How do we know which cards were sp?

Buckwheat

I see different lists for sets of cards that are called short print, and they don't always agree. How is this knowledge known? Did Topps publish which cards were short printed? Is it based on looking at printed sheets, or pictures of printed sheets? Is it just guessed by the number of cards available now?

AlanAllen

Sometimes it is known because uncut sheets have surfaced, and it's clear which cards are single-prints and which are double-prints, etc. Sometimes it is known because of a publicized incident, like the '59 Fleer Ted Signs. Sometimes it is just ascertained by relative numbers of cards in large collections, like Alan Rosen's '52 Topps find. Of course these days, Topps does announce short-prints.

Joe

toppsgun

My understanding is that some of the early mega-collectors and dealers (who toured the country, putting ads in local newspapers to entice people to bring collections to sell to them in a Holiday Inn meeting room) amassed such a huge inventory, it was fairly easy to tell the short printed cards. Those dealers might include Kit Young, Levi Bleam, Rosen, and the Krause Publication people.

The best verification, though, has to be finding uncut sheets. That's how the triple-print Mantle and Musial All-Star cards from 1958 were determined.

gaspipe26

Short Prints exist because there are a certain # of cards on each sheet. The # of cards doesnt always coincide with the amount in each particular series. Most series consisted of 2 different sheets. Each sheet had 2 of each card. The 2nd sheet had the remaining cards,in which there wasnt enough room to have 2 of all the remaining cards,so you have a single print. If there was only a couple of spaces then they added a 3rd card of an individual player,thus creating a double print.

gaspipe26