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1975 TOPPS BASEBALL - THOUGHTS/CONCERNS

7orbetter7orbetter Posts: 38
in PSA Set Registry Forum
Just curious . . . I was thinking about, actuall have started to build a graded set, what will the challenges be and is it worth the money to mess with? I would like to go PSA-8 or above, what should I expect to pay for commons in 8 & 9? Anyone have any recently graded (no '0' serial #'s) they would be interested in selling in lots? If so, let me know . . . Thanks
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Comments

  • CreeperKatCreeperKat Posts: 393 ✭✭

    Why do people shy away from cards that start with a 0 serial number?

    Looking for Los Angeles/California/Anaheim Angels in PSA 8 or better
  • 7orbetter7orbetter Posts: 38
    Real simple, they were graded in the old PSA days and are mostly overgraded is what I have come to see through personal experience. If they are resubmitted today, they will almost always come back a grade or 2 lower.
  • BobSBobS Posts: 1,738 ✭✭
    My opinion on the "cards with serial #'s that start with zero were graded less stringently......blah, blah, blah"

    Complete Crap

    Buy the card, not the serial # on the holder!
  • helionauthelionaut Posts: 1,555 ✭✭
    On Ebay, prices on common 8s have come down to about $5-8 each. That's for COMMON commons, non-star players with populations in the 20s or more. The first 15-20% could probably be assembled quickly and for right at or around grading cost. For minor stars, team cards, and other non-commons, you'll look at $10 +/-. 9s go for $15-35, depending on the population and the other usual factors (Reds are popular so they go higher, while some cards have surprisingly high populations of 9s). I think this set has the most registered players of any 1970s set, so competition is pretty strong, especially in the top 20. There are a handful of cards with single digit pops that command anywhere from $25 to $50 or so when they do come up. But every time a high price is paid, it seems like a couple more come out of the woodwork. I don't think we'll see any more $255 Will McEnaney cards (which was a 1/1 8 with no other graded examples at the time), but if a Terry Hughes 8 was to come up today, I wouldn't be surprised to see a triple-digit price on it. However, I'm sure that eventually there will be enough to go around. This is probably the greatest challenge; being patient and waiting for the cards you need to come around. I'm at 40% and I get antsy when sifting through auction lists, seeing umpteen Jim Bibbys and Mike Lums, waiting for the Bob Tolans and John Montagues.

    Is it worth it? If you love the set and can afford it, then yes. If you are thinking investment, then I don't think so. I've been thinking a straight 8 set might cost $4000-6000 or so, depending on if you submit cards yourself with great success, compared with buying them piecemeal from dealers or auctions. Will someone be willing to fork over that much for the whole set at once? Not anyone I know, but I never thought I'd see a $255 1975 common 8, either.
    WANTED:
    2005 Origins Old Judge Brown #/20 and Black 1/1s, 2000 Ultimate Victory Gold #/25
    2004 UD Legends Bake McBride autos & parallels, and 1974 Topps #601 PSA 9
    Rare Grady Sizemore parallels, printing plates, autographs

    Nothing on ebay
  • TipemTipem Posts: 881 ✭


    I have 3 vending boxes that I put away about 10 years ago and was thinking of sending some of the cards in for grading. Can anyone give me some insight as to the top 20-30 cards to have graded(low pops)?BTW,I sorted them and the sort was pretty good (if I remember right).Also,What characteristics should I look for that will downgrade the cards? I would appreciate any insights.

    Thanks,
    Vic


    Please be kind to me. Even though I'm now a former postal employee, I'm still capable of snapping at any time.
  • srs1asrs1a Posts: 398 ✭
    7orbetter, take a look at the '69's that mintxpress has on eBAY now. Almost all of them are "old grades" and everyone is a complete scorcher. Follow BobS' advice.
    Dr S. of the Dead Donkeys MC
  • 1420sports1420sports Posts: 3,473 ✭✭✭
    I have to agree with BobS and srs1a - the serial #'s that start with a 0 are solid grades. There are going to be questionable grades from every series, whether it is a 0 or a 9. As a matter of fact, I saw the best looking example of a 1964 PSA 8 card that had a serial number beginning with "0" at a recent show. This was a card I have been in search of for a long time, and based on the amount of money it would take to purchase, I wanted the best example I could find. I bought it.

    Buy the serial #???? You may be passing on some beauties because of that thinking ...
    collecting various PSA and SGC cards
  • downgoesfrazierdowngoesfrazier Posts: 1,515 ✭✭
    To simply not purchase a graded card because of a "0" cert. # is absurd. There's usually some interesting reading on these boards but this little nugget is priceless. Those are my thoughts 7orbetter, my concerns are for your hobby sanity...you are, of course, entitled to whatever opinion you'd care to express but that one is truly "out there" and has to be based on some pretty isolated samples. "They will almost always come back a grade or two lower..." come on, sleep it off.

    As for things to look for...Mike Castaldi and Frank Smith for starters...just check the registry, they did OK.
  • aconteaconte Posts: 2,053 ✭✭✭
    I agree. Buy the card not the holder. There is no factual data stating the cards beginning with
    a zero serial number are overgraded. All have some issues I'm sure. In many cases, I'd take
    my chances with something graded by Baker over Reza any day of the week. All things being
    equal.

    aconte
  • gemintgemint Posts: 6,109 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I agree that you shouldn't reject cards with '0' serial numbers. I am more cautious with '06' serial numbers because they seem to be the ones from the David Hall collection which are generally graded a bit more generously than other cards.
    https://ebay.com/sch/gemint/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
  • WabittwaxWabittwax Posts: 1,984 ✭✭✭
    As for the 75 vending boxes you have, if you can eliminate the 7's you get, you'll be alright. My last vending box only produced 2 PSA 9's so good luck. I have noticed that print defects usually don't hurt the grades from 75's. I had a Mike Schmidt that got an 8 and it had a big honker of a print dot. It was a blue defect in the green background so it wasn't extremely noticable. It didn't have a chance at a 9 though so I know it wasn't downgraded because of the print dot. Honestly though, 1975 vending is so tough that your best option with the vending boxes is to sell them on EBay. My last box I paid $850 for and spent about $700 in grading fees and altogether they sold for about $1200-$1300 so I took a bit of a loss. If your looking to grade some, you'll do much better finding a "mint" lot of commons on EBay for a good price. With a vending box, you need to hit a big 9 to pay it off.
  • ricksterrickster Posts: 73
    About 10 years ago I started to put together the 1975 set. I was very fussy about centering and touches on corners, and didn't make a lot of headway. I don't have the commons anymore. However, I just got 25 of the star cards graded, with 17 of them coming back an 8, 3- 7's, 3- 5's (huhimage, must of missed some creases), one trimmed ( a Seaver), and one 9 (the Carew, Pop 1 of 2, no 10's). I don't have the cards back yet, but let me know if you are interested and maybe we can work out a deal. Can't include the Carew in the package though. You can check my perfect feedback on ebay :rlev2@aol.com
    Always looking for high-grade 1958-62 Bell Brand and Morrell Meat Dodger cards.
  • mcastaldimcastaldi Posts: 1,235 ✭✭✭
    wabbitwax> It just depends. While you are a lot more likely to get away with "fish-eyes" than you are snow, if there are too many fish-eyes your grade will suffer. Also, if the fiish-eye is in a spot that hurts the eye appeal of the card your grade will suffer. So in that instance, it only takes one fish-eye to hurt the grade.
    Look at this card for an example - 75T Hisle
    Even if EVERYTHING else was perfect, there ain't no way this card is coming back from PSA in an unqualified 9 holder.
    But as a general rule, graders are a lot more picky on snow. Anything with a dark background has to be pretty darned clean to come back an 8NQ.

    As wabbitwax alluded to, if you're looking for unopened material to submit you're probably gonna get hurt. It's just too expensive and yields too few gradeable cards. Almost always, your best bet is to go to shows and/or dealers and cherry-pick nice examples. This method also helps to minimize duplicates. You know the collation is good if you're hand-picking the cards image

    Mike
    So full of action, my name should be a verb.
  • jackstrawjackstraw Posts: 3,773 ✭✭✭
    one of the toughest cards in the set in a psa 8 (spam)image
    Collector Focus

    ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
  • mcastaldimcastaldi Posts: 1,235 ✭✭✭
    Straw> Lessee. . .I submitted the second, third, and fourth PSA8 of that card. I'll suffice it to say that I didn't find it all that tough.

    Mike
    So full of action, my name should be a verb.
  • jackstrawjackstraw Posts: 3,773 ✭✭✭
    do they all have a blue line on the top border?
    Collector Focus

    ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
  • mcastaldimcastaldi Posts: 1,235 ✭✭✭
    Jack> If I remember correctly, I've seen only one PSA8 w/o that line.

    Mike
    So full of action, my name should be a verb.
  • jackstrawjackstraw Posts: 3,773 ✭✭✭
    no blue line on this one. thats like finding a centered tannana.
    Collector Focus

    ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
  • WabittwaxWabittwax Posts: 1,984 ✭✭✭
    Wow, I love that 75 Hisle, looks like a bullet hole, lol.
  • mcastaldimcastaldi Posts: 1,235 ✭✭✭
    wabbitwax> I've come close to submitting it a few times but always found cards I needed more image

    Mike
    So full of action, my name should be a verb.
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