New 1961 Variation

[JollyElm]

I'll preface this by saying I'm guessing this variation hasn't already been ferreted out in the past, so forgive me if someone has already planted their flag on this mountain.

I noticed something a while ago on my 1961 Topps #471 card highlighting Phil Rizzuto's MVP year and thought I'd showcase it here.

On a small percentage of these cards, the top white border has a distinct and ragged black line running across it. The first thought on seeing this is the assumption that it is the bottom of the card being printed above it on the sheet (or something along those lines), but that's not the case. There really is no rhyme or reason for it being there.

I've shown two examples of this anomaly here (follow the red arrow). The second one is a little tougher to see, because it appears extremely close to the very top of the card, but it is clearly evident. In the third image, I'm showing a 'regular' version of the card with plenty of white space at the top, so you can see that this line isn't the result of bad cropping or anything. It simply only appears on a small number of these cards. (All pics are from ebay.)

Rizzuto.jpg

Not a major discovery by any means, but it's definitely one to add to your comprehensive V & E lists. Enjoy!!