1968 Topps Milton Bradley question

[4reals]

I've been looking for a Dodgers Team card #168 and a Nate Oliver #124 of the parallel Milton Bradley set for a little while (I missed an Oliver on ebay about 6 mos ago). I know in the SCD description it says one way of telling these apart from the regular set is the gold vs. yellow backs and the white strip that sometimes appears at the edge of the cards due to it being printed on the same sheet as some white bordered material. This weekend I bought what I thought was a Milton Bradley Dodgers Team card (because of the white strip on the card edge) but I'm still not 100% sure. I'd appreciate you guys taking a look at the card below and letting me know if indeed I found a Milton Bradley example or if I swung and missed, thanks!

[cardinalcollector]

My gut feeling is that this is indeed a Milton Bradley card due to white border and brightness of the back. We have a MB expert on this board who will hopefully see this thread.

[bobbyw8469]

Milton Bradleys are EXTREMELY tough to differentiate. I have seen cards with the white stripe and the correct colored back not get the Milton Bradley designation and I have seen cards totally missing the white stripe and the wrong colored back get the Milton Bradley tag. Definite head scratchers for sure.

[ALR-bishop]

Joe-- Carlton Miller who posts here as goheels knows more about these than anyone I know. I sent him Email asking him to take a look. In a prior thread here discussing the Topps 1968 card design he discusses both front and back ways to distinguish them. There is also a good discussion in two not too distant past CU threads . But I think Carlton will be able to answer your question

[ncinin]

With the card in hand the Milton Bradley cards are not difficult to identify.

The border confuses some because on the regular Topps sheet cards printed at the border of the sheets have white showing if cut offcenter because the border is white. If a card in the middle of the sheet is offcenter you do not see white but the burlap of the next card since there are no white borders on the card.

On a MB sheet if a card is offcenter but not at the border of the sheet you see white from the 1967 Topps football card printed above or below.

If you have trouble with the color on the back simpy get a 1967 Topps football card and compare the color. Topps printed 1967 Topps football and 1968 Topps baseball for the MB game on the same sheet and the backs were printed all in the color of 1967 Topps football.

[4reals]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Carlton Miller who posts here as goheels knows more about these than anyone I know. I sent him Email asking him to take a look.

Originally Posted by ncinin

If you have trouble with the color on the back simpy get a 1967 Topps football card and compare the color. Topps printed 1967 Topps football and 1968 Topps baseball for the MB game on the same sheet and the backs were printed all in the color of 1967 Topps football.

Al - thanks for contact him for me, I appreciate it.

ncinin - thanks for the tip on '67 football. I have a couple lying around. Once I get the card in hand I'll compare them.

[goheels]

No doubt it is an MB. The back is diagnostic, but also the border. I will post some detailed pics later but the cut line (thinner, off-white) which was intended as a marker to help cut half sheets in the regular 68 issue is often confused with the MB border. The controversy a few months back where PSA graded the Ryan as an MB happened because they confused a cut line with a true border. In the end the card was properly declassified as an MB.

On the Dodgers card the white border at the top is actually the lower part of the Kocourek 88 football card. Had the card been off centered to the top, therefore with a white border at the bottom, that would be part of the Mustang Karavan 17 Hot Rod card.

Cards on the extreme left and right ends of the sheet could have white borders, but so did the regular issue cards, if they were off centered. That would not be possible for this card as it occupied the 2nd from the left position in its row between the left most card (107 Check List Brown Fine Mesh) and the 3rd card in the row, Larry Jaster 117.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Incredible knowledge....Carlton, any nice finds in Chantilly last weekend?

[Rich Klein]

But we also had the Football MB cards in the Beckett DB.

Rich

[4reals]

Thanks for the diagnosis Carlton! I appreciate you responding to Al's email and stopping by the thread.

Al - the link you provided with the previous exchange on this topic was awesome! There is so much knowledge in this forum and that thread was a bone with lots of meat! Delicious.

[ALR-bishop]

Rich--I have always used SCD. Do you use both and if so which do you find most useful ?

[Rich Klein]

Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles -- what answer do you think I have to give

In all seriousness, there was a lot we did I preferred at Beckett and some things Krause did I would have liked to have done (larger print)

But I know this board was primarily a standard catalog board but I did so much of my own work that we were on a par with Krause when I left. I once shocked Dan McKee when he asked about Vassar sweater cards at a show and I showed him the checklists and fairly accurate pricing. He asked me, how do you know about these -- um Dan, remember that was my job -- LOL

Rich