rarest post war cards revisited 20 top

[toppcat]

Now, for an attempt at a rarity list, at least for Topps, through 1980. I'm sure there will be debate over this!

Sets Issued at Retail (US only):
1955 Hocus Focus small
1951 Major League All Stars
1967 Stand Up
1968 Plaks Checklist
1949 Bazooka Know Your Sports
197? Pocket Size Baseball Game
1974 Deckle White/Glossy
1970 Candy Lid
1973/74 Action Emblems Cardboard (stickers are more plentiful)
1973 Comics
1973 Pinups
1968 Plaks


Individual Cards:
1968 Plak Mays
1968 3-D Easel (I've seen three)
1951 Major League All Stars Konstanty, Roberts, Stanky
1955 Hocus Focus (any above #96, which only came in small)
1966 Punchout (any)
1968 Plak Checklist (any)
1956 Pins trio of toughies (which is scarcest?)
1963 Famous American Stamps (Stamp Gum) Ruth, Gehrig
1971 Glossy High Numbers (any)
1952 Mid Series Gray Backs (any)
1964 Banquet (supply has loosened a little though)
1968 Who Am I? uncoated reissue Ruth
1975 Sports Club Garvey

Proofs/In House Mockups:
1967 Pinup Stickler (1 known-Clemente)
1960 "Trio" (although other year's error proofs are rare too)
1975 Giant Baseball
1968 3-D Changed/Unissued
1968 3-D Easel (I've seen three)
197? Puffy Stickers
1971 Rookie All Star (10 known, although I think these were display pieces)
1951 Major League All Stars trio
1980 Coin
1966 Punchout (small chance it was actually tested at retail)
1957 Paper
1966 Paper
1967 Paper
1968 Paper
1967 Stand Up thin
1970 Cloth (66 possible, ~40 known, not sure if any dupes exist)
1955 Stamp (40 possible, at least one dupe)
1961 Dice Game
1968 Discs
1967 Discs//1967 SF Giants Discs
1968 Deckle (which color autograph is toughest?)
1972 Candy Lids
197? Topps Superstar Stickers
1980 Topps Pepsi
1972 Cloth
1976 Cloth (4 different textures, which is toughest?)

If they exist, the missing trio of 1967 Punchout subjects/lineups would make the list, as would the instruction card from the 1966 version (at least one known). Also, do you count 1971 Topps Winners, inserted in special 1972 packs only given to contest winners? 1969 Bowie Kuhn? 1953 Reprints from 1972?

As for items once thought scarce but which are not:
1952 High Numbers
1972 Player Posters
1977 Burger King Piniella
1967 Punchout
1968 Action All Stars
1971 Greatest Moments
1969 Super

[ALR-bishop]

Dave--what is Giant Baseball ? Why 1980 on Puffy Stickers ?

I always tell folks interested in Topps to read your blog. Maybe you should be reading your blog as well

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Dave--what is Giant Baseball ? Why 1980 on Puffy Stickers ?

I always tell folks interested in Topps to read your blog. Maybe you should be reading your blog as well

LOL (but true....)


Giant Baseball are the 1975 fronts/1976 backs mockups in appropriate size. I changed the Puffy date to a 197? but it could be anywhere from about 1978-81 I guess. Same with the Superstar Stickers, which I just added, along with the individual MLAS s/p's. I'm sure I missed a couple of others. The only reason I included mockups are that many have been decoupled from their original boards and sold in the hobby. Certainly other mockups exist (pr existed) we don;lt even know about.

Larry answered the Standups Question for the die cut - they were tested at retail. The 66 Punchouts may have been as well, their known packaging is a hybrid between lab test and retail test.

[ALR-bishop]

Bob and I both have the 3 uncut 68 Deckle proof sheets with different colored autos....red, blue and black. I think we both decided Blue was toughest. We nearly bankrupted each other trying for the same one some years back.

[ALR-bishop]

Puffy Stickers...year and Topps origin unproven. But the number of mistakes make it less likely to be a forged item and more likely done by Topps

[ALR-bishop]

The 80 Coins, another rare proof...Martin versus Howser as Yankee manager in 1980, and Super Stickers. The white game card came in the 74 Cloth Emblem packs. I did the set in cloth then found an uncut sheet of cardboard

[ALR-bishop]

1963 Topps Stamps



and 55



56 Pins



67 Who Am I



Hocus Focus 55/56 Large and small

[ALR-bishop]

68 Plaqs



64 Banquet



67 Discs, regular and Giants



67 Punch Outs



67 Stan Up---proof and die cut





61 Dice



60 Fleer # 80 Martin



Reverse on Plaqs

On a Topps Presentation Board I meant Prototype Coins

[Bestdj777]

Hi Dave,
Were the Standups actually issued retail? I love your blog postings regarding the tattoos. Any recollection what the Venezuelan sold for?

[sflayank]

i paid 360 or that mangled tattoo...only one known to still exist
standups were sold since they have wax stains on back...wrappers and and box are pretty rare if not unique

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by sflayank

i paid 360 or that mangled tattoo...only one known to still exist
standups were sold since they have wax stains on back...wrappers and and box are pretty rare if not unique

Thanks Larry. I'd say you got a great deal on that one. I couldn't imagine what it would bring now that people actually know it exists.

I appreciate the insight into the Standups. Due to budget constraints, I've never really ventured into the test issue arena.

[mrmopar]

Dave,

Do you have a description or photo of this item? I am aware of the 8x10 photo that came with the Topps main-in "kit" that had the team checklist and the newsletter. Is there something else?

Originally Posted by toppcat

1975 Sports Club Garvey

Here is a blog entry I did on the kit

http://1978theyearitallbegan.blogspo...orts-club.html

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by mrmopar

Dave,

Do you have a description or photo of this item? I am aware of the 8x10 photo that came with the Topps main-in "kit" that had the team checklist and the newsletter. Is there something else?

Yup, that's the one. Not that many of them out there from what I have seen.

[toppcat]

I didn't list the 3-D's as they are a little more plentiful than other items on the list. For instance 77 Fairly's have been graded by PSA. ALlowing for resubs, SGC and raw cards, there must be over 100 copies available at a minimum.
However, the stamped back versions (u pick 'em red or black) probably would make the cut.

[ALR-bishop]

Dave-- the Fairly and Maloney show up all the time. If the set was issued as a retail test issue in a limited market (I have a couple of wrappers which are scarce but do show up), it is curious why some of the cards in the set seem so much more scarce than others. I agree that the 3 known unissued proof cards belong on your list.

I think I finally got an easel

[brian1961]

Al---

Thanks for sharing your vast array of rare Topps. I particularly admire your 1968 Topps 3-D Mel Stottlemyre in PSA 6. A perfect card in high grade.

I was living in the suburbs of Chicago in the early 70s. A high school buddy of mine found out I liked baseball cards. He had some old cards, and two I had never before seen----a pair of 68 Topps 3-Ds. I just stared and stared at them. Wow. These looked so cool. By now I was a veteran of several years collecting the Kellogg's 3-Ds. Those were special to me, but these cards were also quite attractive.

How Scott and his father got the two, Stottlemyre and Bill Robinson, I do not recall. His father was a high school principal in another suburb; perhaps five years before he was at a meeting in metro NYC, and stopped in one of the candy shops in Brooklyn where Topps was known to market them. They even had the stamping on the backside to return them to Topps, which sounded ridiculous to me. Knowing what little I do about them, a pack cost a dime and you got two cards and two easels to stand them up. Topps designed them to be special. They were.

My buddy gave them both to me that day. I thanked him profusely, and again, I'd never seen them before, nor knew what they were. In a year, I found out. In about 1973, I hooked up a trade with pioneer collector and dealer extraordinaire, Larry Fritsch. I traded him the Stottlemyre for a 1952 Topps Roy Campanella. The Stottlemyre was EX+, I would say; the Campanella EX-MT. We did it through the mail. Apparently, Larry needed Stot, and I only owned one other 52 Topps high number. We were both happy, though that Stottlemyre was flat out beautiful.

Thanks again, Al, for taking the pains to share some of yours Topps "Mother Lode". Best regards, Brian Powell

[ALR-bishop]

Thanks for sharing the story Brian. Have you seen the 2011 Topps Lineage 3D set ? It is a nice set, only 15 cards. Already had a wrapper but needed the easel, which are hard to come by these days