Toughest "regular" issued set from the 1970s??

[savedfrommyspokes]

Amazing....a 71 OPC baseball set offered by H & S closed last evening with a final hammer price of $10K. For a regular issued (albeit a low print run distributed in a different country) mid grade set from the 70s this is absolutely amazing.

https://www.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-...=271&lotno=313

While there may have been other offerings for this set (or near set) more recently, the last offering I remember was through PWCC a while back that closed for less than $1800 (I regretted not bidding, big time).

http://www.pwccauctions.com/item.php?item_no=978408

Obviously the key to this set are the last two series....the last two series of this set are the toughest I have ever tried to collect.

[Exhibitman]

Love the set; 71 is my favorite set from my childhood and the OPC back design is much better than the Topps design. I've been collecting single cards for a while. I pay probably 2x-5x what I would pay for a Topps in comparable condition.

That set had a lot of really nice keys. Given the smaller pop, lower quality OPC cardboard, rough edges and crappy centering that plagues the issue, I'd not call that a midgrade set. I'm pleased if the card is crease-free and looks ex-ish. Still, amazing price.

[David W]

Early 70's OPC are a lot harder than early 70's Topps.

And as Adam stated the 71 OPC backs are mostly different, and in yellow, so it is almost a different set.

[autograf]

O-Pee-Chee is en fuego right now. Especially 1960's and 1970's. The later stuff is easier to come by. Have seen a lot of complete sets selling. Guess the prices are bringing it out of the woodwork. Missed out on a NRMT 1976 O-Pee-Chee set at the National by a HAIR. Not a huge dollar set but at the price ($60) it was MORE than a bargain. Like everyone else, really like the 1971's. I have a Ryan and that's about it other than maybe some commons lying around somewhere.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by autograf

O-Pee-Chee is en fuego right now. Especially 1960's and 1970's. The later stuff is easier to come by. Have seen a lot of complete sets selling. Guess the prices are bringing it out of the woodwork. Missed out on a NRMT 1976 O-Pee-Chee set at the National by a HAIR. Not a huge dollar set but at the price ($60) it was MORE than a bargain. Like everyone else, really like the 1971's. I have a Ryan and that's about it other than maybe some commons lying around somewhere.

That is good to know. A while back by dad was buying up any and all OPC he could find because he knew they were rarer but lower in price. He then got out of collecting and sold most everything but kept the OPCs and was recently going to get rid of them but I took them. I don't know what all there was but now I will have to check them out.

[JollyElm]

I have a box (couple hundred?) of 1970 OPC cards with a bunch of stars. Wonder if I should look to complete it?

[Exhibitman]

When I lived in NY [birth-1977] I never saw an OPC card. The first ones I saw [in 1979] were 1971s that belonged to a friend in SoCal. He moved from Boston and got them in MA. So I guess there was some OPC penetration into New England.

[laughlinfan]

As I have probably rambled about in other posts, growing up an hour south of Niagara Falls, I am fortunate enough to have great memories of OPC baseball cards I bought on cross border excursions. Things I loved and still remember -

The gum was much better than the Topps gum! I went through an old storage box and found a stack of OPC wrappers from the late 70s, and when I flipped through them, I could still smell the gum! Might not have been Doc Brown's Delorean, but I was truly in a time machine for a few moments!

They were cool and unique, especially the ones with both English and French on them - always loved issues that were different!

The 1974 Hank Aaron Specials with only two cards pictured on each!

And the edges! Some look like they were cut with blades duller than a year old razor!

Always stunning to me that people didn't love them as much as I did. One time I talked with my friend's son in the 90s, who collected cards, and was surprised to hear that he and his friends joked about OPCs as poor knockoffs. Made me feel bad for my old cardboard friends!

[tjv815]

I got back into collecting around 2000. and started with my birthyear set of 1972. Shortly thereafter, I added 69-79. I had a blast working on those sets. About five years ago, I decided that I would work on the OPC sets, figuring I would have another great time putting these sets together, and giving me another opportunity to pick up some classic vintage cards. Nobody told me how difficult it was going to be to work on these sets. I am having a blast, but it has been a slow process. And I will agree with some earlier posts about the 1974 OPC set. Without a doubt, a difficult set to build. I love those Aaron specials from 74. Very cool. And I have always enjoyed seeing the differences between the Topps issue and the OPC issue. The backs of the 1971 and 74 sets really stand out. Overall, from 65-80, I am having a good time working on these sets.

[brewing]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

When I lived in NY [birth-1977] I never saw an OPC card. The first ones I saw [in 1979] were 1971s that belonged to a friend in SoCal. He moved from Boston and got them in MA. So I guess there was some OPC penetration into New England.

Adam, typo or did you have a friend that collected cards when you were 2?

[Exhibitman]

Birth-1977 = birth to 1977, not Birth = 1977.

[ALR-bishop]

I have seen him. I am older than him ,but he is not that young

[Exhibitman]

I'm not even 50; i just look old. All the card groupies just wear me out.