1982 Topps Blackless

[ALR-bishop]

Billy---when you say only 1 or 2 copies you are referring to the blueless rather than blackless, right ? I picked the few blueless examples I have when putting together my blackless set. Don't know how many exist but likely not many.

With the blackless there were enough out there you could try to build a set and when they got listed in SCD and recognized by PSA the competition for them in the hobby drove up prices. I think the blueless lack the hobby recognition to have great value other than among oddity or specific player collectors. Others may think differently.

[JustinD]

I am in agreement with Al here, as per usual.

I am of the opinion that the blueless are of course the usual backdoored print flaw sheets of the time. To be honest I would guess there are very few, likely less than 5 sheets. Even your estimate of 1 or 2 is believable.

Your example has one big issue and that is the poor sheet cut that someone did with a pair of scissors (most noticeable on the back). This can be a big impact on value as many error collectors really focus on pack pulled errors, not printer's scrap, which is really what these are. If sheet cut, it needs to be done well.

While a neat oddity, these don't really hold much value due to the limited number of weirdos like Al and myself that collect them. Had they been packaged and distributed like the blackless and PSA gradable, the value would change.

Only a very small number of uncut backdoored sets find their way into master set and number grades, the full front and back 1985 Topps minis being the most recognized.

The only opportunity for grading these might be Beckett and they would label it a proof most likely with no number grade. Not sure if they still grade proofs, but I have a bunch of older ones I have accumulated. I think grading cost might exceed value in this case.

I think on this, the value would be really what the eBay bidders decide on any given day. As Al said, commons don't do well. Had it been a star or semi-star they can do better due to player collectors.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I appreciate the input again, guys.

This area of collecting is far from my wheelhouse. These just seemed like they were too interesting to pass up, so I took a flyer on them. While not knowing what to expect regarding value, the lack of collector interest is quite frankly very surprising to me. If someone like me who hasn't cared about unsigned cards in over 30 years found them interesting, it just seemed natural that others would as well.

[ALR-bishop]

The only thing I would add to what Justin said is that while we may be weird we are not nearly as weird as Butch, Larry, Greg, Cliff and Thomas. Those guys are beyond weird

[G1911]

As a weirdo, can confirm they have little value but are absolutely awesome and a genuine missing ink card is cooler than a HOF rookie card.

[butchie_t]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

The only thing I would add to what Justin said is that while we may be weird we are not nearly as weird as Butch, Larry, Greg, Cliff and Thomas. Those guys are beyond weird

OUCH!

ROFL

Weird Butch