 Topps Traded Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: not available

1991 Topps Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: not available, although relatively scarce

1991 Topps Traded Tiffany Baseball
Print Run: not available

Even 8 years ago they were not expensive to get. I thought about getting them at the time, but I didn’t have much money and figured with the way the market had been going forever, I could get them whenever I wanted. No one seemed that interested. Then all hell broke loose.

Interesting to me, given the oddities of 80s cards, how many true RCs (by my definition not Beckett) issued during the Topps Tiffany run are not available in Topps Tiffany.

Clemens
Puckett
McGriff
E Martinez
Smoltz
Biggio
Schilling
Belle
Thome
Mussina
Lofton
P Martinez

A couple more I forgot.

As almost exclusively a post war collector of Bowman, Topps and Fleer cards, my rookiest card of any player is when he first appears in one of those sets. Very unscientific and absolutely no hobby recognition but as a set rather than player or rookies collector it just how it works out for me and I don’t worry about other hobby definitions

But your observation is interesting Peter. I have never seen most of my Tiffany cards as they are mostly still is sealed boxes

Peter,

Nice cards. I did not notice that trend re: rookie cards either. I usually collect sets, like Al-R, so have not opened my sets either.

Tiffany just parallels base Topps, so none of those players (by my definition) have a RC in Topps either. A lot of other companies were out ahead of Topps on some future HOFers and near HOFers even though (I think) it issued a traded set every year.

I also note that perhaps the production runs weren't limited, but Fleer Glossy and Score Glossy cards don't seem to get much interest.

Everything you need to know about Tiffany cards www.tiffanycards.com


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Neat site. Thanks for posting. I stopped buying the Tiffany sets after 2002

From 2015 until 2018 Topps produced " Limited sets with production limited to 999 sets. Far far below the production of the Tiffany sets. They sell for a few times what a factory set sells for for the same years. Interesting to see where these are at 30 to 40 years down the road.

If I recall the 2018 set doesn't have the Soto or Acuna rookies which I think would hurt it a lot.

My fear with the “limited” sets is “are they going to brick due to the high gloss?”

I have no idea if these sets are prone to bricking…but an awful lot of unopened material of that era is a disaster waiting to happen for anyone who opens it.

With a lot of recent glossy cards, they stick together and are hard to separate. They are like a hard brick and many peel when you try to take they apart. I know from experience. Be careful and place in a good environment.

I have the Tiffany base and Traded sets from 84-91 and the Limited sets from 2000-2002. None have been out of the box and seals are still in place. They all may be bricks for all I will ever know. They seem to sell for more sealed than opened.

One of my favorite cards from the 80s:

The Tiffany's from the 80's are very popular. At the time they sold for $100 a set which was very high for a new issue then.

All the kids of the mid-80's who chased Mattingly and Gooden are adults and many can afford the Tiffany versions now, which are actually limited unlike most of the stuff from the 80's.

The only set which was produced in quantity is the 1987 set.

I love the Tiffany, I only get frustrated by the yellowing they can be prone to. Has anyone seen any good information to prevent the yellowing the high gloss seems to show on many?

JD,

I am not sure you can slow the yellowing much. I have some Topps Tiffany cards stored since purchase in the exact same manner and they seem to have varying degrees of Yellowing. All were kept out of exposure to UV light.

Z

I like low grade cards, but this is what keeps me from buying Tiffany, Chrome and Kelloggs - the cards get worse and worse over time pretty much no matter what you do with them.