Baseball Cards

The 1952 Topps Set is often referred to as the “Holy Grail” of baseball cards sets. It’s over-sized cards are never mistaken. The first year of Topps cards ever created, they are priceless to anyone who can complete an entire set. The high numbered cards of 311 and above are extremely rare. Stories of the company dumping cases upon cases into the rivers to dispose if the left over cards make any collector tear up.  The most valuable of cards is the #311 Mickey Mantle.  Known as the most popular and most sought after card for any collector..even the most beat up, bicycle spoked torn up, water damaged, off centered, and creased card goes for over $1,000. The low numbers 1-310 are fairly easy to get, but difficult for good centering. The #1 card Andy Pafko is always a tough one as kids wrapped the cards in rubber bands and carried them in their pockets. As expected, this #1 card took the majority of the abuse; so good ones are tough to find.  This is my personal favorite set. I have spoken to many people over the years that have been attempting to put together this set. Recently, a friend of mine was offered $1,000,000 for his complete set. Granted this set is one of the top 5 nicest sets in the world, however, based on this offer (which was refused), you can see what you are in for if you ever attempted to put together a high quality set.

The 1951 Bowman baseball card set has a total of 324 cards.  The consists of the very popular, and expensive Mickey Mantle # 253 and Willie Mays # 305.  The cards are smaller at a size of 2-1/16″ x 3-1/8″.  The cards are actually art pieces used from actual photographs.  This set is rare and especially difficult to find in good conditions.

This is an ubelieveable set. With 240 cards, it was the first company to issue gum IN the packs of cards.  Widely regarded as one of the finest sets of baseball cards; it is extremely expensive to complet a set.  The cards 2-3/8″ x 2-7/8″ in size and are of a thicker cardboard. The majority of all cards have the red band across the bottom that reads BIG LEAGUE CHEWING GUM. The Nap Lajoie # 106 is the hardest card to find in the set.  Multiple cards of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are found in this set.

The 1963 Topps set is a favorite of many collectors. The vibrant colors and designs are a fun to collect. The set consist of 576 cards and is most well known ofr producing the Pete Rose rookie card # 537.  Kind of an ugly cards, however, still Pete’s rookie.  Other notable cards are Willie Stargell rookie card # 553, Mickey Mantle card # 200, and Roberto Clemente # 540.  There were 7 series in this set with card numbers 284-370 of series 4 being the most difficult.  I personally really like this set as you can put the majority of it together fairly quickly as most of the commons in good shape are always available.

Well oh well…..1961 Topps set is a treat.  I love this set.  There are plenty of the low numbers to go around and to build the base set is pretty simple. You have a great Roger Maris # 2 card and the Mickey Mantle # 300 and that is it until you get up into the high numbers. This 587 card set is a bear to put together with high numbers. Virtually everyone of them is an All-Star or Hall of Fame issue.  The 523-587 short prints will eat up a budget in a hurry. It is a beautiful set, however I suggest this one be put together over time.  You will generally find a handful of these in many vintage collections.  For the most part, you will need to go to card shows, online auctions, and your local card dealer to finish this one out.

The 1964 Topps baseball set is another example of an attainable mid grade set for an affordable price. This 587 card set is readily available at any time. There are really no high end cards other than the traditional Mickey Mantle # 50, Sandy Koufax # 200, Hank Aaron # 300, Roberto Clemente # 440, and Pete Rose 2nd year card # 125.  It is a nice clean, crisp set with basic design.  This is a great vintage set to put together quickly.

The 1960 Topps issue set tried something new with the sideways look. This 572 card set is very colorful as well as very popular. This is in my opinion the best set for a beginner wanting to put a vintage set together.  The 1960 Topps cards are everywhere.  You can find these cards in very good condition any day of the week.  The most popular card of the set is the Carl Yastrzemski rookie card # 148.  A few of the difficult cards are th high number All-Stars of Mantle # 563, Mays # 564, and Aaron # 566.  Have fun with this one.

The 1959 Topps baseball set, know as the “circle” set from it’s recognizable design. Bob Gibson rookie card #514 is a favorite for this set.  Stan Musial has his first ever Topps card issue with card # 150. This 572 card set is a fairly easy set to put together.  Many of the collections  I have purchased are usually loaded with 59s.  The Mantle card # 10 is extremely popular and you can usually pick one up for a very fair price. This is a great vintage set to work on.

The 1958 Topps set is a fun year to collect. It has 495 cards with a very “square” design.  Tough year for centering.  The majority of collections found over the years have multiple off center/miscut cards.

The Ted Williams is a difficult card as it is #1.  This card is notorius for corner dings and rubber band dents from being on the top of the card stack.  Many people have said the #150 Mickey Mantle is their favorite card in production.  Orlando Cepeda has his rookie card at # 343.  This set has the well known “yellow letters” as a variation. These cards are a premium. The 475-495 cards are generally known for being difficult as they are All-Star cards of which many went to go on to be Hall of Famers.