1959 Home Run Derby cards...

[tlwise12]

Recently at the national I was able to pick up one of these cards relatively cheap and didn't notice until I got home that it had been stamped on the back. I had always thought that these cards were blank backed! Does anyone here know how common this is???

Thanks
Travis
tlwise12@aol.com

[fkw]

The cards were produced by American Motors, so that fits.

Id give the stamp a small premium IMO, I like back stamps like that.

Nice find.

[hangman62]

Were you in a huge rush to pick up a card, purchase it, and never look at the back while you were at the dealers table

[tlwise12]

No,

like I said I actually was really confident that these cards were blank backed and that if it was reprinted it would say it on the front...

Travis

[slidekellyslide]

I'm pretty sure the reprints don't say "reprint" on them at all. Having that stamp on the back though is pretty cool IMO.

I'd like to grab a Dick Stuart someday, but that one seems to bring a high premium.

[Peter_Spaeth]

My understanding is that the reprints (or at least some of them) are not so designated but that they can be detected by differences in gloss.

[tlwise12]

Thanks a lot guys I really appreciate the help! Some of the reprints that were meant to be reprints do say so down one of the sides, BUT if they are just plain out fakes they do not...

Either way I thought the stamp was really cool and honestly I think its my only card with a stamp on the back...Geez something else to collect now...

Travis

[Rob D.]

Just an FYI on a pretty rare version of the Derby cards. I was able to work a deal to get this from Frank Ward, who I think said he's never seen another. It's among my favorite cards (but it won't be on the B/S/T soon).

[Peter_Spaeth]

still looking for a mays....

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Rob D.

Just an FYI on a pretty rare version of the Derby cards. I was able to work a deal to get this from Frank Ward, who I think said he's never seen another. It's among my favorite cards (but it won't be on the B/S/T soon).

That one is a beauty Rob...I didn't know Frank had let it go.

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

That one is a beauty Rob...I didn't know Frank had let it go.

Yes, the good news is Frank let it go. The bad news is if I ever have a son, I'll be shipping him to Hawaii.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

I grew about 7 miles away from where that auto dealer was located. Thanks for posting that.

[fkw]

Yes Rob, I asked many times on many sites if anyone seen another and never heard of any.
One guy I didnt know, did say he had a friend who had one (but he couldnt tell me the player) and was trying to talk me down on my price, I said if you show me a scan of another I'll knock down my price by 50%, but never heard back. Thats the closest.

The reprint HR Derby cards say reprint on the bottom of the front, but even if this is scuffed off they are easy to spot in person, the reprints are on a thicker sturdier card stock, the authentic cards are on a glossy type thin stock (similar to a R314-1).

[nolemmings]

REA had an Esslinger Home Run Derby sheet for sale a few years back. Apparently they issued individual cards too, as the Aaron was not hand cut from the sheet. The Aaron is cropped differently, not only top and bottom but also side to side (slightly).

I remember that card not meeting the $99 minimum bid on ebay, shortly before it sold. I have not seen any others.

[slidekellyslide]

Here's a pic of that Esslinger's poster

[smillz300]

Screenshot_20190208-092604.jpg
I'm just getting into the Home run Derby set and this Mantle i won last week has the same Stamp....very cool! These things are getting pretty hard to find!

[brian1961]

Since the topic of reprints came up, the beautiful 1960 Home Run Derby set was reprinted in the late 80s. The card dimensions and quality of the cardstock on the reprints is virtually the same as the originals. However, the reprints were marked as such with this notation to be found on the lower right border:

C.C.C. - 1988

The "C.C.C." stands for Card Collectors Company. I believe the head of the company at that time was Richard Gelman, son of famed early Topps employee, Woody Gelman.

Again, to avoid confusion, when I say "1960 Home Run Derby", that was the year the cards were issued, not 1959. I conclusively proved in my E-book, Never Cheaper By the Dozen, that they were issued the year after all the guides and grading companies have said they were.

---Brian Powell

[BeanTown]

Home Run Derby cards are one of my favorite sets from the 50s. Rare and cool!!!

[RedsFan1941]

does any one know if that Aaron Esslingers card (not the sheet) posted above has sold since this thread was started? i searched online but could not find a sale. very cool card imo

[Baseballcrazy62]

I have the Kaline with the same tape marks and the same stamp on the back. I will try and post a picture of later. A really cool set and very tough to find.

[HRBAKER]

[nolemmings]

One of my favorites:

[Peter_Spaeth]

Todd that's a great card. I had a PSA 5 a while back I very much regret selling. Some day.....

[mantlefan]

I won a complete raw set of these about 10 years ago. I had them graded by PSA and then sold most of them. I kept these 2.