1963 Topps #167 Jim Fregosi (Los Angeles Angels)

Grade
NEAR MINT
Book Value
$ 8
Our Price
$ 9.95
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1963 Topps #167 Jim Fregosi (Los Angeles Angels)  cards value
Baseball
Below are short bits & pieces on sportscard & baseball trading card collecting.
Please wander around the website for more info, prices, values & images
on vintage baseball, football, basketball, hockey, sport and non-sports cards.

1968 Topps Action All-Star Stickers
Checklist & Values


1968 was an awesome year for Topps test & oddball issues with Game cards, Player Posters, 3-D cards, Plaks, Discs, Punchouts and these "Baseball Action Stickers" also called "Action All-Stars Stickers".

"Baseball Action Stickers" were STAR-PACKED 3-panel sticker strips, some with facsimile autographs. There were (16) different strips in the set but only 12 are totally different. #13 thru #16 re-used panels from #1 thru #12.

Strips were perforated, folded at joints and put in packs. Boxes had 12 packs (10 cents each) with 1 sticker per pack. Sets could be made back then for $1.60. Today, the Mantle panel goes for around $2,000.

Collectors often collect just individual panels as complete strips are so scarce, fragile & EXPENSIVE. Single panels themselves are quite scarce - in 20+ years PSA has graded just over 200 TOTAL compared to over 1,000 1952 Mantles !!!

PROOF sheet below is missing the facsimile autographs.

Click for complete 1968 Topps Action All-Star Stickers Info, Checklist & Prices

Another interesting issue: 1960 Pirates Tag-Ons Baseball Stickers

Baseball

1974 Topps DECKLE EDGE
Checklist & Values


This scarce 72-card test issue set was released with very limited East Coast distribution making them quite scarce. Officially simply called "Topps Baseball Photos", their serrated or "DECKLED" edge gave them the name they go by today. The 2 7/8" x 5" inch cards were sold in 2 card packs with gum or 3 card packs without for 5 cents.
Click to enlarge Complete Proof Sheet on left
Fronts are similar to b&w Exhibit Postcards from the 50's with photos and facsimile autographs. The backs make this very scarce test issue more interesting ! They feature handwritten script of player's name, team, position & date and location of the photograph as well as a mock newspaper article.

This was Topps 2nd "Deckle Edge" issue, their first being the smaller and more common 1969 Topps Deckle Edge inserts in 1969 Topps packs.

Variations of 1974 Topps Deckle Edge exist, making this issue more fun and challenging to collect. Backs can be found in gray or a much scarcer white. Also, more limited proof versions with non-scalloped edges exist and can be found with and without card numbers.

Click for complete 1969 Topps Deckle Edge checklist and prices

Click for complete 1974 Topps Deckle Edge checklist and prices
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Baseball

Team Autographed / Signed Baseballs


Team signed baseballs were the thing well before single-signed balls exploded on the market.
What is a "Team Signed Baseball" ???
Simple answer: A ball with XXX signatures of a certain team for a certain year. What is difficult is the XXX. Baseball tons of roster moves make it nearly impossible to "Get Them All".

Generally, team signed baseballs from early 1900's had 10 to 15 signatures, the 1940's that jumped to 18 to 25. Joyce Sports Research Collection (Notre Dame) says "signatures must include only members of a specific team from a specific year, and there must be some approximation of completeness."

Not concrete but to me a "team ball" MUST have ALL the team's STARS (unless a rookie or in season trade) and in today's market at least 20, preferably more, and the manager.

Determining Age of Team Signed Balls
"Official" league balls have stamped signatures of current league presidents on the "sweet spot". Starting 1934/1935 balls were produced by Spalding (NL) and Reach (AL). Rawlings took over in 1977/78. Have a possible team roster at hand, ESPN & baseball-reference.com have great sites), decipher a few signatures then solve the puzzle.

Team Signed Baseballs Values
Pricing team signed baseballs is difficult due to subjectivity and factors involved suce as: Signatures placement, quality, strength, number of autographs, stars, age, team significance, and eye appeal considering fading, whiteness, scuffs, shellacking, staining, overall wear...

Team autographed baseballs on official league balls get higher values. They are "official", made better, preserve better and even help in dating especially with balls signed at "Reunion" baseball card shows which brought together great teams of the past.

Facsimile Autographed Balls
1960's/1970's machine-printed "autographed" team baseballs were sold at stadium gift shops for around $1.95. Easy to identify as all signatures were uniform in ink, color, size and look. "Facsimile" signatures are also often found on baseball cards.

Click for our current Autographed/Signed Team Baseball inventory
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Baseball
Baseball card collecting terms (part H-R)

High Numbers - vintage cards were issued in the ‘50s-‘70s in a series. During the baseball season, the largest number of cards were made. As the schedule progressed into September, when there would be less interest in baseball cards , Topps for one, specifically decreased production and hence much less product was available. As a result, a scarcity-factor was created and a premium holds for these first type of "short-printed" cards.

Inserts - special randomly-inserted cards which are not part of the regular set. Many modern inserts are sequentially-numbered and rarer than the card sets into which they are inserted.

O-Pee-Chee / OPC - a subsidiary of Topps, this card issue was produced specifically for distribution in Canada.

Promotional Card - generally referred to as cards issued to show what the product will look like on release and intended to help spur future sales. Often called a "promo" card.

Reprint - cards issued to reproduce the originals. With the current trend of vintage reprints, the new versions have a distinguishing characteristic evidenced by numbering.

Restored - a card or piece of memorabilia which someone has tried to return to a "like-new" condition. A restored card is considered to be of very little value.

Rookie Card - any league-licensed, widely distributed card to feature a player in his first year of trading cards.

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