Topps Venezuelans

[DBesse27]

Correct, the slabbed Rose is NOT a Venezuelan.

On a semi-related note, WTF happened to this thread??

[here2havefun]

Originally Posted by DBesse27

Correct, the slabbed Rose is NOT a Venezuelan.

On a semi-related note, WTF happened to this thread??

Thanks for the input on the Rose card, I sent the seller a message letting him/her know that PSA screwed up the label.

Regarding the bolded, I started collecting Venezuelans this year, and have thought about contributing to this thread. I have a bunch currently out with PSA, but will try to post pics soon of the cards I have in my possession.

[here2havefun]

Originally Posted by here2havefun

Thanks for the input on the Rose card, I sent the seller a message letting him/her know that PSA screwed up the label.

Regarding the bolded, I started collecting Venezuelans this year, and have thought about contributing to this thread. I have a bunch currently out with PSA, but will try to post pics soon of the cards I have in my possession.

So the seller replied with "Who am I to doubt PSA?". Not surprising. Is there anything else I can do.....report it to Ebay?

[DBesse27]

Originally Posted by here2havefun

So the seller replied with "Who am I to doubt PSA?". Not surprising. Is there anything else I can do.....report it to Ebay?

Nope. If you owned the card, you could send it to PSA and they’d fix it for free. But since you don’t, your hands are tied.

My “WTF happened” comment was about the political talk. Please DO share as many pics of Venezuelan cards as you’d like!

[a761506]

At the National, I was able to see a 1968 Venezuelan album for the first time ever, and it was partially filled with NM looking cards which had been glued in.

What was most interesting about the album was the distribution of the cards between the 4 series. 1st series cards 1-109 are the most plentiful, while 2nd series 110-198 aren't far behind (this album was about 65-75% completed in series 1-2)... but by the 3rd series, it became obvious there were significantly fewer cards (3rd series completion 25-30%), and by the 4th series, they were nearly extinct (4th series completion 15-20%). It made me wonder whether the 3rd and 4th series cards were so rare that packs could barely even be found to buy, which I think is indeed the case as opposed to lack of interest... I just don't think Venezuelan baseball card collectors just stopped collecting as a group when the 3rd series hit, I just don't think they printed nearly as many. This correlation is true within my own collection as well, there is no doubt in my mind the 3rd and 4th series cards had a more-limited production and probably not nearly enough were produced to meet demand.

The Ryan rookie card is still very rare relative to other non-Venezuelan cards, but Maris (330), Banks (355) and the All-Star cards of Aaron, Yaz, Morgan, Carew & B. Robinson are extremely rare.

Also of note, John Rumierez, who traveled and lived in Venezuela during the 1980's and was a big collector of these cards, is under the impression that card 152, World Series with Yaz, was never produced with the correct back, it can only be found with the checklist on the back. I also agree with this, but would love to be proven wrong. In the album, the Marichal checklist, which has the 152 back, has been glued into album spot 152, while the Yaz WS card with the checklist back was glued into spot 107, which is the number of the checklist.

What's also interesting is the ad on the back cover of the album... the product is Corona brand orange-flavored chewing gum. Corona looks to be both a candy manufacturer and a candy shop which presumably sold packs of the cards. It's distinctly possible they were responsible for the printing and distribution of the albums. This album has a similar look to it as the 64, 66 and 67 albums.

[here2havefun]

Awesome post Josh. Really interesting to hear your thoughts on the distribution/availability of the different series from 1968. Cool pics too, I've never seen a Venezuelan album in person, hope I get a chance to at some point.

[a761506]

These cards are clearly US issues. Gross incompetence by PSA. Venezuela Topps version has no front gloss, different color beige on front, muted ink colors on back and a distinct sandstone texture on back. They cannot be mistaken with the US card. Screws the pop report good too.

Contacted seller, eBay ID: cg0184, we'll see if they do the right thing, pull it and send back to PSA for correction.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202751429120
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193034720790

[here2havefun]

Yeesh, that's four mislabeled cards in the past two months ('62 HR Leaders, '64 Pete Rose, and the two '60 Mantle/Boyer).

I haven't been collecting Venezuelas that long....How often do you all see mislabeled cards pop up? I.e. PSA/SGC/BGS slabs of US cards labeled as Venezuelan.

[Jim65]

I need opinions. To me it looks like 2 genuine and 2 reprints.

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by Jim65

I need opinions. To me it looks like 2 genuine and 2 reprints.

I concur

[Cliff Bowman]

Originally Posted by Jim65

I need opinions. To me it looks like 2 genuine and 2 reprints.

All four are legit. As a rule of thumb on 1972 Venezuelans, if there is any evidence of the card being glued into an album it is the real deal, if the back is clean with absolutely no evidence of ever being placed into an album it is one of those mid 2000's counterfeits. The cards on the left are the legit cards and the cards on the right are examples of the counterfeit cards. It's very easy to see the difference in font on the Sadecki in Action card, the Martinez and McAndrew cards are a little more difficult but the difference in font can be seen by comparing the names. The legit cards also have clearer photos. I don't know if the #105 Sadecki card was ever counterfeited.

[Jim65]

Originally Posted by Cliff Bowman

All four are legit. As a rule of thumb on 1972 Venezuelans, if there is any evidence of the card being glued into an album it is the real deal, if the back is clean with absolutely no evidence of ever being placed into an album it is one of those mid 2000's counterfeits. The cards on the left are the legit cards and the cards on the right are examples of the counterfeit cards. It's very easy to see the difference in font on the Sadecki in Action card, the Martinez and McAndrew cards are a little more difficult but the difference in font can be seen by comparing the names. The legit cards also have clearer photos. I don't know if the #105 Sadecki card was ever counterfeited.

Great info, thanks Cliff.

[here2havefun]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164024739438

I've only been collecting Venezuelans for about a year, so I don't have a great idea of the market for the super high-end cards, but I was shocked by this price. Worth noting, the highest bidder has zero feedback.

[DBesse27]

I don’t have the best eye for this, but it looks trimmed to me. Would also explain why somebody wouldn’t have it graded for resale.

[here2havefun]

Yeah it certainly looks to be small, based on the amount of border showing. I don't own very many 68's, so don't know if that's common among that set.