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#1
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1963 Topps checklist question
I know that Topps printed cards in 132 card half-sheets and understand why many of the card numbers shown on checklists do not necessarily agree with the actual print sheets, but I am curious if any one else has noticed the following conundrum.
Many price guide show the 1963 Topps card values for Series 5 (371-446), Series 6 (447 - 522), and Series 7 (523 - 576) where Series is meant to match up against the actual printing and not the checklist. The 1963 Topps set was printed in a manner that matched up the bottom border colors (i.e., cards in the same row shared the same color bottom border, with cards in alternate rows printed upside down in order to have the same border shared between two rows). Furthermore, Topps used printing schemes that had eleven cards in a row, so this means that a print run should have border colors show up in multiples of 11. For Series 5, assuming that checklist 362 had a red border and checklist 431 was the yellow border, we get a distribution of 33R, 22Y, and 22B which nicely aligns with the expected print sequences stated in price guides. However, if Series 6 was printed as shown in the guides (i.e., 447 - 522 plus #431 with a Red border), we get a distribution like 27R, 24Y, and 26B, while Series 7 (523-576 plus 509) yields 18R, 19Y, and 18B. In other words, the row multiples don't match up like they should. On the other hand, if we let the Series 6 include cards 431 (red variety) plus 447 - 511 (not up to 522), and Series 7 have cards 509, plus 512-576, then the distribution appears like: Series 6: 22R, 22Y, 22B Series 7: 22R, 22Y, 22B I haven't seen any uncut material from either Series 6 or 7 from 1963, but I believe that the proposal I described is what Topps actually did. Then, since each series would have 66 cards, no short prints should exist as all cards would be printed in equal quantities for bot of the last two series. |
#2
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Except we know that there are short prints in the 6th series that are much tougher. I know that when I bought a complete 7th series in 1974 from Wholesale Card Co. it contained 523-576 and the cards were definitely from vending. It would make no sense to hold back cards when neither matched the checklist. With 24 rows printed on the sheet, there would be one row printed 4 times and 4 rows printed 5 times so the uneven numbers would be able to be matched up. It may be why there were 11 cards that were printed in much smaller quantities than the others in the 6th series.
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#3
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On the 1963 Topps high number original uncut sheet there is at least one block of 22 yellow based cards which would be two horizontal rows of 11 cards. Because of a recurring print error that affects 8 of the 11 cards in one row I know without a doubt that the top row consists of Ed Sadowski, Gus Bell, Cardinals Team, Ray Herbert, Sam Mele, Lou Klimchock, Mike McCormick, Cliff Cook, Russ Snyder, Billy Klaus, and Don Cardwell. Other than the Cardinals team card and manager Sam Mele the other nine cards have blue inset circles, that is how Topps did the horizontal rows that year. The next horizontal row consists of 11 yellow based cards with red inset circles. The problem is there are only 7 cards in the high number series that have a yellow base and a red inset circle, Nellie Fox, Johnny Klippstein, Luis Arroyo, Jose Pagan, Jack Spring, Carl Willey, Johnny Temple, and the Dave McNally rookie card is also on that row. That leaves 3 cards in that row unaccounted for. Either three cards were double printed or three cards from the previous series were used. The question is, who are those three cards? The Sadowski is an example of a yellow based card with a blue inset circle, the Spring is an example of a yellow based card with a red inset circle, and the miscut McNally card shows that it was under the Sadowski on the sheet. ETA: It is very probable that a yellow based checklist is on that row missing three cards but that would still leave two unaccounted for cards.
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-06-2020 at 09:36 AM. Reason: Added scans |
#4
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Great post. About a week ago I started a thread on the 6th series SP count. I know theres about 5-6 listed sp's in that series. and I call that series 447-522. so 76 cards. makes sense that the run was 88 cards with the color scheme so 8 x 11. a duplicate checklist and others. Come to think of it though the sp's listed don't all have the same color base. Killebrew -red, tresh - blue, freehan RC - red, long - red, brinkman -red. From there I need help. Any input welcome. One of my favorite sets and I'm stuck on finding out the true 6th series sp's. billp
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#5
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Ok, did some sleuthing around the internet for marked 6th or 7th series checklists. Found at least 2 instances where the 7th series was marked only to card 511. In order words cards 507-511 were filled in/check off. All other cards after that were unchecked. The other 7th had boxes checked from 512-576 but nothing in 507-511. (not all 512-576 were checked though).
If including 512-522 in the 7th series, does that account for a 66 7th series sheet including another 7th series checklist? From a yellow base point of view? That would leave the 6th series as 447-511 or 65 cards with a duplicate checklist. The only problem there is the supposed sp's. in the 6th series. billp |
#6
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Quote:
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-06-2020 at 06:33 PM. Reason: Minor correction |
#7
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Quote:
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-06-2020 at 06:55 PM. Reason: Correction |
#8
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Quote:
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#9
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CARDS 509 (CHECKLIST), 515, and 518 also have yellow border with red insert circle. Card 524 (Cards team) may also.
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#10
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The Cardinals team card is on the row with yellow based with blue inset circle cards, it is between Gus Bell and Ray Herbert. Team cards, manager cards, checklists, multi player rookie cards, and multi player special cards are not part of the pattern and can appear on any row. Single player cards that are on any horizontal row will all have the same color inset circle.
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-08-2020 at 08:36 AM. Reason: Addition |
#11
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Quote:
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-07-2020 at 09:03 AM. Reason: Grammar |
#12
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Quote:
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#13
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Maybe we can get George Vrecheck interested in working up an SCD article on it. His analysis is well respected and he seems to like this kind of research. He has done a prior article about DP variants in the 63 set. I can send him a link to the thread. Unless you guys want to pursue something yourselves
Last edited by ALR-bishop; 06-07-2020 at 11:48 AM. |
#14
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I think that's a great idea. Maybe it will spur on a uncut sheet that no one has seen. I have seen the th series uncut sheet only for 63.
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#15
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Quote:
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-07-2020 at 01:45 PM. Reason: Missed a word |
#16
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Quote:
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#17
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I just want to thank everyone for their input. I have always wanted to collect this set. I really like the colors--it is a classic from the 60's for sure.Great work as usual guys. Thanks again.
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#18
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Interesting thread for sure. Here's a 4th series sheet, which is the latest sheet I can find an image of, although it can't really be blown up well. Really just to show how the sheets were composed-super colorful this way.
Last edited by toppcat; 06-08-2020 at 07:56 AM. |
#19
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Quote:
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-07-2020 at 05:59 PM. Reason: Correction |
#20
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Quote:
Why haven't collectors ever contradicted this in 57 years? It was common for certain areas to not get a late series. In our area (Orange County, CA) we didn't get the 7th series in 1967, but were flooded with 6th series. St. Louis didn't get 6th series cards, but did get 7th. You would think there would be childhood collections missing one series or the other that could confirm something about the 11 numbers in question. |
#21
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Based on that series 4 image, you can see that a manager card can be put in any inset color row, as can rookie and team cards. So with some very minor adjustments, you can get rows of 11 cards each for (border/inset) B/R, B/O, R/G, R/O, Y/R, and Y/B if the last series had 66 cards stretching from 512 - 576 and including checklist 509. Doing this allows four rows of each card to be printed, hence no SPs should exist for any card in the last two series, although the scarcity, determined by print quantity is still a price factor.
I believe the same is true for the 6th series, going from 447 - 511, and including the proper color variation for checklist 431. I understand this can't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt without seeing some uncut material, but I believe this is what Topps did in 1963 (i.e., the last two series were 66 cards each, with no SPs. If it isn't, and the price guides are correct, then there would have to be SPs in both series, and the SPs would have to occur in multiples of 11 (except for the checklists). Having four or five SPs with different border colors and/or inset colors just doesn't make sense. |
#22
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Quote:
The SPs do occur in multiples of 11. We are just not sure of which cards they all are. We know Killebrew is tougher than other stars (Brock, McCovey). We know the Yankess and Mets that are tougher. We know the Freehan RC is tough. Other cards that are short printed just don't have the demand to differentiate them as SPs and remember we are not talking about 2 to 1, but 4 to 3. It is most likely that there are 33 SP cards but we are only seeing for sure the highest demand cards from that group as short printed. |
#23
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When Baseball expanded in 1961, Topps made their sets larger. The numbers were pretty consistent from 1961-1968 until MLB expanded in 1969. Every year from 1961-1968 the high series started at 523, except 1967 when they added 11 (22) cards to their set making 609 instead of 598 (587). They printed 11 extra cards in the 6th series and the high series started at 534. The 1961 set is identical to 1963 in numbers and we know that the high series starts at 523 because the high numbers are so scarce. Why would they print the cards differently in 1963?
It is not enough to say the colors match up because Topps could have just printed different numbers of each player. You are going to have 88 of each color card on the sheet. It is neat to say there must have been 22 of each color and they were printed 4 times, but we know that Topps wasn't always neat. In 1967 we believe that one row (with Seaver RC) was only printed 2 times while other rows were printed 3 or 4 times. So, it isn't enough to say the colors have to match up because they don't. There needs to be some definite proof that Topps decided to print the last 2 series completely different from every other year in the 1961-1968 time frame. You need either proof in the form of an uncut sheet, vending box or unopened pack(s). Or you need dealers, collectors and/or employees of Topps who were active in 1963 to contradict what is accepted. |
#24
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Hopefully this thread will generate more input, analysis and debate, just as you suggest packs
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#25
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1963 colors
I agree that uncut sheets, miscuts, etc, are necessary to unequivocally know what was actually printed. However, in 1963, (like 1975), Topps used a printing method whereby two rows of cards were printed with the border colors together (i.e., one row right side up, the other upside down). Since Topps printed 11 cards in each row, these border counts should be multiples of 11.
Furthermore, if one believe that Topps printed 55 cards in the last series of 1963 (523 - 576 plus checklist), then that would be the only time during the period 1961 to 1973 that Topps printed 55 cards in a print run. As far as 1967 goes, the 77 unique cards printed in the last series (534 - 609, plus checklist) over the spread of a 264 card print sheet was probably done using a pattern of four rows 4x each, two rows 3x each, and one row 2x each. This results in either 11 SPs, or 44 DPs. |
#26
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OK, I'm trying to puzzle out the fifth series with these new observations factored in. Based on the uncut sheet I show above, the 4th series runs from #284-370 according to the REA description (I have not checked further). However, to get to #446 where the 6th Series starts, it works out to a 77 card run for the 5th, if my math is correct, which seems an odd configuration given the findings in this thread.
Series 1: 1-109 (110 cards incl. extra checklist) Series 2: 110-196 (88 cards, ditto) Series 3: 197-283 (88 cards, ditto) Series 4: 284-370 (88 cards ditto) Series 5: 371-446 (77 cards, ditto) Series 6: 447-511 (66 cards, ditto) Series 7: 512-576 (66 cards, as above) |
#27
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Quote:
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-08-2020 at 11:00 AM. Reason: Addition |
#28
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Quote:
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” |
#29
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Quote:
On a related note, I think certain sheet positions in certain years can affect SP status. Some cards probably were probably cut or damaged so badly at the very end of the process they got chucked. Edges and corners can be problematic but other positions too it seems. Last edited by toppcat; 06-08-2020 at 11:46 AM. |
#30
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The 5th series does appear to be a 77 card run. The cards 371 - 446 (plus checklist) contain 33 cards with a red border, 22 cards with a yellow border, and 22 cards with a green border. It could haven been printed with a 4 rows 3x each and 3 rows 4x each (essentially no real SPs) or four rows 4x, two rows 3x, and one row 2x (so 11 SPs). Based on the research by Vrecheck, I speculate that it was the 4x3 + 3x4, with one of the red rows having a print issue on the sheet.
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#31
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Quote:
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-10-2020 at 08:44 AM. Reason: Addition |
#32
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Quote:
So, we know that Topps was playing games with the 1961 set. Why would they have done things in a way that didn't create SPs in 1963? They also only printed 55 cards in the 7th series in 1964 while printing 77 in the 6th series. There are clearly SPs in those series too, but 1964 and 1965 high numbers are plentiful so it has never been an issue. Last edited by rats60; 06-08-2020 at 10:49 AM. |
#33
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Regarding earlier post which stated that 55 card series were issued in both 61 & 64:
The 7th series uncut (mostly) sheet I have seen for 1961 has 66 unique cards on it (not 55). Plus price guides show common cards as 523 - 589, which if the checklist is included gives 66 cards (since two numbers are missing). The 7th series for 1964 also has 66 cards (523-587, plus checklist). |
#34
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Getting back to the 7th series sheet, I know absolutely without a doubt that the top two rows are the yellow based cards. They could also be considered the bottom of the sheet, I don't know how to tell which end is up on a 1963 sheet. There is a recurring print flaw that affects the first eight yellow based blue inset circle cards, Ed Sadowski, Gus Bell, Cardinals team card, Ray Herbert, Sam Mele, Lou Klimchock, Mike McCormick, and Cliff Cook. The next three cards are Russ Snyder/Billy Klaus, Billy Klaus/Russ Snyder, and Don Cardwell. I know it's those three cards because they have blue inset circles and I know that Cardwell is the edge card, I just don't know the placement of Snyder and Klaus yet. The second row starts with the McNally multi player rookie card, but I don't know the order of the next ten cards, a yellow based checklist and nine yellow based red inset circle cards.
__________________
“interesting to some absolute garbage to others.” —- “Error cards and variations are for morons, IMHO.” Last edited by Cliff Bowman; 06-08-2020 at 08:45 PM. Reason: Correction |
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