1978/79 Topps Errors

[bigtrain]

I have a group of 17 cards that have 1979 fronts and miscut
1978 backs. Anyone know anything about these? Here is an example:

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by bigtrain

I have a group of 17 cards that have 1979 fronts and miscut
1978 backs. Anyone know anything about these? Here is an example:

Steve Reiferson used to have a lot of those he brought to shows. Obviously, not easy card but not impossible either.

Rich

[bigtrain]

Fronts are common players. Back are mostly
Stars. Rose, McCovey,Blyleven, Munson, Seaver,
Hunter, Garvey.

[Cliff Bowman]

Someone rescued test run 1979 scrap sheets with leftover 1978 backs from the dumpster and had them professionally cut years ago. They are always on eBay.

[JustinD]

Cliff is correct, these are printers scrap not errors. It’s a different genre but most collectors do not know the difference.

Scrap is always backdoored from the printer, errors are pack pulled. As an error collector, I will always pay more for an error than printers scrap but it’s not a rule in value. Errors and scrap are really worth what is in the buyers mind, that’s why I really find them fun.

[steve B]

When these were first found, a dealer near Baltimore was selling them in strips.
I bought one, but it was packed very poorly, basically just coiled up and put in a box with nothing to prevent it from getting crushed and damaged in shipping.

The story I heard was that that dealer knew where the dump was that Topps printer used, and would visit regularly to find stuff like this and had found a decent sized stack of sheets.

There's similar stuff from that same time, I have bazooka boxes with 78 baseball backs printed inside, and the same with black hole card backs inside.
Both of those were "issued" through stores.

There were also Mork and Mindy stickers printed on cardstock with baseball card backs, more printers scrap.

[toppcat]

I found a page I saved from the 3/15/96 issue of SCD that mentions these in a Hall's Nostalgia ad-I believe it's the earliest reference I have scanned but if I find something earlier I'll post it. Mork & Mindy also got the same mixed-up backs.

[steve B]

I bought my 79/78 back strip from an ad in 79. I'd have to actually find the magazine the Ad was in, and I don't even remember which one it was...

The bazooka boxes with 78BB and black hole backs inside I bought in late 78/early 79 in Star Market.

Halls was my local card shop! I pretty much hung out there a couple days a week, and sorted sets for them in 78.

[mrmopar]

I found some in a $1 bin at the Baseball Nostalgia shop in Cooperstown when I finally made my trip there in 2018. It made for an epic find, because I didn't buy much there (most stuff was common or overpriced or both), but one of them had a Steve Garvey back. It made for a very nice story, as the trip was a long time in the making and involved meeting an online hobby buddy in person
too, after corresponding online and over the phone for 20 years.