1968 Topps #571 Tony LaRussa (A's)

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1959 Topps displays vintage 1959 Topps Baseball sports cards.
Bowman Mickey Mantle displays all Bowman Mickey Mantle sports cards.

In 1993 Topps produced a limited number of special factory sets to honor the Colorado Rockies first season. A special gold foil Rockies logo was added to each card.

The initial print run of 5,000 ran out quickly so the Rockies had 5,000 more sets made. Cards were only available as factory sets so singles and team sets are a bit tougher to find.

This 72-card set of large (3-1/4" x 5-3/8") cards called 'Hi-Lites' featured baseball highlights. Printed in red and black, card fronts resembled a newspaper front page.

Backs featured trivia question (with answer) sending you to a card with more info.

Rare cards #1-18 can be found blank-backed with just black printing. In 2 months on eBay, NONE of nearly (200) 1960 Nu-Cards listings were black only ! Other than #1 Ruth, black only cards are nearly identical differing only in print color and copyright.

Official authentic vintage UPI/AP Wirephotos/Laserphotos are very limited, normally only 1 sent to subscribing newspapers. Photos were black & white printed on electro-static printers, usually sent in 3 stages, Cyan, Magenta & Yellow, then combined into a color photograph. Photos are work products and VG to NEAR MINT. As a bonus, some have editor's blue-line cropping marks.

Scarce, interesting and snapshots of history, wire photos of major subjects and moments make for great collectibles. Wirephotos and laserphotos are no longer transmitted in this manner (stopping around the early 90's). Images are now transmitted from computer to computer with no need for hardcopies.
old UPI wirephotos old AP wirephotos Wirephotos images taken with low res camera so images do not do then justice. The wirephotos are nicer than in the image. Most wirephotos from San Diego Union Tribune archives and make nice additions to your collection.

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.

1968 Topps #571 Tony LaRussa (A's)

1993 Topps Inaugural
Colorado Rockies Set

1960 Nu-Card Baseball Hi-Lites
Checklist & Prices

Vintage Baseball Wire Photos

UPI/AP Wirephotos

1968 Topps #571 Tony LaRussa (A's)

1993 Topps Inaugural Colorado Rockies Set

1960 Nu-Card Baseball Hi-Lites Checklist & Prices

Vintage Baseball Wire Photos

UPI/AP Wirephotos

1993 Topps Inaugural
Colorado Rockies Set

1960 Nu-Card Baseball Hi-Lites
Checklist & Prices