Exceptional and yet, heartbreaking collection of 1953 Topps baseball cards that originated from a non collector in the Southeastern US.  The cards had been carefully stored away, without knowledge as to value or collectability until recent hobby publicity led the owner to wonder if the cards might be valuable.  Upon our request, we were sent cellphone photos of a collection of 1950s cards that looked fantastic.  After agreeing to offer the cards in our upcoming auction, however, we received the package - only to learn that, years ago, in an effort to "protect" the cards, many of them were stuffed into nine-pocket pages that were, of course, too small to accommodate the larger-sized 1953 Topps cards (a similar collection of other years is featured elsewhere in this auction).  Some of the cards - including, thankfully, two Mickey Mantles that are also featured elsewhere in this auction - had been stored in semi-rigid top loaders, and thus escaped damage.  Most of the remaining cards, however, suffer from wear and tear that is clearly the result of creasing and pressure at the edges.  The result is a grouping of cards that have technical grades that are roughly 7% EX/MT, 12% EX, 28% VG/EX, 31% VG, 13% GOOD, 7% FAIR and 2% POOR, but many with the eye appeal of higher-grade cards.  Lightly-wrinkled surfaces, waviness to the card stock, and wear at the edges (from pressure) are the typical condition flaws.

The collection is heavily weighted toward the first 100 cards in the checklist, leading us to believe that they were once part of a larger near-set.  Several duplicates are included.  The collection includes #3, 8, 9, 11, 12 (2), 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 (2),  18, 19, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29 (2), 30, 31, 32 (2), 33, 34, 36, 40 (2), 42, 43 (2), 46, 47 (3), 48 (2), 51, 52, 56, 57, 58, 60 (2), 65, 66 Minoso (VG/EX), 67, 68, 69 (2), 70, 71, 77 Mize (HOF - G), 78 Schoendienst (HOF - 2 cards,  VG and G), 79, 80, 83, 85, 94, 178, 181, 183, 189, 191 Kiner (HOF - VG), 192, 196, 198, 199, 201, 204, 211, 214, 220 Paige (HOF - F).  An excellent start to a presentable, collector-grade set, or a large group of upgrades to an existing collector-grade set, for which these cards would represent a significant improvement in eye appeal.  75 cards total.