Opinion-1957 Topps Baseball Set

[wdwfan]

I started one a few months ago, but I'm still a long ways away. I'm less than 300 cards into the set. But it's been fun thus far. I've been looking for VG-Ex to Ex with no creases, bends, indentations or wrinkles and decent centering, about like the card pictured below.



As far as costs involved, I traded for a lot of around 200 to start. There were probably 150 different in that lot. I believe I traded about $150 in random inserts, RCs and refractors from 2019 and 2020 products. It was a nice way to get started. Since then I've traded for some at the LCS, bought a few at another LCS, traded for and bought some on here and Beckett.

Overall, I probably have about $150 into the set thus far. I don't have Mantle or Mays or Williams, but I've got lots of stars like Spahn, Hodges, Kluszewski, Doby and Ashburn. I also have Maz RC ($23), Martin ($10) and Colavito RC ($21) incoming. So that will add some more value to my set.

Then there's the tougher, mid series everyone's mentioned. It is a little more difficult to find, and they sell closer to BV than the other cards in the set do. But they're obtainable.

Anyway, hope this insight helps. Good luck if you decide to build the set.

[MikeGarcia]

..It is overall a truly beautiful set to page through , unless you are an anal-retentive obsessive-compulsive centering weenie......in that case building a centered complete 1957 Topps set in ''mid-grade''condition is a challenge for the normal collector's budget.... heck , even the four contest cards and the eight checklist cards are off-centered.......but if you don't insist on centered fronts then it's a neat set to build , with great players and great poses and the info on the backs is very informative and well done . Good hunting.

.

[Bigdaddy]

I really enjoyed putting this set together and finished it up about a year ago. I was not planning on tackling it, but ran across a lot of the cards at a local card show that I couldn't pass up. A dealer had over half of the set and was selling them individually and I started going through his stash and ended up making a deal for the entire lot - over half the set. The cards were mostly well centered, had good registration and probably in EX condition. They were from a complete set that he had started selling, so there were no duplicates. The downside was that each had a stamp and someone's initials on the back. I put my T206 backstamp hat on though and looked at that as an interesting bit of provenance . He even had the Brooks RC that I bought separately from the lot.

I already had the Mays and Williams and several other star cards, but had to pick up a Mantle and Koufax and the aforementioned Richardson and Colavito RCs.

The 1957 Topps issue is a great set and has what I consider one of the most iconic Topps cards of all time - the 'Dodgers Sluggers' card. One of the last cards in the set and showing Brooklyn's Boys of Summer in the setting sun of Ebbets Field. Closing out the day, the set and the glory of their time in Brooklyn.

[BillP]

Not my favorite set but put it together and upgraded it a few times over due to registry issues on some of my cards. That's the only issue I have with this set is the focus of some of the stars and 4th series cards. The Ted and Mays in particular I settled for a lower grade corner wise but better focus. I also like the fact that with topps moving to a smaller size card that year, the pictures to me appear to be all new shots taken in 56 and 57 for the cards. I also prefer years were full stats are on the card. In short I think this set is very collectable and can be put together in a reasonable time frame.

billp

[Gr8Beldini]

I completed a nice VG/EX a few years back. It wasn't too hard. Most of the commons at a buck per at the shows. Completed most of the the semi commons at $2 per. Stars weren't ridiculous - even the Mantle. Brooks Robinson stands out as the toughest to find at a reasonable price. I got lucky on an ebay purchase, but havent seen too many bargains since.