1975 Topps Minis

qmayer

Well, I'm sorry to stray from the theme of pretty much all my other posts ()... I've decided I'm going to pursue an all-PSA graded set of 1975 Topps Minis. I was looking for something that would appeal to the eye as well as the pocket. I was also concerned with how many would be on ebay.. I was also looking at 1965 Topps, but since there are so many on ebay, there wouldn't be much of a chase. The set also has Brett, Yount, and Gary Carter RCs.. compared to Joe Morgan and Steve Carlton. Any words of advice? Am I crazy? This certainly will take a while to build...

jrinck

It's certainly a fun set, and from what I gather, the opinion of the hobby is that the mini's aren't any more desirable than the regulars, a big change from years past.

Anyway, the set was limited, and if I'm right about how the hobby doesn't care too much about minis right now, you should be able to snag them up cheap, or at least for the same price as the regulars.

In later years I think the hobby will appreciate them for their rarity, and you'll have made a nice return on investment.

DISCLAIMER: I am not Solomon or any of the other heavyweights here. This is just the opinion I've gathered by osmosis, and is subject to distortion!

mikeschmidt

Are you crazy? No.

Will it take a long time to complete? Yes -- especially if you are picky about condition.

Will there be a huge Return on Investment? It depends. At grading cost, the 1975 Topps Mini set will cost you about $6,000, just in grading fees. It will be more or less in the secondary market depending on which grades you wish to pursue.

For $6,000 you could probably purchase 3 or 4 boxes of the product -- and end up with some really nice cards, and a whole bunch of crappy ones, too. The Mini set is a funny one. It is much rarer than the regular size -- but it seems like most collectors have thus far been getting the full size cards graded and left the mini ones out to dry. This is reflected in prices realized for PSA graded specimens, among other things.

It is a very interesting set -- and I think it is a very neat-looking set, too. You should be able to find ample examples on Ebay. After you obtain the first few hundred cards, though, you may have to pursue other avenues to complete your set.

MS

69topps8

Though the minis had a lower print run than the regular size '75s, there are probably an equivalent number of high grade cards due to the abundance of unopened mini packs. BBC Exchange has been auctioning unopened mini wax boxes on a regular basis and a few other dealers also sell them from time to time. You might do best to search shows for high quality raw cards and grade them yourself. Chances are, you'll get at least a small % of 9's. Just be on the lookout for print defects and recoloring which can be problems with both versions of '75 Topps.

qmayer

Thanks for all the feedback. The main deal about picking the 75 minis was that it would give me the thrill of the chase, but not break the bank. I wasn't really looking at this as an investment opportunity, but more of a way to re-channel my baseball card funds into something more worth while. New stuff sucks, plain and simple (however, I still do collect the players I've played with or saw play during high school...). I enjoy looking at raw cards and deciding if they are worthy to get graded. Maybe I'll look into working on a regular sized '75 set... but the minis are just more interesting to me

Justin

jrinck

If you want some cheap, already graded, '75 Minis, then go ahead and bid on any PRO graded regular size '75s!

1420sports

Depending on the condition you are looking for, I know that ALL STAR CARDS 800-932-3667 has about 20 for sale in PSA 7 and 8 .... ask for all of them as well as a discount on the purchase - I know I would give one if I were selling them. Good Luck .....

gameusedhoop

A couple of unopened cases of minis sold recently. I would expect many boxes to be opened and submitted in the future. I would say this is a set to go after, rarer than the full size issue and, in many cases, cheaper. Go for it!!

Vargha

I remember buying them as a kid as Seattle was a test market for them. I didn't realize at the time that they were a limited issue. I just thought that Topps was saving money on production costs.


(Edited for typo . . . )

theBobs

<< <i>I was also looking at 1965 Topps, but since there are so many on ebay, there wouldn't be much of a chase. >>



The first 75% of the set, maybe.

The last 25% of the set, the chase is manditory.

uniship

I recently opened up 2 unopened 75 mini packs and not one of the cards was of 8 quality - it was all trash. If that is any indication, then those will be tougher than you think, unopened wax or not.

qmayer

Thanks for all the information and encouragement thus far. I'm really looking forward to learning and sharing ideas.

The packs I saw were ~$45. I figured you'd get 5-8 cards per pack with some gum. The gum would most likely stain 1 card, so 7 cards at most are gradeable. That comes out to be about $6 a card, plus the $6 grading fee (hoping the 7 are worthy), plus all the shipping. Its cheaper to buy a guaranteed PSA 8 common.

Wayne8348

qmayer

Good luck on the 75 mini set but I GUARANTEE that the 65 set is quite a chase! And with the card prices being fairly reasonable right now in nm/mt condition it would probably be an excellent investment in comparison to the 75 mini's set.

Best,

Wayne

qmayer

True, the prices are reasonable. But I would have figure out a way to finance the Mantle in PSA 7 and all the high-grade HOFers. Not good on a tight budget The big cards in '75 are the Brett and Yount RCs, not as bad as any Mantle.

gemint

I've opened two mini packs in my life. One pack contained all commons. The other contained a nice Tom Seaver that I eventually submitted and received a 9NQ. I believe there are 10 cards per pack. You are correct that two will be ruined (unless the top card is facing up toward the seal. Then the wax stain will likely rub off.

chrisrenaud

I have opened up three boxes of 1975 Topps Minis and have gotten about 35 9's from the first two boxes (I have yet to submit the third set of cards). I think I will get about another 20 9's from the third box - maybe more - the centering on the cards is awful when it comes to getting a nine, and almost half of them have print spots which make it almost impossible to get a nine. But on the other side, I have gotten a Carter rookie, a Rose, and a Brett Rookie in nine from the first two boxes, so that pretty much makes up for the cost I paid, and the rest is gravy. It is also a fun set to open. I will post again after I get my graded cards back from the third box.

Good luck on the chase - I hope the information above gives you some idea on the types of card you might get. I have gotten probably over a 100 8's from the boxes as well. The rest I gave away (I would recommend those who collect high end cards to give away the cards they do not want to kids hospitals - it really brightens their faces when they get old and funky cards) as not worth being graded.

All the best

Chris

theBobs

Chris,

Could you please email me? psa1965topps@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Brian

rw2win

A large lot of 75 mini's just hit ebay.

qmayer

I guess everyone saw me asking for them at the national I ended up buying about 45 commons and 5 stars for $65 total. If anything gets less than a 7, I will be surprised.

mcastaldi

In building a PSA-graded 75T regular-issue set, it often seems like there are more minis available than the regular stuff despite the rarity. Another oddity is that unopened mini boxes seem to be readily available - I saw at least four different dealers at National with unopened mini wax boxes at prices ranging from $1650 to $2000 per box. However, regular-issue 1975 wax boxes are nearly impossible to find.

One dealer did have several regular rack packs of 75s. However, these were being sold on the strength of a star card on top but in every case that star card was pretty significantly damaged - thereby diminishing the value of the pack a great deal.

I managed to pick up 10-12 VERY nice mini commons at National. They were certainly available if you looked for them. But by the same token, I picked up about 120 or so equally nice regular 75s.

As for the investment potential. . .as a general rule, 1970s PSA8s are down quite a bit lately. Low-pop 8s have held pretty well, but I'm hoping things pick back up in the fall/winter.

Mike

gaspipe26

qmayer,
I have a boatload of real nice mini's. All raw. I dont know how many different. Email me on Monday as I'm off to do some fishing in Canada and wont be back til then.

TypeSetter

fun fun!

sbtrailrider

Join us in the other 75 mini thread. Lots of good info on the difficult cards to find. As another reply noted - they are often miscut and / or damaged out of the pack. There was a large sale of unopened cases recently (again, the story is in the other thread) and you will find unopend boxes for sale now. However, the likelihood of 9's is still low due to print defects and miscuts. The prices are down, fo commons, which is good for you as you start the collection.

I've been submitting raw and doing lot buys for a few years. I'm at 50% and planning on 8's and better. Sometimes the 7's are better than the 8's (color, registration, centering or good substitutes for the low pop high $$ 8's or 9's. I (like other set colletors) have duplicates that I'll move cheaply so I can have funds for the next sub I'm planning. Just sent in about 80 cards for grading. Ping me if you want a list of my extras.

Also, I'll answer questions about the set, market, etc. This message board community is very good at sharing info on the 75 mini set.

Welcome to the Mini's.

MiniDuff

Minis are fun, interesting and different, with a friendly, active community. Come on over to the boards.

Right now is an incredible time to get into the set. You would be far better off right now buying graded psa 8s. There is a ton of value to be had. For the price of a box and grading fees, you could easily get 250~ 8s to get you started at todays prices. A year ago, a common 8 was $8-10, now many can be had for about what they would cost to grade.

Collecting minis is different. You have to set aside your expectations a bit. An 8.0 set is a true accomplishment, at least the equal of completing a regular 75 in 8.5 or better. There are so many common print defects, miscuts, centering issues, that make the set a real challenge. As someone who has graded 5,000~ minis and also owns 2 registry sets, I can honestly tell you that I get more excited coming across a sal bando with a shot at at 9 than a Tom Seaver for example. Certain cards are just a bear, but that is part of the draw for me.

Feel free to pm any questions, I and any of the other mini freaks would be happy to help out.

Jim

grote15

Did anyone notice this thread was started back in 2002? Now, if that's not going back to resurrect a thread I don't know what is! Guess this thread could have been the "official" 75 mini thread had it continued at that time, LOL!

MiniDuff

Rofl... nice catch Grote.. I missed that entirely and was wondering why there was a "new" mini thread.

nam812

TypeSetter seems to have an a agenda that is anything but mini.

MiniMaster

I'm sure TypeSetter is just having a little fun bringing this thread back from the dead. Though it is interesting to see where the thoughts of certain collectors were at that time. Nothing much (as far as Mini's) had hit the graded market at that time and so it appears the opinions were that the Mini's were no big deal....lol. It would seem those opinions would be tested in the coming years as the set certainly was more popular than these collectors imagined.

grote15

TypeSetter seems to have an a agenda that is anything but mini.

LOL, indeed...

TypeSetter

Yes,just brought it up for interest sake. Matt's old post are more interesting!