My first set purchase: 1964 Topps Giants (w/scans)

paleocards

I'm really happy with this buy. While I was at my favorite shop a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned to the owner that I was thinking of expanding my collection focus slightly to include the HOFers from some of Topps' oddball sets. For example, I said I'd always liked the '64 Topps Giants. Well, he turned around and pulled a notebook off the shelf behind him...a complete raw NrMT set. He sold it to me for $200, a very fair deal considering that four of the HOFers alone book collectively for $170 - Koufax SP $40, Clemente $30, Mantle $50 and Mays SP $50.

I think it's an underappreciated (and quite undervalued) set considering that 19 of the 60 players are HOFers and the photography is bold and colorful. Virtually all of the portraits are unique to the set -- among the HOFers only the Koufax photo was recycled for his 1965 Topps base card.

I think the cards are gorgeous, especially in high grade, but I'll let you be the judge. Here are some of my favorites among the HOFers from the set, enjoy!





#48 Carl Yastrzemski



#29 Frank Robinson



#12 Al Kaline



#39 Luis Aparicio



#10 Jim Bunning



#3 Sandy Koufax SP



#11 Roberto Clemente



#49 Hank Aaron



#51 Willie Mays SP



#25 Mickey Mantle

jrdolan

Nice pickup! Are you getting them graded for the registry? I'm working on that set, too, in PSA 8-9. Somebody once laughingly called them "bookmarks" but I like 'em. Simple and beautiful ... though I wish they were Topps Mediums instead of Giants.

paleocards

Eventually I may get them graded, but even if they average 7 they won't crack the top 20 in the registry -- a lot of big-time sets are registered.

Griffins

I love this set. When I was a kid (10 in '71) you could buy them at Dodger Stadium in envelopes- 25 cards for $1. We all had stacks the size of cinderblocks of them. They sold them like that until about '77, then the next season they just didn't have them anymore.
IMO you got a great deal- I got a raw set that looked about like that on ebay a few years ago for 275.- after getting outbid a dozen times. And things aren't getting any cheaper.
Agree on keeping them raw- 6's are worthless (unless Koufax, etc) 7's go for nothing, and even 8's can be cheap depending on the player. 9's are easy for half the set, but the last few will kill you.
Last nite the #10 set on the registry with a overall rating of 8.23 went for $1410. in Lelands. While I believe it went a bit lower than it should've it'll give you a good indication of what mostly 8's go for. It would cost half that just to grade your set, and would be tough to recoup unless you pulled all 8's with a few 9's- something that would be tough to do.

Stone193

Paleo
Great set! You have some really nice cards - the Yaz looks Mint to me. Good luck if you decide to get them graded.
your friend
Mike

jrdolan

It's odd, but the PSA 9 big dogs have sold for quite a bit less than SMR recently (which is probably a good thing, they seemed unrealistically high in the case of Mantle, Mays and Aaron) and SMR showed it in the last issue. But the PSA 9 "commons" seem to have a lot more competition. Maybe 'cause many people focus on the big stars first, and now the demand is greater for the minor stars and commons? Or maybe the NM-MT collectors want a few 9's in their set and can't afford the heavy hitters.

Anyway, the market for PSA 8's seems to be picking up relative to the 9's. I'll put some 8's out there tonight (Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Yaz, etc.) and see how it goes.

Griffins

I think on this set the "big dogs" aren't the toughest in 9's- some of the commons are much harder. Brinkman, Boyer, Billy Williams, Skowron, Ellie Howard, and a few others are much tougher than Mays, Koufax, the short prints of Causey and a few others, and Mantle. And Spahn in 9 seems to be easier than a few of the 8's.

denwd1

i am going to go out on a limb here and say that this was the most over produced set of the 1960's.that said, everyone should go out and get this set because it is a beautiful set,loaded with superstar players. i bought mine about 10 years ago and paid about the same price.

MorrellMan

<< <i>When I was a kid (10 in '71) you could buy them at Dodger Stadium in envelopes- 25 cards for $1. >>


Anthony, I didn't know that - too bad I spent the early 70s (and my dollars) in pursuit of other, er, shall we say, pursuits.

Of course, the other side of it is that when I was 10, you could buy the vision-impaired Morrell-type Dodger Postcards at the Coliseum for pennies.

BTW - Paleo - great looking set and I think you made out quite well on the price. The 5 single print commons alone could set you back half the cost.

ranger63

wow nice pick up!

Cubfan

Dont get me started on the Topps Giants . My favorite sports set.

magellan

Excellent looking set paleo, you take a good scan. I've got just the Yaz from this set and it'd probably grade a 7 but I love looking at the other cards.

jrdolan

A nice batch of PSA 8's are up on eBay this week. Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Yaz and more. Of course, I have NO idea who the seller is. (cough)

Fabfrank

He sold it to me for $200, a very fair deal

More like a steal. I'm working on this set too. I'm building it in PSA 8/9 and will eventually upgrade to all PSA 9. I'm building the set for myself and will never be able (or want) to compete with the top dogs on the Registry. I love the feel of this big chunk of plastic in my hand (no smart remarks guys
It's a very doable set and even though you have it raw, I still like the idea of getting it graded if only for protection purposes. With the unusual size, you would have to be very careful not to damage the cards.