The simple and elegant design of the 1961 Topps set is a stark contrast to the previous two years where the card fronts relied heavily on graphic design and color. In 1961 the designers elected to let the main card design focus purely on sharp color photography augmenting the photo with a simple player team and position ID. The designers were able to employ their craft with a multitude of subsets within the issue including Sporting News All-Star cards MVP cards World Series cards and more. The set also contains an extremely difficult run of high numbers; among the more difficult of all the Topps issues. Presented is a very clean and sharp group of 1961 Topps cards representing 87% of the set including the majority of the keys. The cards grade in the collector-grade range with a higher percentage of collector-grade examples among the high number series than the lower numbers. A condition breakdown would be 17% EX or better; 31% VG/EX; 39% VG; 9% GOOD; 4% lesser with key cards grading as follows: #10 Brooks Robinson (G); #80 Harmon Killebrew (P); #88 Richie Ashburn (VG/EX); #120 Eddie Mathews (G); #160 Whitey Ford (VG/EX); #200 Warren Spahn (VG/EX); #211 Bob Gibson (G); #300 Mickey Mantle (PSA VG/EX 4); #344 Sandy Koufax (VG/EX MC); #360 Frank Robinson (G); #429 Al Kaline (VG/EX); #443 Duke Snider (VG/EX); #475 Mickey Mantle MVP (VG/EX); #482 Willie Mays MVP (VG); #517 Willie McCovey (G). Missing for completion are the following cards: #2 Maris #44 51 150 Willie Mays 180 208 213 232 265 288 Carl Yastrzemski 290 Stan Musial 308 312 350 Ernie Banks 371 388 Roberto Clemente 389 401 Ruth HL 402 408 413 415 Hank Aaron 417 Juan Marichal 421 425 Yogi Berra 427 436 440 446 455 460 464 472 Yogi Berra MVP 478 Roger Maris MVP 480 Roy Campanella MVP 492 494 512 515 516 520 529 538 540 541 542 544 547 550 554 555 556 557 559 560 561 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 586 589 and 603. A presentable collector-grade group of cards representing 87% of a complete 1961 Topps set. 513 cards total.