1961 Topps AUTOGRAPHED #176 Ken Aspromonte w/PSA/DNA Auction LOA (Angels) [

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1959 Topps displays vintage 1959 Topps Baseball sports cards.
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The history of vintage baseball card auctions is long and colorful.

T-206 Honus Wagner tobacco cards have sold for upto $2.8 million in auction. The "Holy Grail of Sports Cards", it's extreme-high auction value can mostly be attributed to great PR and "auction fever". It's not close to being the rarest baseball card and Honus Wagner is not Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle. Yes, the T-206 set is beautiful & special but because of the # of cards and scarcities, few collector's try to complete, which should keep auction competition down compared to say 1933 Goudey or 1952 Topps baseball card issues.
BUT IT DOES NOT...

There's a story Wagner banned his card because he was anti-tobacco but there are other stories about financial considerations.

You surely have heard of PSA and may even know that this card was the FIRST they ever graded. But did you know that dealer (B.l. .ast.o name encoded) admitted tampering with the card, perhaps having it trimmed down to size, before PSA graded it so highly for the auction.

In 1957 Topps created the modern day card by reducing the size of cards to current standard 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches. Topps also increased the set to 154 players and dramatically changed card format to a horizontal split-card. Player selection was awesome with (31) future Hall-of-Famers. 1957's top rookies were Bart Starr, Johnny Unitas & Paul Hornung. The only variation is card #58 Willard Sherman.

Without a doubt my FAVORITE SET - PERIOD. Regular issue, test issues, inserts ... whatever ... this is # 1 !!!

Similar to the early 1900's Mecca Double Folders, these colorful 2-1/16" x 4-7/8" cards are actually 2-cards-in-1 ! Perforated in the center, you can fold to create cards of 2 different players. Unperforated 1955 Topps DoubleHeaders exist. 1955 Doubleheader pack All 132 players (66 cards) in the 1955 Topps DoubleHeaders set were also in the regular 1955 Topps set, with the same action image.
1955 Doubleheader set NOTE: Laid side-by-side the cards form spectacular scenes from actual stadiums !!!
Old-timers - can you identify the stadiums ?

ROOKIES:
Harmon Killebrew, Hal Newhouser
STARS:
Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson ...

Baseball card collecting terms (part G)

Grade/Condition Centering, corner wear, photo clarity, edges, creases, print flaws ... all combine to determine a card's condition or grade. Along with rarity/scarcity it is the major factor in a card's value.

Graded Card As values increased the condition of cards and the determination of fakes and alterations became increasingly more important. Various companies became "graders" of your cards. For a fee they would grade your card (usually on a 1 to 10 scale) and then placed in a sealed plastic holder with labelling of the vital information.

From past experiences, most people are NOT HAPPY with the grades they receive. To keep values up, graders can be extremely picky. Things you don't see, they do so don't be surprized when the NEAR MINT card you send in ends up with an EX or EX/MINT grade.

There are TOO many grading companies - if you do, do choose carefully. PSA / SGC / GAI / BGS are some of the many companies. It is good to know that getting a card graded by a company that people do not recognize or respect will usually just cost you time and money and not help you in any way.

1961 Topps AUTOGRAPHED #176 Ken Aspromonte w/PSA/DNA Auction LOA (Angels) [

Auction's most costly vintage baseball cards

1957 Topps Football Cards
Checklist & Values

1955 Topps Double-Headers (Doubleheaders)
Baseball Cards Set checklist/info

1961 Topps AUTOGRAPHED #176 Ken Aspromonte w/PSA/DNA Auction LOA (Angels) [

Auction's most costly vintage baseball cards

1957 Topps Football Cards Checklist & Values

1955 Topps Double-Headers (Doubleheaders) Baseball Cards Set checklist/info

1957 Topps Football Cards
Checklist & Values

1955 Topps Double-Headers (Doubleheaders)
Baseball Cards Set checklist/info