1960 Topps baseball centering

[nwfsteve]

I couldn't find this addressed using Mr. Searchy. I am finishing up my 1960 set. I have put/together/sold or kept 1961, most of 1963, 1964-66 and 1968-69. Gosh, it's hard to find centered cards for 1960 more so than the others. Maybe it is the horizontal design but the presence of diamond cuts, etc. really complicates putting together a 7-quality set. No problem finding the bigger names (if you're willing to pay) but the Felipe Alou-level guys are tough to find. Perhaps there was a more-than-usual placement of semistars on the corners of the sheets. I can't do totally centered and probably will settle for 75-25 or so.

Even a lot of PSA 7s from that year are off centered more than other years (or off register). YMMV, I guess.

[Gorditadogg]

That's interesting. I always thought that the early 60s cards were the easiest to find centered but I guess it makes a difference how you define what that means. Is a centered card 50/50 all the way around? Or is it 60/40 or better?

And are you talking about how hard it is to finish a centered set? Because I expect most sets have certain cards that are almost impossible to find centered. For example I have been working on a centered 67T set for years but can't say I have ever seen a centered Norm Cash or Brooks Robinson. I think you have to lower your standards on some cards in every set.

The toughest set for centering I have ever worked on is 52T. There is a whole series of cards, from about 135 to 190, that you can't find centered.

For Mantle collectors I think they will say that 57T and 69T are the hardest to find centered. And I think overall the centering on most of the cards on those two sets is a challenge.

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[rugbymarine]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

For example I have been working on a centered 67T set for years but can't say I have ever seen a centered Norm Cash or Brooks Robinson. I think you have to lower your standards on some cards in every set.

You're right about that 67 Brooks! I finished up my Brooks run last year, and I was thrilled to overpay for mine.



To the subject of centered 1960s, I am a self-admitted centering prima donna, and I have noticed something when I'm scrolling past images of 1960 Topps. It is much tougher to find 50-50 left-right centering than top-botttom. So to Gorditadogg's point, I have had to be reasonable with my expectations on them. Some examples:

[gustomania]

Agree on those 1960 cards. I’ve been searching for Koufax for about 3 plus years and this is 1 of the 2 I have with decent centering, there super tough



Here is the second

[JollyElm]

This thread is very enlightening. Until I looked through my 1960 Topps binder after starting to read it, I didn't realize how off-centered the vast majority of my 'big-money' cards were. Yowza!!! Virtually all would have to be replaced in a perfect world.

In all of Bobby's group subs, only 5 of my cards were centered-enough 1960 Topps to make the cut. That says it all. Here are four from before the grading. The Ford and Conley variation came back PSA 8s (although the Conley is the closest thing to perfect you'll ever see), the Yaz RC a PSA 4.5, and the Mick (schmutz is on the holder) a PSA 5...

1960cardspregrading.jpg

(If anyone cares, the fifth card was the #563 Mantle AS that was a bit more OC than these and came back a PSA 6.)

[rugbymarine]

My McCovery RC has the tilt that you mentioned.

[Gorditadogg]

That's interesting. I always thought that the early 60s cards were the easiest to find centered but I guess it makes a difference how you define what that means. Is a centered card 50/50 all the way around? Or is it 60/40 or better?

And are you talking about how hard it is to finish a centered set? Because I expect most sets have certain cards that are almost impossible to find centered. For example I have been working on a centered 67T set for years but can't say I have ever seen a centered Norm Cash or Brooks Robinson. I think you have to lower your standards on some cards in every set.

The toughest set for centering I have ever worked on is 52T. There is a whole series of cards, from about 135 to 190, that you can't find centered.

For Mantle collectors I think they will say that 57T and 69T are the hardest to find centered. And I think overall the centering on most of the cards on those two sets is a challenge

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[Gorditadogg]

Wow! Ok now I've seen one centered 67T B Robby. Very nice.

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[JollyElm]

The bottom corners are a bit painful, but I'll throw my 5 into the mix as being pretty decently centered...

1967brobinson600PSA5.jpg

[Gorditadogg]

Nice Brooksie Darren.

So as to the centering on 60 Topps, I bought some cards here a few years ago from a seller who had 3 sets for sale: 58T, 59T and 60T. He advertised all 3 sets as well-centered.

After a couple weeks the sets were still available and I asked if he would sell individual cards. Over time he sent pics of all the cards and I bought all the ones I thought were 50/50 centered.

I went back and checked and I bought 88 58Ts, 85 59Ts and 85 60Ts. So my experience is that centered 60Ts are not that tough, they are just the same as other sets (and easier than 57T I think). What am I missing?

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[jchcollins]

To me, it's much easier to find decently centered 50's cards (the '56 Topps set is a good example...) than anything 1960 or later. I tend to throw them all into the same bucket, though I'm sure each set has its own quirks and idiosyncrasies. I know for all the vintage sets I'm currently working on (right now mainly '67 and '72 Topps) both centering and tilt / diamond cut issues are a huge problem.

My '67 Brooks isn't centered great, but the image is nice and moderate OC has never bothered me anyway. I overpaid simply because I decided I had to have this card at about the height of the bubble back in 2020: