Just how scarce are 1973 Topps Pin-Ups?

BaltimoreYankee · February 19, 2022 12:50PM

I have seen around 35 on eBay for a long time but they never sell. This may be due to the asking prices for super stars ($6,500 and up for Ryan, Aaron, Seaver, Bench, etc.).
It looks like PSA has graded around 350 of them. Can anyone give the story about them or have an idea of how many were created?

Kid4hof03 · February 19, 2022 12:58PM

I don't know anything more than what the Standard Catalog offers, but i can say that in nearly 40 years of collecting I've only seen a handful of each player available for sale.

frankhardy · February 19, 2022 2:05PM

I have a Torre for my Cardinals collection. It took a good many years for me to find one. The 1973 Topps Comics Torre was a lot tougher for me. Found one a few years ago after over a decade of searching.

brad31 · February 19, 2022 3:21PM

Have never liked them because of the no logos. Never understood why a Topps product for baseball airbrushed out the logos. Wonder if a contract with MLB was being renewed sometime between ‘73 and ‘74. If anyone knows why hope they will share.

JoeBanzai · February 19, 2022 3:57PM

From the article;

TOPPS INSERT, TEST AND SUPPLEMENTAL BASEBALL ISSUES 1949-1980

By David Hornish

If you guessed licensing dispute, you guessed right. I would think Topps got into it with Major League Baseball Properties (the Owners) over the rights to use the team logos. They probably also got into it with the player's union over fees (this had happened previously in 1969). The result of all this is that Topps started shutting down production of supplemental and insert sets, putting and end to the most glorious run in the history of bubble gum cards. After 1974 there was the odd set here and there, plus the 1975 minis (Topps reportedly cut production back on the regular set to produce the minis, so the players and Owners probably got nothing extra that year), but nothing of real significance until the Cloth Stickers of 1977. Notice a trend there? 1969, 1973, 1977...1981 also fits the picture. Every four years the players and Owners re-negotiated the Basic Agreement.