Lot # 502: 1960 Topps Near-Complete Set (569/572)

Category: 1949-Present

Starting Bid: $500.00

Bids: 18 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall, 2021 Premier Auction",
which ran from 11/8/2021 12:00 AM to
11/27/2021 9:00 PM



Please note the quantity error in the lot title in our printed catalog.

One of the more interesting 1960 Topps sets we have handled, and certainly one of the most appealing to a collector who is interested in pure eye appeal, but not necessarily concerned with technical grade.  A perusal of some of the sets featured in this auction reveals that we have received a consignment from the original owner of a number of complete and partial sets in various sports, from the late 1950s through the 1970s.  The collector, a youngster in the late 1950s, took comparatively good care of his cards, handling them carefully and preserving them for decades, their eye appeal simply outstanding.  However, in the earlier years, the youngster added a little something special to many of his cards, writing the uniform number of the player in small, careful handwriting, usually in ink, on the back of the card.  The result is a low technical grade, but as one can see from the SGC-graded examples included in this set, the cards remain quite pleasing on the front.

Of all the sets the young collector did this to, the 1960 Topps set was the peak - at least 343 cards, representing nearly 60% of the set, have the writing on the reverse.  Obviously, "special" cards like leader cards, All-Star and MVP cards, World Series cards and things of that nature have no uniform number associated with them, meaning that the young collector was able to add uniform numbers to virtually every card possible within this set.  We have, for the purposes of grading, elected to grade each of these cards as FAIR.  A complete condition breakdown of the set would, then, be as follows:  1% EX/MT, 6% EX; 14% VG/EX; 17% VG; 3% GOOD, and 59% FAIR with writing.  

We elected to have SGC grade and encapsulate five cards from the set, as follows:  #148 Yasstrzemski SGC EX 5,  #316 McCovey SGC FR 1.5, #326 Clemente SGC FR 1.5, #343 Koufax SGC FR 1.5 and #350 Mantle GOOD 2, with the lower-graded examples exhibiting the aforementioned writing on the reverse.  The remaining key cards that grade FAIR with writing include #1 Wynn, #10 Banks, #28 B. Robinson, #35 Ford, #50 Kaline, #55 Mazeroski, #75 Gibson, #200 Mays, #210 Killebrew, #212 Alston ,#227 Stengel, #240 Aparicio, #250 Musial, #264 Roberts, #335 Schoendienst, #395 Wilhelm, #445 Spahn, #450 Cepeda, #490 F. Robinson, #493 Snider, #502 Bunning.  Key cards without writing grade as follows: #100 Fox (VG/EX), #160 Mantle/Boyer (VG), #305 Ashburn (VG), #420 Mathews (EX), #475 Drysdale (VG), #480 Berra (VG/EX), #560 Banks AS (VG), #563 Mantle AS (VG/EX), #564 Mays AS (VG/EX), #566 Aaron (VG/EX).  The set is missing just three cards for completion: #300 Aaron, 366 Green, and 377 Maris.

For a collector interested in an attractive set without consideration for numerical grades, this is a dream come true - a beautiful set from the original owner, built from packs in 1960, each card boasting strong color and gloss, carefully preserved.  The writing on the reverse, along with typical Topps printing defects (fish eyes, centering, etc.) reduce the technical grade to the point where the cards do need to be called "collector grade."  However, for many of us, this type of "collector grade" is just right.  569 cards total.

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