We have made the decision to break up an EXTRAORDINARY 1963 Topps set
- the #4 Master Set on the PSA Set Registry. The 1963 set is a
particularly difficult set to complete in high grade due to Topps' poor
quality control in the era which resulted in
considerable print defects. The large and colorful border at the bottom
simultaneously lends a distinctive design element and a condition
challenge, as they are extremely susceptible to
chipping and wear.
The example offered here is card #341, Jack Baldschun White Slash, graded NM-MT 8.
There are two variations of Jack Baldschun's 1963 Topps card. The first
has a white slash above his left arm in the red circle inset photo.
Topps caught the mistake about halfway through the print run and found a
cheap way to repair it by adding in black dots to make the white slash
less noticeable. It wasn't a perfect fix, but now it's an interesting
bit of baseball card collecting trivia and has created another issue to
seek out.
This unrepaired white slash example has great corners and edges. Centering is just slightly west on the canvas, while a minor registration issue with the green bottom border helps explain the card's technical grade.
Even still, only 4 examples graded by PSA have ever received a higher grade than the NM-MT 8 offered here.