1961 topps with green inside baseball

[Cliff Bowman]

And another...

[ALR-bishop]

Another good catch Cliff. What should PSA do ?

[Cliff Bowman]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Another good catch Cliff. What should PSA do ?

If PSA only recognized the version of the 1961 Topps Ron Fairly with the whole bottom part of the baseball neatly filled in with green ink up to the stitches there wouldn't be a problem, but when they allowed any version with just a random smattering of green ink in the baseball it opened up a can of worms.

[ALR-bishop]

That may have given them an out but I have seen a DeMint with a pretty full bottom.... as bad as that sounds

[Northviewcats]

Went through a lot of 1961 Topps this morning and found a Turley with the Green smudge.

Another fun thing to look for when buying lots on eBay.

Best regards,

Joe

[Tomman1961]

I have to agree with Cliff. I see far to many print differences to call them varitions. When I was collecting the set, the variations listed were mainly the checklists. The green bleed on these, and print defects where dust landed on the plate and no ink, is getting to be a bit much to list them all as variations.

[doug.goodman]

I am happy to report than a grand total of none of my 598 different Topps 1961 baseball cards have even a hint of green inside the baseball on the back.

These are print dots, not variations.

Give me 50 different copies of a specific card from this set, and I will show you 50 different "variations" based on similar happenings in the print process.

I'm happy for the ebay sellers who make money selling these "newly discovered variations" to those who weren't around for PT Barnum to sell things to.

I'm also happy that the people who get paid for their opinions are deciding to note these differences, and not because they make more money doing so, I'm sure that's just a coincidence.

Happy collecting,
Doug

[Tomman1961]

My first older set I completed was the 1961 set. The year I was born. I have the Santo rookie card with green. So if I get this graded I can sell it for a bazillion dollars? I would replace it with a Santo without the green. Is it that easy for me to turn a few bucks? If so, I will. But I think this variation stuff is getting nuts. As I posted before-Luis or Louis is a variation. Ink drool is not a variation. Color difference is not a variation. We are talking about a time when the cards were printed and no one really cared about a piece of dust eliminating a letter. But if my Santo is worth it- I will grade it and sell it, and buy one without this green. This is nuts. If I go through all my 19671 cards I just might be able to retire because of a green spot

[savedfrommyspokes]

I would certainly flip it....I do not even think I would get it graded, just sell it as is. I sold one of my extra ungraded Fairly green smudge cards recently for $200, so there is not telling what one of the most popular cards in the 61 set with a green smudge might sell for. On top of that, I have yet to see a Santo with a green smudge, so the sky is the limit.

As Doug has mentioned, some ebay sellers are profiting from these cards....the only reason these GS cards are selling and some ebay sellers are profiting is because there are some collectors willing to buy these GS cards. Whether these GS cards are or are not considered variations by individual collectors, some collectors have placed their own value on them, likely due to their (perceived) scarcity.

Could you also post a scan of your Santo?

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Tomman1961

My first older set I completed was the 1961 set. The year I was born. I have the Santo rookie card with green. So if I get this graded I can sell it for a bazillion dollars? I would replace it with a Santo without the green. Is it that easy for me to turn a few bucks? If so, I will. But I think this variation stuff is getting nuts. As I posted before-Luis or Louis is a variation. Ink drool is not a variation. Color difference is not a variation. We are talking about a time when the cards were printed and no one really cared about a piece of dust eliminating a letter. But if my Santo is worth it- I will grade it and sell it, and buy one without this green. This is nuts. If I go through all my 19671 cards I just might be able to retire because of a green spot

Well said.
A 'variation' is when a card company or the printer makes a purposeful change (a variety of unintended mistakes also count) to the layout of the card during or in between print runs. Name changes, adding additional information (like a player being traded or optioned) or changes to the layout and/or color scheme fit the bill. Stray flecks of color or overly inked areas do not.

If you followed the logic of many ebay sellers, then you would literally have to own every single card printed that year to have all of the so-called variations. If the same card is printed a million times with the same printing plates, there are still going to be minor differences to each and every strike. Some might say they're as unique as fingerprints.

Every time I read another idiot on ebay proclaiming "Newfound Variation!! Rare!! Look!!!" for a stray bit of color on the front of a card, I simply block their auctions from appearing in my searches.