1974 Topps Deckle Edge Article
 

I came across this article in the Sports Collectors News 9-19-1977. It states that there are as few as 20 complete sets in existence. PSA has over 2700 graded examples in there pop reports. Thoughts? Hopefully you can read it. It looks so good on my IPad until I upload it.Attachment 350373

I went overboard on this set, which I like a lot. I completed it first in grey back deckled, then white back deckled ( white is tougher) , then in undeckled proof form ( cut from sheets but no deckle cut, just straight edges) , and finally found two uncut sheets with the entire set. Hardest card for me to get was white back deckled Fisk. Also have a couple of unopened packs

Al: do you believe Lifson in that there may be no more than 20 sets? And was it exclusively limited to the Boston area and available for only 2 weeks or so?

FWIW - the first five 1974 Deckle cards I purchased towards my set were from a Trader Speaks ad placed that year by a Boston area collector.

The set was produced on two sheets. I have to think a lot more than 20 of each sheet were produced. I am not a graded collector but it looks like there are 8 or so completed sets on the Registry. I have 4 sets. And, I bet if someone has access to the PSA population reports it will show a lot more than 20 for different players. I do think the white backs are much scarcer. See Dave Hornish's blog about why that might be

https://toppsarchives.blogspot.com/s...Topps%20Deckle

Couple of articles

https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awr4...IOa4b8GeYIo.E-

https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awr4...FtanrEGLYWFNY-

https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0ge...kEj0zC.Gx8_j4-

https://oi1267.photobucket.com/album...psizo8m8tn.jpg
https://oi1267.photobucket.com/album...psfbticbwn.jpg

The Gibson below is a fake

https://oi1267.photobucket.com/album...psc90a34f7.jpg

Packs with and without gum

https://oi1267.photobucket.com/album...psj5jh7tzs.jpg

I keep a database of when test and scarce Topps issues first appeared in The Trader Speaks. The Deckles started showing up in earnest around the Spring of 1977. Here's five articles and ads from TTS all in 1977 (July, 3 Octobers and a December ad from that year. The two George Lyons ads and Lifson article were all in the October issue. Interesting to see them emerge along with the 74 Puzzles (first mentioned in the November 77 issue) three years after the fact.

George Lyons may have been responsible for cutting up all the "proof sheets" and if he wasn't, he sure knew who did. This is a typical Topps MO for dumping oddball sets and overstock into the hobby. Another method was having Bill Haber sell them at some of the bigger NYC shows of the day.

I'm sure they turned up earlier in the classified section but would have to go through the back issues to confirm.

I recall purchasing 5 singles for a buck each from a New England collector named Robert Pace (?) who had a one time ad. While I give up (for now) looking for that particular ad, I did see that on pg. 37 of the June 76 Trader Speaks issue, Bob Earhart was auctioning off Colborn, Horton and Splittorf with a $2.50 min. bid.

Good point-I stopped looking at the classifieds for that purpose when they multiplied in number but should go back and recanvass as a few things do pop up like this. It does look like some kind of stash was unleashed in '77 though.

I started collecting in 77-78, and they weren't massively uncommon in the Boston area at the time.

The story the local card shop told me-

The 74 deckles were released as a test through White Hen Pantry, (A local convenience store chain at the time and almost my neighbor hood store)
Since there were a few collectors/dealers in the area, at most stores one person bought everything. Probably the same person at multiple stores too.

That apparently messed up the test, to the point where Topps sort of stopped doing test issues.


I have no idea if that's at all accurate as I moved to town in late 77 so I missed it by a few years.