Topps Venezuelan: 10 Questions about these rarities

Brooksie05

Hello all,

Recently I have become fascinated with the Topps Venezuelan issues, which seem to be very underappreciated. I'm looking for a resource that will tell me more about these cards. Here are my 10 questions..

1.) How were they distributed to South America?
2.) Were they issued with gum?
3.) For those of us who aren't PSA members, what are some of the highest graded examples?
4.) What is the estimated print run in either percentile or actual numbers?
5.) Any unopened material surfaced?
6.) Are certain years more plentiful than others?
7.) Why are they so under-appreciated?
8.) Anyone want to go to Venezuela with me and look for some?
9.) Did most of these examples actually make it to Venezuela?
10.) Why is there English on so many of these cards?

James

A761506

1.) How were they distributed to South America? - In packs similar to US cards
2.) Were they issued with gum? - 59 & 60 came with gum
3.) For those of us who aren't PSA members, what are some of the highest graded examples? PSA 8 - but they are extremely rare. PSA 5 is generally considered high grade.
4.) What is the estimated print run in either percentile or actual numbers? My estimate: 1-2% US Topps - no sources for this though.
5.) Any unopened material surfaced? - No
6.) Are certain years more plentiful than others? 1964 & 1966
7.) Why are they so under-appreciated? Because most people don't like to collect low grade material from the 60's, and they are relatively unknown.
8.) Anyone want to go to Venezuela with me and look for some? Good luck
9.) Did most of these examples actually make it to Venezuela? They were printed & issued there
10.) Why is there English on so many of these cards? Some years are nearly exact duplicates of the US Topps (60, 66 except bright pink back), others were reproduced in Spanish (62, 67), others said printed in Venezuela (some 59's, 68)

67standup

Nice and thorough responses, Josh has one of the finest collections known. Of course, there's also the '72 stamps and '77 stickers, the former being even scarcer than any of the regular issues IMHO. Only complete set I've seen offered was a 1960 by Mastro earlier this year.


Let's keep 'em somewhat unknown.

brumbach

Either there is more than one 1960 set out there or there is one set that has really put on a lot of miles in the last year. There was a 1960 set in Cleveland last year that changed hands at least twice, I believe the board's very own Marty was in possession of the set for a time. I suspect that the Mastro set may have been the same one.

Brooksie05

I consider myself fairly-versed in the hobby, and am a little surprised more people don't know about these? I first heard about these in 2000, after 15 years in the hobby. Many hobby veterans have told me they have either never heard of them, or have never seen one. I just picked up a 1966 Venezuelan Jim Palmer. I think these cards have great potential. To the person who responded, thank you! And of course I was only kidding about traveling to Venezuela Are there any resources other than the Standard Guide and David Levin's website to find out more?


James

67standup

<< <i>Either there is more than one 1960 set out there or there is one set that has really put on a lot of miles in the last year. There was a 1960 set in Cleveland last year that changed hands at least twice, I believe the board's very own Marty was in possession of the set for a time. I suspect that the Mastro set may have been the same one. >>



I believe it is the same set.

67standup

<< <i>I consider myself fairly-versed in the hobby, and am a little surprised more people don't know about these? I first heard about these in 2000, after 15 years in the hobby. Many hobby veterans have told me they have either never heard of them, or have never seen one.

James >>



Why own a VG card in which a small handfull are known to exist, when you can own a pristine, gem, "10", computer accurate 90-degree corner, sparks shooting out of the back card of which tens of thousands were produced?

A761506

I now own that 1960 set... but it won't be changing hands again anytime soon

Brooksie05

I see that David Levin has a fair amount of these in stock. Anyone know if he grades accurately? I am mainly going to go for the Orioles from this series. I have a modest start of 3 Topps Venezuelan's As far as condition, I am game as long as there is no back damage, paper loss, writing, or creases. Rounded corners are just fine for me

NickM

Brooksie - you'll want to learn to live with creases. The cards that weren't glued into albums tended to get creased.

Nick

Twinsthreepeat

Here are couple scans of cards I bought from Dave recently. the 64 he graded as VG and the 67 as VGEX. Just to give you an idea as to how he grades stuff.

denwd1

the 1967 retired players (subset)are really cool! includes a koufax.

brumbach

<< <i>the 1967 retired players (subset)are really cool! includes a koufax. >>



And can get really expensive as well. A nice Koufax went a little north of $700 a month or two ago.

Carew29

My 1968 Rod Carew came back a 5. I was hoping for a 6. David was accurate on his grading. Fair warning though, alot of these cards have heavy stains and parts of the backs are missing paper on his low end cards. David will send photo's front and back.

Here is the link to the Venez page

67standup

Dave is fairly accurate, but don't expect a PSA 6 when it's sold raw as EXMT. His prices are high, but who else has a large inventory of Vens that they are willing to sell.

A761506

I think Dave's grading is very fair, plus he'll take it back if you're not satisfied, so you're only out postage. I would strongly recommend him to anyone looking to purchase Venezuelan cards.

Brooksie05

I appreciate that input. I will pick up some Orioles from him, as that's who I collect. I'm glad he grades accurately. That Oliva looked closer to EX than VG-EX. I still wonder why a set produced and distributed in Venezuela often has English only. I also wonder why 1964+1966 seem to be so plentiful. Are there any years out there that tend to be particularly rare?

James

67standup

An unscientific opinion: rarity scale:

1959
1972 Stamps
1977 Stickers
1968
1960
1962
1967
1964
1966

I haven't checks the POPs in quite sometime, but hope it closely mirrors above.

RedHeart54

Why did Venezuela of all places get involved in baseball sets, especially in those years?

67standup

Great question. Maybe the early Latin players came from there. Still not sure how cards were distributed. A source indicates packs, but doesn't clarify, i.e., wax, cello, Spanish writing, etc. An album was issued in certain years, not sure which.

A761506

Distribution was in wax packs,very similar to US, but I'm unfamiliar with all the specific details, such as # of cards per pack... but I do know some interesting stuff:

- 59 and 60 came with gum

- 59, 60 & 62 were NOT meant to be glued into albums, no albums were ever produced for these years.

- The paper residue & stains on 62's were caused by the packs, every pack of 62 had that problem.

- 64, 66, 67 & 68 came with albums to glue them into

- 67's came in 3 different cheap paper packages, one for winter, one for retirados, and one for MLB. The kids would choose which one they wanted, and most kids chose winter or MLB, which is what likely accounts for the scarcity of the retirados.

I'm working on a Yahoo Groups site for Venezuelan Collectors, similar to some of the OPC and other speciality groups... I just set it up earlier this afternoon, I'm going to post some pictures, but some members would be a good thing, so...

Come Join the Topps Venezuelan Group

brumbach

Fantastic Josh! I just joined.

NickM

So did I.

Nick

mcholke

Make that one more

WinPitcher

besides baseball cards topps also had a foothold in Venezuela for a few non sports sets as well. I figure that topps felt that venezuela was a market that could sustain itself and thus tried to fill that niche.

SD

I would love to get my hands on a 67 koufax for my Cy Young set.

SD