1966 Topps FB # 34 Wendell Hayes ROOKIE (Broncos)

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

Man was the 1948-1949 Leaf baseball set PACKED !!! The set was small in numbers and size with only (98) 2-3/8" by 2-7/8" cards. With only 98 cards, the set was "skip-numbered" with card numbers from 1 thru 168. Likely an attempt to force collectors to keep buying packs looking for their missing cards. (49) cards are considered "Short Prints" and there is one variation card #136: Full Sleeve/Short Sleeve (error)

1952 is often thought of as Topps 1st baseball card set, but it was not.
Topps issued several smaller baseball card sets prior to their huge 1952 set.
Topps buzz word was "BIGGER is BETTER" for their 1952 Topps set which Topps described as: "GIANT IN BOTH SIZE and NUMBER of CARDS" (407).

Key card in the 1952 Topps set is #311 MICKEY MANTLE. Often called Mickey Mantle's Rookie card - BUT IT IS NOT. That honor goes to his 1951 Bowman.
1952 Topps "High Numbers" (#311-#407), are very, very scarce with an interesting story:
This HUGE set was released in series weeks apart. By the last (6th) series, baseball season was over and football starting. Candy shops had plenty of baseball cards from earlier series so most cancelled their orders for the last series creating the scarcity.

Adding interest is how Topps disposed of the now un-needed cards including THOUSANDS of 1952 Topps MICKEY MANTLE's. They dumped them into the Atlantic Ocean like most of New York's trash in those days.

1956 Topps were slightly larger (3-3/4" by 2 5/8") horizontal cards similar to 1955 Topps cards, some even sharing portraits with 1954 and 1955 Topps cards. Team cards & checklists appeared for the first time in 1956.

With Bowman gone, after missing the last 3 years, Mickey Mantle was back !!! A fun & simple set, 1956 Topps had no high numbers or expensive rookies but for serious 1956 collectors, there are over 200 variations. Most variations deal with card stock (gray or white back). For #101-180 gray appears to outnumber white about 9-to-1. Many team cards had 2 or 3 variations with team names Left, Center or Right.

1956 Topps Hank Aaron 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle
There are 2 great cards: #31 Hank Aaron which actually pictures Willie Mays sliding home and #135 Mickey Mantle. Mantle shown leaping high into the stands robbing a home run ! Artist did a great job showing Mantle making the catch ! BUT ... Mantle looked great leaping but the ball flew over his glove. 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle Catch

The 1956 Topps Pins used same portrait photos as the cards.

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1956 Topps Pins Checklist and Prices

Baseball card collecting terms (part C)

Cabinet Card Were oversized trading cards featuring paintings issued mostly 1910-1915.

Card Show is a gathering of dealers & collectors looking to buy/sell/trade sports cards and memorabilia.

Card Stock is the material a card is printed on. Usually paper-based, today companies play with the card stock and sometimes it appears to be wood or leather or see-thru acrylic ...

Cello Pack is a card pack whose wrapper is see-thru plastic. Usually the top & bottom cards are seen. Unopened cello packs showing major stars and rookies sell for heavy premiums.

Centering is the balance of the borders: top/bottom & left/right. On perfectly-centered cards, top/bottom borders match as do the left/right borders. Centering is presented as a set of numbers & directions and often included with the grade. Perfectly-centered is "50/50 t/b" AND "50/50 l/r". As centering gets worse, one number increases and the other decreases. For example: 90/10 t/b is considered extremely off-center top to bottom. The numbers add up to 100 (50/50, 60/40, 90/10 ...).

Certificate Of Authenticity (COA) A document used to verify legitimacy of a collectible. NOTE: Keep in mind that COA's are easier to fake then autographs.

Common A card of a non-star player is considered a "Common" as opposed to cards of a star players or specialty/subset cards such as league leaders, teams cards, World Series cards...

Condition (Grade) 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.

Crease Defect usually caused by bending the card. Hard to see, or not, a crease lowers the card's grade (VG or lower) and greatly diminishes it's value.

1966 Topps FB # 34 Wendell Hayes ROOKIE (Broncos)

1948-1949 Leaf Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

1952 Topps Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

Vintage Topps 1956 Baseball Cards
Checklist & Prices

1966 Topps FB # 34 Wendell Hayes ROOKIE (Broncos)

1948-1949 Leaf Baseball Cards Checklist & Values

1952 Topps Baseball Cards Checklist & Values

Vintage Topps 1956 Baseball Cards Checklist & Prices

1948-1949 Leaf Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

1952 Topps Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

Vintage Topps 1956 Baseball Cards
Checklist & Prices