A question for the REAL old-timers!

[droid714]

I'm no spring chicken myself, I'm 65 years old, but I'm still too young to remember the cards from the 1950's The first cards that I personally collected from packs was the 1962 Topps set. I probably collected about half of the set and I have recollections of a few individual cards.

For example, I distinctly recall having at least two complete Ruth subsets along with a few more doubles. I also specifically recall having a Willie Tasby card, although I haven't the faintest clue if it was the "W" on cap version or the "plain cap" version. I wasn't even aware that there were two variations of the card.

The 1962 set had the "Green Tint" series, yet I have no recollection of ever noticing any green tinted cards, although I was never really looking for them.

Many early sets, (1949 Bowman, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959 and 1960 Topps) had back color variations. most had cards that were available in both gray or white cardboard; the 1952 set had the black and red backs and the 1953 set had the biographical information printed in either black or white. The 1954 Bowman set had numerous error cards that had the stats corrected in later printings.

Today's collectors are keenly aware of these variations and even pay premiums for some of them.

My question is this: Back in the day, were collectors aware of these differences? Were these variations sold together in the same packs? For example, the first 180 cards of the 1956 Topps set came in both white and gray backs. Were the cards in a pack either all white or all gray or could they be mixed? If you had noticed the differences, were you curious as to why the difference?

I've never heard much said about this subject and I've always been curious about it.