Mid 70's baseball

yznx3e

For as long as I can remember the demand for vintage cards has been fairly high up to the 1972 set. Were the 73 and 74 sets that bad? Or just too plentiful? What are the best 70's sets after '72? What has changed during the 15 years I have been on the sidelines?

Estil

Hey, there is nothing "wrong" or "bad" about 1973-onward sets. Especially the 1975; the most beautiful of all the 1970s sets.

*ahem* Anyway to answer your question. The 1970-1972 sets cost more mainly because in those years they did the cards in series (including the super scarce last series). This is especially true for 1971 as the black borders make it exceptionally difficult to find NRMT or better cards (raw or graded). The 1973 also came in series, but Topps as an experiment also released all the series together in some areas (which almost negated the scarcity of the hi number last series; ALMOST). Since that experiment apparently went well, Topps chose to do away with series starting with 1974, and would continue to release all of that year's cards as one series for the next 18 years. This meant that the cards were much more plentiful all around. The fact that 1974 had some factory sets made and that a TON of 1975 unopened material has been seen for many years also impacts the value. But that's good news for me because it makes getting 1973-75 sets at least a realistic possiblity.

Stingray

My guess is the design of the 73s and 74s are not too popular with collectors. They started doing single series sets in 74, therefore not has hard to find or complete a set. Best sets after 72, I would say the 75 set for starters, colored borders and centering make it semi-tough to get high grade cards.

Thanks Estil for beating me to the punch.

Estil

I don't care how not-so-popular the 1973 and 1974 designs are; I like them. Not as bold and colorful as 1975 and 1976 mind you, but they still have their charm. And the design (and the photography) of 1973 is starting to grow on me, so I'll probably get it too at some point.