64 Topps Giants - Info?

Axtell

Is there a website that has information on these cards? I know (or rather, think I know) that there are 7 cards of the 60 that were short printed. The 5 I can find are: (3) Sandy Koufax, (42) Dick Stuart, (45) Wayne Causey, (47) Galen Cisco, and (51) Willie Mays. I am going to assume that (28) Bob Friend and (60) Bill Skowron are the others based on the set weighting in the registry, but you can never be too sure.

I'd also hopefully like to find a site that has background on this set (with information on how it was distributed, how topps came up with the idea, etc.), as it was Topps' first (I think? not sure) foray into cards this size.

Thanks!

MorrellMan

Ax
you got the SPs correct. Try PMing Griffins; he has a world of knowledge on this set.

WinPitcher

An Ed Brinkman in PSA 9 sold for in excess of 500.00 tonite
bbcardexchange

Griffins

And Romano went for over 500. two weeks in a row. Those two are condition rarities, but not short prints.
The set was distributed in packs, but thru the late 70's at least you could buy 25 for $1. at Dodger Stadium, and I know I got Causey and Koufax pretty regularly. There are tons of these around- they were either poorly marketed or just not very popular at the time. A nice raw set should run you about 250. Commons in PSA 7 and even 8 (in many cases) are rarely worth the grading fees. 9's are pretty easy for at least half the set, but the last few are killers. Skowron is always tough, as is Boyer, Ellie Howard, Brinkman, Romano, Gonzalez, and a few others. The pop report is a pretty good indication. 10's aren't hard to come by, but as in most cases the difference between a 9 and a 10 is the mood of the grader.

Axtell

Thanks for the feedback. I will be more actively checking 9s and the prices they close for to get a feel of how pricy they will be to work in with the 8s. I am already seeing the Mays, Koufax, and Mantle be by far the priciest cards of these 60.

Thanks again.

WinPitcher

Clemente too......

Griffins

Zardoz has a set of 9's that didn't meet the 8K reserve, but probably exceeded that on break up. I think a set of 8's went for under 2K in Lelands a few auctions ago.

jrdolan

SMR is too high on some of the superstars and too low on some of the commons that are condition rarities as Griffins says. PSA 9 Mantles were going for far less than SMR, as of a couple months ago, and even the most expensive card in the set, the short-print Mays, sold for a little more than half of SMR in PSA 9.

One could conclude that since the last time SMR updated '64 Topps Giants, the population of PSA 9's has caught up to and exceeded the number of collectors who want them. Except for those toughies like Brinkman and Skowron!

thegemmintman

The Boyer is by far the toughest in my opinion. The centering is horrific.

larryallen73

I have often wondered about these cards. I have some singles (including Mantle) which I received on birthday gifts in the 1970's as there was a toystore in LA (in Breentwood) which attached them to wrapped gifts (all have tape marks/rips). I bought a complete set from Pacific Cards in the late 1970's for $15 and assumed it was re-prints. Are they maybe not re-prints?

Stone193

<< <i>Cards in the late 1970's for $15 and assumed it was re-prints. Are they maybe not re-prints? >>


Larry
It's hard to believe that something like that would be reprinted in the late 70s - do you still have them?

Back around 1989 - I think I remember a guy who had a hoard of packs for sale and cheap.

mike

Cubfan

I will echo thegemmintman's note about the Boyer being the worst of the lot. Its nearly always off centered. Ive never seen a raw Boyer that I believe would have even a remote chance for a 9 if submitted.

Good luck with the set Axtell, its a beauty!!!

Edited: I have never heard of Topps Giants reprints. I am almost certain they would be originals.

Griffins

LarryAllen- was it the place on SanVicente, near Brentwood Elementary?
There were so many of these around in the '70's they were pretty much junk- we all had piles the size of Cinderblocks, and the short prints weren't any scarcer than the rest from what I recall. I really doubt they were worth reprinting, they were only 4 cents each to buy.
Guess this board works, someone just offered me the Romano I needed. Done with this damn set!

larryallen73

Reply on locale of toy store. I was picturing it on that little street near Brentwood private school!? Not sure of name of that street though. Off Sunset I think? Or maybe San Vicente!? A LONG time ago!

bowdowntome

They must have surely dumped these things on the market in massive quantities. In my own experience, My dad bought me and my brother both a boxfull of them from a guy at a swap meet in the early 70's. When I say a "boxfull", I mean boxes that probably equated to 5000 ct of today. That guy had a stack of those about 6 ft tall. The price was $5 per boxfull. They cards were in bricks of upward of 200 per player (Harmon Killebrew, I remember had alot) down to just 20-30 for the SP's. We would make sets and sell them for $5 at the same swap meet. I bought my brothers card collection years ago, which included his partial box of them, and up until about 3 years ago, I still had about 3000 left total. For the longest time I was selling sets and partial sets on ebay. Sets sold for upwards of $100, and partials anywhere from $25 -$50. I since sold the remainders to a St Louis dealer. But as always seems to happen, I still find little batches of them amongst my boxes of "stuff". Not a bad return over time on a $5 investment.

Even up into the early 90's, I remember seeing show dealers with stacks and stacks of the raw cards.

....and then there was the time when I spotted cases (yes, cases!), of 1969 Topps football vending boxes at a local dump, while taking a load of junk with my dad (early 70's again). Problem was, the cases had water damage on the bottom half of the case. But still, while no one was looking, I managed to procure a couple of vending boxes form a partially falling apart case. Too bad I wasn't into football at the time. i actually had no idea they were football until I got them home. They sat in my closet for 30 years, until I started collecting football.

Sorry for the off-topic re-living.

CollectorChris

This was the most beautiful of all 1960's sets.

Cubfan

I agree Chris. The vintage uniforms, stadiums in the backgrounds and players make it my favorite set as well.

zef204

Here is a Giant for you

Spahn Auto

Axtell

There are a couple of auctions of these closing in the next couple days (a bit out of my price range, but there seems to be some nice sentiment for this set):

Auction 1

and

Auction 2

Stone193

<< <i>There are a couple of auctions of these closing in the next couple days (a bit out of my price range, but there seems to be some nice sentiment for this set):

Auction 1

and

Auction 2 >>


Ax
Ya know, as tempting as it would seem to buy a large lot - anyway - I think it would be more fun the hunt down super centered cards one at a time.

mike

Axtell

<< <i>
Ax
Ya know, as tempting as it would seem to buy a large lot - anyway - I think it would be more fun the hunt down super centered cards one at a time.

mike >>



I agree...I almost bid on a Mantle earlier this week, but the centering was nowhere near what I wanted in an 8. I think I can be a lot more patient as they seem to be plentiful and the set is very small.

Axtell

Wow, BBCexchange does another killer listing of these cards, now he's got 9's and 10s:

Auctions

Wish I could afford what they'll end up going for!