1958 Topps Football -- Coin Damage?

CW

I recently picked up my first card from the 1958 Topps football
set. On the back of the card is a little window titled "Football
Fun" with a trivia question. Below the window are instructions telling
kids to rub an edge of a coin on the card to make the cartoon answer
appear. Coupla questions:

Does this make '58 Topps a tougher set to collect in high grade
because many of the cards were scratched (and damaged) on the back
with a coin?

Do any other football/baseball/hockey/basketball sets have this
"rub a coin to reveal image" feature on the backs of their cards?

Thanks for any input.
scratching my head over this one,
Chuck

Robby

Chuck , Yes, 1964 Topps BB has a rub-off trivia question on the reverse which they instructed you to use a coin to rub the surface to reveal the answer ! IF it has been rubbed , I have learned from other board members that it lowers the PSA grade and it is not possible to get a 8 or 9 grade , but I believe you still can get a Psa 7 ??? On the 64's , if it hasn't been rubbed , you can still read the answer to the trivia question by tilting the card at a angle to reveal the answer ! Robbie

shouldabeena10

Chuck,

I don't know about the other sports, but Topps did the "scratch off" thing to football sets in 1951 Magic, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1965 (inserts), 1968, and 1970 (2nd series only #133-263). It does make it harder to find these cards in high grade as many of the backs were scratched off. Most collectors want the clean backs, so the card values are much higher.

It's interesting to look at what the card companies did with the card backs and inserts through these years... you get the feeling that they couldn't figure out what they wanted to do with all of that blank space on the backs of the cards, and you can almost see their marketing departments trying out different ideas each year to increase interest in their product.

In 1961 Fleer had a trivia question insert set that you had to dunk in water to reveal the answer (talk about tuff to find in high grade).

Topps did scratch offs, stickers, tattoos, play money, funny rings, posters, stand-ups, 4-in-ones, patches, card games, etc...

In 1963 they did the cartoon trivia on the back in a hidden message format... you had to hold a piece of red cellophane over the back of the card to see the answer. Unfortunately, (for card collectors) they only did this the one year and went back to scratch-offs in 68 and 70.

In 1969 they printed 10 cards with puzzle backs that formed a puzzle of Fran Tarkenton. I'm sure those 10 cards might be a little harder to find in high grade than the others.

In 1974 they printed a football card game on the backs of the cards. I've always assumed that kids might have damaged some of the "better cards" (more than others) while playing the game.

The price guides don't seem to reflect the scarcity of some of the cards that had multi uses like these... but I'm sure collectors of those individual years tend to see a pattern forming, and I bet as more of these cards get graded.... you'll see it show up in the pop reports too.

If you plan on collecting these scratch-off years in raw form.... you definately want to ask the sellers about the backs. Sometimes the scans won't show you the scratch marks.

It's the same thing with women.... nothing worse than paying good money for a gal, then turning her over and finding a bunch of scratch marks on her back

Mike

CW

Great info, Robbie & Mike.
Thanks for the replies!

jaxxr

I also am sad I have scratched/rubbed off the wax from most of my 58 Topps FB.

However....... If one has a regular wax stain or mark on the back or front of a card, and he rubs it off, with no damage done to the surface, that's good !!!
How come PSA or any grader can automatically set a maximum attainable grade without seeing if the removal of a foreign substance has done real damage or merely enhanced the card-back ??

Does a card which shows more information and detail, rather than a blotch of milky paraffin instead, really have less "eye-appeal" ??
What if one melts the wax off, doing no touching to the surface ?? Perhaps a laser could remove the alien substance with no damage.

I suppose the wax coating is more "original" and untouched. But..it does seem a bit arbitrary and prejudiced to assume any removal whatsoever, ( which does reveal an original part of the card ) must lessen the subjective grade by a least two full points.

shouldabeena10

jaxxr,

<< What if one melts the wax off, doing no touching to the surface ?? Perhaps a laser could remove the alien substance with no damage. >>


Hey jaxxr... put the martini down and step away from the computer.

Dhjacks

shouldabeena10,
I'm still thinking about that woman with the scratches on her back, and how that all could've been avoided with a large sheet of red cellophane.

packCollector

I read in another thread that there is no limit to the grade. it is based on how the surface is. most of the time the card will have indentations if rubbed by someone with a heavy hand like money . other times it will not. I believe I have an 8 with the answer rubbed. I had a 59 9 that a small section of the anmswer was appearing . I don't think it was rubbed with a coin, kind of like a small section was wiped. also , if done carefully , a wax stain that is removed from the front will still have a high grade. I received a psa 9,o/c of course , on a calvin murphy rookie tall boy last week that I cleaned from a recently opened pack. good luck with your set, the 58 set is a great looking set much like the 59 baseball