Finished 1983 Topps Baseball - All 792 PSA 10s
JustinC
Posts: 53 ✭✭
Long time lurker.
After roughly four years, I completed the entire 1983 topps baseball set in psa 10.
I believe Hatch Graham was the first to ever complete a full topps baseball set in psa 10 for any year (1978 topps - which is insane btw!). I don’t see that anyone besides him has complete an all psa 10 full-sized topps baseball set - so this might be the second.
Not sure what to do now lol - I’ve been so focused on the set for so long. I started a 56 topps psa 8.5 and 9 set that will probably take the rest of my life lol.
13
Comments
Congratulations on the set completion!
What were some of the difficult cards to acquire for this set? There are enough Boggs, Gwynn, and Sandberg PSA 10s to go around, so I assume some common cards might have been tough.
BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
Congrats. I am surprised it only took you 4 years to complete. That is impressive.
Impressive! Nice job.
Super impressive! Like someone above mentioned, what were the last handful of cards you needed to track down?
That is truly an accomplishment!
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stupid print dots
Very impressed, and in just 4 years. as mentioned above, there are enough of the star cards, but some of the obscure commons must have been tough. where did you wind up getting most of them?
thanks all -
so, the last two cards I needed were the pop 6 Lynn Jones and the pop 8 Butch Hobson - I was able to find a couple guys who each had one and I way overpaid for them to get them to part with them. they were both kind enough to sell and that wrapped it up for me a week or so ago.
the hardest (lowest pops) in the set are a Pop 3 Bob Grich, a Pop 4 Randy Johnson and a Pop 5 Mike Marshall. There are then about 7-8 Pop 6s, and so on. Any pop under about 12 demands some sort of premium.
there are only a couple stars in the set that are low pops - the biggest one is the Rickey Henderson All-Star card - a pop 8. the other is a pop 14 Phil Neikro.
besides my emotional connection to the 83T set (which you can read about in the registry - https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/baseball/company-sets/1983-topps/publishedset/280641), I truly think it's one of the best sets ever produced. it's easy to discuss the big three HOF rookies (Gwynn, Boggs, Sandberg), but also I love the colorfulness of the set, the action shot and the circular portrait, etc. I also really dig the super veteran subset.
as it turns out, 83t is also one of the few sets where a perfect PSA 10 set is even possible - exactly three sets are possible since there are three Bob Griches. most topps sets have at least one card that is pop 0. my best friend is working on an 1982 topps psa 10 set and there are, I think, 10 or so Pop 0s. he has the second ranked registry set - the only set nicer than his is the leader, owned by Hatch Graham (also owner of the 78T full PSA 10 set, which is remarkable).
and then there is Mr. Peanut who, despite my set being a perfect 10 set, has unarguably put together the most amazing 83t project in the world - he's putting together a set of only cards he's personally submitted to PSA - which is literally insane. CRAZY. but so amazing. he has a wonderful thread on this forum that spans many years of his opening 83t and submitting them. it's incredible and truly a fabulous read even if you're not particularly into 83ts.
another huge person in my project is former 83T set owner PSA Registry User LuckyChucky. he sold me a bunch of his duplicate PSA 10s 8-9 months ago and then he later let me know of another guy who had some to sell - who I bought 39 tough cards from. he also then put me in touch with a guy who had one of the last two cards - the Lynn Jones. I've never Chucky but he's a really nice and genuine guy and I'm very appreciative of his involvement.
anyway, there are some of the more interesting points of the project. as far as when I picked 83T in the first place (associated with my now-deceased father), if you want you can read that story on the registry page for my set, linked above).
I'm excited to peruse this sub forum more and see what cool projects folks are doing!
that's crazy.. in PSA 10 no less.
Love the 83 T set..
what would the set be valued? the grading cost alone is at least $8K i would imagine.
hard to say. I know some incomplete but close 83t psa 10 sets have been bought and sold in the 30k range. if I had to guess, id think I could get 40k for it completely done, as it is, if I wanted to sell it. but at least for the foreseeable future, it's not going anywhere.
amazing @JustinC! Congrats, on a truly difficult accomplishment. 4 years is just flat out being driven and looking under every single rock and under every couch cushion....btw, was that you looking through junk yard bicycle's for some 83T remaining in the spokes?
Wow! Great accomplishment.
Nice job!
Wow. Tough to do on any 80’s set...Congrats.
lol, that WAS me. in fact, anyone who has any substantial amount of PSA 10 83Ts has almost certainly been badgered by me in the past year or so. I think many people were happier than I was to finish it off because now I've stopped bothering them to sell to me.
@JustinC What about the 1983 Topps Traded? Do you consider that a part of the set or what is the current thinking on the traded cohorts?
I don't consider it part of the set, but I am working on it. I think I have like ~30 PSA 10s from the set and I have ~60 nice cards with PSA getting dusty and waiting to be graded. once those are back to me I'll pick up the pace on whatever remains that I need. there is a single pop 0 in the traded, so I'll have to go with a 9 on that one likely.
Ah, nice!
I have a BBCE wrapped 83 Topps Traded set on ebay right now, and would cut you a better deal on it if you wanted to crack it open.
PM me if interested, but either way, best of luck on the traded completion!
Wow! Major accomplishment. Time for some 81s next.
Thanks,
David (LD_Ferg)
1985 Topps Football (starting in psa 8) - #9 - started 05/21/06
I think so but folks in the 81T thread put the fear of god in me with the low pops!
Wow, that is an amazing quest to complete.
I agree that this is one of the best designed Topps sets of all-time.
I have the All-Star sub set in PSA 9 with maybe a few PSA 10s, and have some SGC HOF cards in SGC 96 & 98.
Just a great, great set. Congratulations!
LMK if you have any raw cards for sale that are Mint looking, as I also have this set raw in a binder.
Best,
Erik
Thanks sir! In the All-Star subset, the Rickey Henderson psa 10 is a mega tough card - pop 8. I have like 25k raw cards but they're all put away in storage now. if I ever endeavor to get them out I'll let ya know!
Congrats Justin! I collect 81’s myself (raw for now) and I bet I have over 5000 pack fresh 81’s, and I I’ve pulled out less than 50 that I would think have a shot at 10. I just sent 2 81’s in for grading; I did express just to get them back quicker - 201 (bench record breaker) and 638 (checklist). Not low pops by comparison, but curious to see how they’re graded. Best of luck to you!
since I'm just starting out with 81s, I haven't submitted any. the unopened prices are going crazy so that's discouraging. but I've read in this thread that trying to get 10s from unopened is incredibly tough in 81s. good luck to you, as well!
Justin , congratulations on reaching the top of this very tall mountain . This is the favorite Topps set of many a collector and to get a Perfect PSA 10 set takes a bit of luck , a lot of searching and a bit of means .
Best wishes on your future collecting and I hope our paths cross once again . --- Sonny
SONNY!!!!
Man, connecting with you made it ALL possible. Thanks for the deal on those 39 (which brought me down to the final two cards)!
Btw, I paid express fees to PSA to have that Randy Johnson with the cracked case reholdered and was suuuuper nervous that it would come back a 9 or worse because the crack in the case was pretty bad - but it came back a PSA 10. Huge sigh of relief there for me. Hope you're staying safe back east and thanks for everything sir!
My friend....you are insane. Congrats 792 PSA 10's. OMG.
great job
hahah, thanks! you want to see some real sickness, look up some of the registry legends. there are some real crazy bastards out there with issues. look at this dude: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/131313/othersets/49329 - it's absolutely mind-blowing. he had like probably a few million $ in sets listed in the registry.
Big time congrats on a very impressive accomplishment!!
WELL DONE!!!
thank you, kindly, sir!
Do you have a few pics of your set? I’d love to see some of your beauties!
I dont have anything scanned right now. I do have ambitions to scan ALL the cards and backs and attach them to the registry set, but that is nearly 1600 scans and if you understood my level of lazy when it comes to stuff like that you understand that it's likely that project is ever started, much less completed. but I'll take some pics of some of the more fun cards in the set sometime and post em!
This is an incredible accomplishment and I would like to congratulate you on your achievement
Thank you kindly - love the 83 T set! I'm knee-deep in an 81 Topps PSA 10 set now - too far to turn around!
That one is pretty impossible. If you get a castoff PSA 9 George Brett or Dale Murphy let me know. I have several 1981s in grading. If I get 1 10 I will be shocked.
yea, it's actually completely impossible (to get all 10s) with 10 cards that are Pop 0 (including the Fernando rookie) - that said, I want to get a set done as nice as possible, which will necessarily include several 9s. I'll keep my eye open for a Brett or Murphy 9 for you!
Full disclosure I did submit the nicest 1981 Topps traded Valenzuela I have ever seen in an 80s mania sub a few months back, I know the chance of a 10 is a long shot but one can hold out hope
Ohhh, good luck! I think that's a pop 20 out of a zillion - one just sold for $1075 on ebay I believe. I'm trying to do the traded set so eventually I'm going to have to pony up for one. Good luck!
Just hopped into to say congratulations!
Stunning! I'll never forget finishing my 1978 Topps set in PSA 9. That was tough enough by I can't even fathom a full PSA 10 set! Congrats!
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
I LOVE the 78 topps set. Hatch completing 78T in all PSA 10 is unbelievable. PSA 9s is also super amazing. beautiful set!
Justin, Insane set! You sir get a huge tip of the hat. Congratulations!
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
@2dueces - lol, thanks so much sir! I see your pop's name was James Brennan - my 5 year old son is named Brennan (same spelling)!
Brennan became a popular first name. Of course I am a Brennan and my brother was a JR.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
I own one 1983 PSA 10, so I'm hot on your trail.
Fantastic accomplishment. Well done!!
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
this is insane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Panama
Congrats! Awesome accomplishment. I suppose the other side of the valuation is... how much $ did you need to invest to complete the set?
congrats on completion. trying to build an 84 Donruss PSA 10....about 75% there.
Congrats....seeing a set of year award for you next year!!!
Collecting:
Brett Favre Master Set
Favre Ticket Stubs
Favre TD Reciever Autos
Football HOF Player/etc. Auto Set
Football HOF Rc's