1956 Topps Experts

Twinsthreepeat

Hello,
I'm currently working on a 1956 Topps Set in raw low grade. I have a question. cards 1-180 can be found with either a white back or a grey back, right? Team cards #11, 72, 85, 90, 95, and 100 can be found with name to the left, name centered, and dated, right? My question is which of the three team cards is the hardest to find, and what color back are they?

Thanks,
Jason

Lothar52

i believe team cards...dated 1955 are toughtest....then left....then centered more common.

first series GREY BACKS are toughest
second seres..WHITE BACKS are toughest
dont let anyone tell u a first series roberto clemente white back is rarerthen the greyback....its a flat out LIE

Loth

jaxxr

Lothar52 is correct, though I believe there is no value differential in team cards left or centered, only the dated ones are worth more.

The cards 1 - 100 have a slight price increase ( 10-15% ) for gray over white
The cards 101 - 180 have a bit larger price increase ( 25 - 33 % ) for white over gray.
Team cards with a date are white only.

The above is by the "Book", however this great set , with some unlisted minor variations also, has many followers who don't always go by the book.

Many, perhaps most, collectors of the 56 set feel the back color tone is of little importance and will not pay an additional fee for the slightly more rare version.

Some feel the white backs offer a bit more contrast, and thus prefer them overall, making the realative "worth" of a back color a minor factor.

I do really enjoy this set and will throw in a tidbit many are aware of, but is interesting. The Hank Aaron card # 31, features the usual fine action shot on the front to compliment his face photo. It does show a great HOFer in action, however it's Willie Mays, not Hank. I think my favorite card of a non-HOFer is Minnie Minoso # 125, the action shot shows Minnie sliding in like TY Cobb, towards Phil Rizzuto, a HOFer himself. Another would be Rockey Bridges # 324 action background shot shows him diving like Pete Rose. Another would be..............there's just too many !!

Twinsthreepeat

So, dated team cards are white back only. Are the other two var. available on both white and grey cardstock?
Jason

Griffins

I believe there were 2 cards pulled off the sheet to make room for the 2 checklists as well. One was Charlie Neal, can't remember who the other was, but Jose Valdivieso was the last card in my set, and it took longer than it should've. Just ahead of that was the Reds and Braves dated, and Cleveland left.

jaxxr

For graded team cards, per the SMR, the left side version is valued a bit higher than the centered one.

Either comes with a gray or white back.

Scoop

Jaxxr is correct as far as "book" goes as pertains to price premium. However, you will find that all greyback commons in first series (1-100) should garner no premium on purchase and will sell for no extra at all (the exception would only come on the photo side...this is where I disagree with Jaxxr...the greyback cardboard stock had generally, but not always, allowed for much brighter color in the photo, thus added value). The first series greyback semistar and star cards, however may have some extra value in the higher grades (PSA 8 and above)...the lower the grade the less the disparity. Only '56 afficianados, like Jim at 707 Sportscards, are hunting specifically for these, thus competion to collect does not drive the price very much.
The second series whitebacks are a different story. Here, commons PSA 6 and above, and all semi and star cards in any decent shape at all, will command a hefty premium. I traded a whiteback Mays PSA 8 for its counter 8 in gray along with a PSA 8 Yankee Team card and some cash. I also know of a Mantle PSA 8 whiteback that was sold at over 4X its gray version.
Jaxxr is also correct as to the team versions. Many left variations are lower in pop to their dated versions, though this has not driven their price much higher than the other. The other facts on team card versions and back colors are correct as stated...dated comes white only...other 2 are both gray and white...thus there are 5 different versions of each of 6 first series team cards.