September Pickups

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

I'm not familiar with Topps cloth. How were they issued? Was 88 the only year?

Hey jesse,

The answer to this is complicated. 1977 was the only "real" cloth issue as far as mass distribution (other than modern archives stuff) They were also made as tests for 70, 72 and 76. All of these issues have adhesive backs and are technically cloth stickers.

The 88s are called cloth but in my mind are a different animal. I have about 50 in my test collection. There are only a handful of complete sets as these are "dumpster" cards, Cards that were never meant for the public and were meant to be destroyed but were snuck out. The 1985 minis are the same. Any examples of either are cut from sheets that were taken from the trash. The rumor on the 88s were that they were supposed to turn into a sponge when soaked as a novelty. I have soaked one and it doesn't work.

These are not stickers and are printed (no backs) on a material that closely resembles tough paper towel than cardboard. The 88s used to be more valuable but I feel are now fairly cheap and undervalued as no one knows much about them.