ORIOLES - 1989 Bowman TIFFANY COMPLETE TEAM Set (19)

1961 Topps Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

The 1961 Topps baseball card set had 587 cards (#1-#598 with some missing numbers). In addition to the missing cards, 2 cards were accidently numbered #463 (the Braves Team card was supposed to be card #426).
1961 Topps set was packed with special "subsets":
League Leaders (10 cards), World Series cards (10), Highlights (11 cards), MVP's (16 cards), Checklists (7 cards plus several variations), Team cards, Special Multi-Player cards, Managers, Topps Rookie All-Star Trophies, & Sporting News All-Stars

Of note - 1961 Topps were the first cards bearing the very popular Topps Rookie All-Star Award Trophies. "High Number" cards (#523-#589) are very scarce.

The least attractive aspect of the 1961 Topps baseball card set were the capless players !!! Baseball expansion led to the problem when Los Angeles Angels were added, the Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins and the Washington Senators got a new franchise. Because of these changes, tons of players were capless and looked awful. picture you 50 year old grand-dad. Life was obviously tougher back then.

More 1961 Topps card info:
Card #1 was All-American basketball player Dick Groat
Card #2 was Roger Maris, right before his record breaking 61 Home Run season
Mickey Mantle was on (6) 1961 Topps cards adding to the sets cost.

Topps released 3 other sets in 1961: Topps Dice Game, Topps Magic Rub-Offs & Topps Stamps.

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.

1969 Topps Deckle Edge checklist and prices

1972 Manama
Official Postage Stamps

These beautiful official government issued postage stamps from Manama were made of a plastic like material and used a an advanced printing technique to show multiple images as the card was moved. This technique was later used on a baseball card issue called "Sportflics".

Each of these postage stamps pictured 2 different players as the stamp was titled. There were 8 different stamps issued, 4 with American player-combos and 4 with Japanese player-combos.

A special stamp picturing BABE RUTH alongside the famous Yankees "MURDERS ROW" was also issued and appears to be significantly scarcer than the others.

Baseball card collecting terms (part D-F)

Die-Cut A special card that differs from a basic card by "Die-Cutting", cutting away portions of the card to create a special design. Most are serially numbered & limited.

Error Card Baseball card history is filled with error cards, many of them very interesting. Hank Aaron is on 2 of my favorite error cards. Aaron's 1956 Topps card action photo shows Aaron sliding home but it is actually Willie Mays not Aaron. Topps again goofed on Aaron's 1957 "reversed negative" card showing Aaron batting left-handed.

"Error Cards" are usually found early in print runs and often corrected. When this correction happens a VARIATION is created. Some variations are extremely interesting and very expensive while others are totally boring and you wonder why they were even made.

Extended Set Also frequently called Update Set or Traded Set.
They are sets issued after the original release to update the regular set with new and traded players.

Facsimile Autograph is an autograph printed on a card to show what the player's actual signature looks like. They are not "real" autographs.

Factory Set are complete sets usually in special boxes produced by the manufacturer. "Hand-Collated Sets" are sets collectors have put together card by card from packs.

ORIOLES - 1989 Bowman TIFFANY COMPLETE TEAM Set (19)

1961 Topps Baseball Cards Checklist & Values

1974 Topps DECKLE EDGE Checklist & Values

1972 Manama Official Postage Stamps

1961 Topps Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

1974 Topps DECKLE EDGE
Checklist & Values

1972 Manama
Official Postage Stamps