As avid BB card collectors when we kids, most of us were interested in the players' pictures and the informative bios on the backs of the cards.
Variations in colors, printing errors, etc. didn't phase most of us. For example, the 1952 Topps set was issued in 6 series. The first three series
[#1-80....81-130....131-190] had front and back variations. Here is an example of the Black and Red backs of a first series card. In the Spring
of 1952, as a young kid in Hillside (NJ), I remember getting only Black backs of the first 80 cards in this set. A friend of mine in North Carolina
collecting 1952 Topps 1st series cards got Red backs. This back color change occurred during Topps press runs of their 2nd series cards (which
they printed with Red backs). Circa Summer of 1952, Topps re-printed their 1st Series cards (#1-80) due to the tremendous demand for their
product. This time with Red backs (as cards #81 - 407). You had to be collecting 1952 Topps cards back then to really appreciate how popular
they were that year.
Note the subtle color difference on the front of these two cards. This is true for all 1st series cards.
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TED Z
T206 Reference
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