Official 1975 Topps Mini Thread

MiniMaster · August 4, 2011 12:23AM

Let's begin again! Once upon a time there was an idea to make a set of Topps cards smaller than they had ever been made before. It was 1975 and Topps wanted to make a big splash with even the regular topps set. Only this year they created a Mini example as well as an original sized example. Topps elected to sell this Mini set in Michigan and the West Coast. The set was an instant hit with the amazing multi color borders. With Rookie's like Robin Yount, George Brett, Jim Rice, Keith Hernandez, Fred Lynn! Star's like Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, Nolan Ryan, Lou Brock, Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Stargell, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Rod Carew, Carlton Fisk, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Willie McCovey, Bob Gibson, Thurmon Munson, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Dave Winfield, Jim Palmer, Phil Niekro, Fergie Jenkins, Don Sutton. All but three of these players are in the Hall Of Fame. Excluded Pete Rose is the all time hits leader!

The set also has some pretty remarkable sub sets like the Highlight cards that start the set. Aaron, Brock, Gibson, Kaline, Ryan, Marshall, and a 3 photo tribute to the no-hitters pitched the previous year, which includes Nolan Ryan. The MVP's of each league/year since Topps began printing cards in 1951 are included. The most desirable being #195 the MVP's of 1957 depicting Hank Aaron/Mickey Mantle. Also included are the Leader Cards highlighted by yet another Nolan Ryan card which includes Steve Carlton.

These cards were very difficult to come by in perfectly centered form without print defects. Topps sold these cards for .15 cents a pack and quality control was not at the top of the list when it came to production. Some of the most common defects were: Off Center, Diamond Cuts, Fish Eye's, short cuts. Most short cuts came in the Green/Yellow and Red/Yellow examples. Any other color combo's would be fairly rare to find in a shortened version!

For every 75 Topps Mini card printed there are close to 3 of the 75 Topps regular card. With the popularity of the 75 Topps Mini Set among graded card collectors it seems the ratio is a little less than 3 to 1. Closer to 2 1/2 to 1.

I invite all collectors to post there experiences with this set. I ask that any post stay constructively informative so that the thread will remain available for collectors to view.

Happy Collecting!

Indy78 · August 4, 2011 1:40AM

Wow, great summary. Thanks MM!

Keeping it informative, I would add that print defects pose a particular challenge with collecting this set in PSA 8 or greater. These defects include white flaking or "snow"and stray, blotchy ink. Examples of some tuffies with these types of print defects include: Dan Driessen (snow), Rick Burleson (stray black ink and snow), Claudell Washington (stray black ink, stray yellow ink, and snow), Ron Reed (snow), and Len Randall (snow). There are many others, but these few listed here stand out as giving me the most headaches when picking out raw cards to be graded. Mini's with these types of print defects in my experience tend to max out at a PSA 7 even if the other card attributes are really nice.

The print defect commonly referred to as a fish eye, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be as a big a problem. I have a few cards with easily noticed fisheyes that grade out at a PSA 8.

Cheers!

calaban7 · August 4, 2011 8:22AM

Good luck on this thread. I don't share the same interest in this set that you serious collectors do , but enjoyed the previous thread very much. I collect other sets , but always admire , for the most part , other collectors when they showed passion. You guys sure did that.

Here's hoping that this thread does better and the derailers stay home.---- Sonny

Piggs · August 4, 2011 12:08PM

Also sold in Oregon, bought packs by the handfuls back then and still one of my favorite.

Indy78 · August 4, 2011 9:54PM

Here's a couple of highlights from a submission of mine from the week before last. This thread needs photos! Please enjoy.

MiniDuff · August 5, 2011 8:53AM

Wanted to share a somewhat rare, awesome ebay story on a raw set. Just received the set today and looked at it for maybe 10 minutes at work, but looks to be a truly nm/mt average set. Lots of 9s and maybe a 10 or 2.
It is in the old true mini pages, which you dont see many of and really seemed to be put together with care and a lot of pride.

1975 mini set

Indy78 · August 5, 2011 9:39AM

Very nice! Congratulations! I would love to see some photos of some of the cards.

grote15 · August 5, 2011 10:55AM

Jim, That's one sharp looking mini set! Congrats on a real nice pickup!

hammered · August 5, 2011 12:00PM

I almost pulled the trigger on that, but thought the price was too high for the risk. I'm glad it turned out good and hope it yields some good 9's. The 660 Aaron and Schmidt looked real good in the pic.

MiniDuff · August 5, 2011 1:53PM

Here are a few... it was a nice set overall, very happy with the purchase.

grote15 · August 6, 2011 2:03AM

Brett looks sharp! A solid 8? The Carter looks like it could go Mint 9 if all corners are sharp. Those two cards would offset a nice chunk of the purchase price!

MiniDuff · August 6, 2011 7:19AM

The Carter is very nice. The Brett was supposedly a psa 8 crackout. I can believe that looking at it.

jivan · August 8, 2011 9:50AM

ok guys, even though my set is only 7/8's i am almost done!!! need some tough ones in 7's or if you have some raw that you know will only grade a 7, i am asking for help....looking to buy the following....74..84..152..158..245..326..562..612..659....i was away last weekwnd and missed out on 2 or 3 of these...even if you don't have them, any ebay sellers you know that are accurate with raw...i bought all my cards already graded, but will go raw ans sub to psa i guess.....thanks guys, especially all you whom have helped in the past, especially mini duff... ivan

calicrippler · August 9, 2011 1:28PM

What would you guys estimate the value of a complete PSA 8 nq mini set?

hammered · August 9, 2011 1:35PM

<< <i>What would you guys estimate the value of a complete PSA 8 nq mini set? >>

I'd guess in the neighborhood of $10,000

calicrippler · August 9, 2011 2:27PM

Thanks

Bosox1976 · August 9, 2011 11:23PM

Does anybody have an extra psa 8 Yount or Ryan for sale or trade? Looking for well centered and will pay a premium.

Thanks.

MiniMaster · August 10, 2011 3:16AM

Considering how high some of the low pop PSA 8's have been going for..... It wouldn't surprise me if a complete 75 Topps Mini set that was all PSA 8's went for as much as $12K-$15K. The higher figure if it had mostly premium (for the grade) examples.

MiniMaster · August 10, 2011 3:03PM

It's looking like we may have our old thread back after a little revision by PSA

Bosox1976 · August 11, 2011 11:09AM

Glad to hear the thread is en route

Am getting a sub together, and wonder if any of these are worth a crack and resubmit --- any thoughts?

Indy78 · August 11, 2011 11:34AM

I'll give you my opinion.

Schmidt - T/B centering looks 7ish. That coupled with yellow line along top I suspect will keep it at a 7.

Bochte - With the snow in the background, I think you were lucky to get an 8. The way they've been knocking down mini's with that snow over the last few months to a year, you'll likely get it back as a 7 if you crack and resub. I'd leave it in the 8 holder.

Twitchell - I'm not sure how they would treat the narrow darker green band across the top. If it were me with the card, I would leave it alone as an 8 for fear the dark green band would knock it down to a 7. It's rare as an 8 and has quite a bit of value that way, so it wouldn't be worth the risk to me.

Davis - Same as Bochte because of the snow in the photo. I'd leave it alone as a 7.5.

Good luck with your next sub!

MiniMaster · August 11, 2011 12:02PM

Keep them as is. If any could make a slight bump it would be the schmidt. I have seen even 9's with the slight yellow at the top. Not that much yellow on the 9 I saw. Definitely I've seen 8's with that much yellow. It all depends on the corners and edges. Are they clean? If so, you might get a bump? The other cards I don't see any more love than you already received on those

TheVon · August 11, 2011 1:43PM

I agree. If I was going to crack any of them it would be the Schmidt.

Bosox1976 · August 11, 2011 8:47PM

Thanks guys.

jivan · August 17, 2011 12:00PM

[

jivan · August 17, 2011 12:02PM

<< <i>ok guys, even though my set is only 7/8's i am almost done!!! need some tough ones in 7's or if you have some raw that you know will only grade a 7, i am asking for help....looking to buy the following....74..84..152....245..326..562....i was away last weekwnd and missed out on 2 or 3 of these...even if you don't have them, any ebay sellers you know that are accurate with raw...i bought all my cards already graded, but will go raw ans sub to psa i guess.....thanks guys, especially all you whom have helped in the past, especially mini duff... ivan >>

picked up 3..any more help?? ivan

grote15 · August 18, 2011 10:01AM

Glad to hear the thread is en route

Am getting a sub together, and wonder if any of these are worth a crack and resubmit --- any thoughts?

Mike,

I'd second that your best shot at an upgrade is with the Schmidt...I could see that card in a 7.5 holder, maybe even an 8. PSA will not penalize you for the yellow stripe. I would not crack the others, because honestly I think both Bochte and Twitchell would most likely be rejected due to minsizereq and I think Harper is actually closer to a 7 than an 8, so I'd leave that one in the 7.5 holder.

MattyC · August 25, 2011 5:12AM

Man, those low pop 9s on the bay are hurt like Burt. Many, the Bando for example, wouldn't get 8s today-- even if they weren't guillotined. I'd be shocked if they sell at all.

Bosox1976 · August 30, 2011 10:39AM

Any one of these would be a wonderful 9's, but they are all about a grade below that.... worth grading at all? Maybe one of the Zisks?

Boring I know, but anything is worth bumping this thread over. Any idea when the original is returning?

MiniMaster · August 31, 2011 1:10AM

Wonderful centering on all. However, the corners and some edges doom most the cards shown. The Tiant and the first Zisk might get an 8? The others would be 7's or more than likely 6's. I personally wouldn't submit them for grading. A shame the Rodgers wasn't clean on the edges and lower corners, otherwise nice centering

Regarding the old thread. I was informed that no contact from Joe O. was a good sign that the thread will return at some point? They simply need the time to review the thread and remove whatever it is that they find to be inappropriate, then the thread will be reinstated per Joe O.

grote15 · August 31, 2011 4:48AM

Mike,

The touched corners and minor edge chipping will likely keep any of those cards from a chance at a 9, but I do think you have solid 8s. The enlarged scans tend to magnify minor flaws. I'd be stunned if any of those cards graded as low as a 6 unless there's a surface wrinkle.

CalamityTodd · August 31, 2011 10:01AM

Is anyone else tired of looking at all the 2011 Topps Lineage in their e-bay searches? I know I am.

hammered · August 31, 2011 11:28PM

<< <i>Is anyone else tired of looking at all the 2011 Topps Lineage in their e-bay searches? I know I am. >>

Same thing here so I started typing "-lineage" in the search line

CalamityTodd · September 1, 2011 1:01AM

That worked great. Thank you.

packCollector · September 1, 2011 2:59AM

I am pretty sure the rogers sells decent in an 8

MiniMaster · September 1, 2011 5:37AM

3 chips on the right side and 2 bottom corners with hints of white (right corner more than left) a print mark an the left side and what appears to be a very snowy photo (quite common for this card, thus the limitted number of high end examples)...... makes this a 7 at best. I tell it like it appears. Without much snow in the photo, some minor flaws might squeak by..... with the snow, the other flaws make it unlikely to grade higher than a 7 (IMHO).

grote15 · September 1, 2011 7:29AM

MM,

I think some of the snow on the Rogers card is on the scanner not the card. Minor flaws are always going to be amplified and exaggerated on a scan 5x the normal size. I do think it has a decent shot at an 8. If you scanned PSA 9s at that size, you'd see the same minor edge chips or light touches on a corner on many of them, too. I'm not saying this card is of PSA 9 caliber but it is certainly within the parameters of a PSA 8, even with the tougher grading standards of the last couple years. The centering is really great on that card, and that is why I think it will get you the 8. I've also seen fisheyes three times that print defect on PSA 9s, so that tiny print dot will not impact the grade at all, imo..

Indy78 · September 1, 2011 9:50AM

BoSox: Very nice color and centering on those. I would check the height on some or all of them, especially the Blyleven and Tiant. The the top to bottom height should be checked at both the left and right sides of the cards (i.e., measured in at least two places). I hope I'm wrong, but they look short to me, and many of the edges look unusally smooth to me, which doesn't seem right considering you're zoomed in on them. They need to be 80 mm+ tall. Another thing to do is hold the cards under a light and view those smooth edges on the front of the card. If the surface of the entire edge is very finely crimped when viewed from an angle, it's likely been cut.

I don't mean to put a damper on things, but I got burned on some raw mini's recently that look like those. I won't buy a raw mini any more without measuring the card (width and height) and studying the edges closely. Again, I hope I'm wrong, but I would check to be sure.

fiveniner · September 2, 2011 12:38AM

I have been a 1975 mini junkie since 1975.A challanging set if you are looking for 100% 8s or better.

jivan · September 7, 2011 4:48AM

ok, down to the following needs....74..84..152...245...326..562 psa 7 is fine.. thanks, ivan

calicrippler · September 18, 2011 4:25AM

Anyone remember the mini set that was auctioned off on the Greg Bussinea auctions a little while back? I was looking at the final price for it and it was something like 39k if I remember correctly. The guy who won proceeded to do a set break on ebay with the cards from the auction. After seeing some of the results of those ebay auctions, there is absolutely no way he made any money. Is it just me or did anyone else notice how bad he lost $ ?

Ianril · September 19, 2011 1:15AM

Someone accidentally send me a '75 Mini Hal McRae PSA 8... and never responded as to where to send it back. I guess I've started the set too then, huh?

chelseafc11 · September 20, 2011 3:30AM

These cards just popped for me. I got a few 9s and one or two low pop 8s. I figure I would see if anyone from these boards needs anything before I put them up on ebay or just kept them for myself. Sorry for the messed up format. If you need a scan of any of the cards I will gladly do that for you

NEAR MINT-MINT+ 8.5 1975 TOPPS MINI 4 '74 HIGHLIGHTS AL KALINE
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 5 '74 HIGHLIGHTS NOLAN RYAN
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 17 DAVE CONCEPCION
NEAR MINT 7 1975 TOPPS MINI 20 THURMAN MUNSON
NEAR MINT 7 1975 TOPPS MINI 350 BOBBY MURCER
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 459 A.L. CHAMPIONSHIPS
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 87 GEORGE FOSTER
MINT 9 1975 TOPPS MINI 12 DAVID CLYDE
MINT 9 1975 TOPPS MINI 420 LARRY BOWA
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 415 JOHN HILLER
MINT 9 1975 TOPPS MINI 448 FRANK DUFFY
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 465 WORLD SERIES GAME 5
MINT 9 1975 TOPPS MINI 467 ED HALICKI
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 560 TONY PEREZ
NEAR MINT 7 1975 TOPPS MINI 405 JOHN MONTAGUE
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 112 LARRY HARDY
MINT 9 1975 TOPPS MINI 456 BOB COLUCCIO
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 100 WILLIE STARGELL
NEAR MINT-MINT+ 8.5 1975 TOPPS MINI 123 JOHNNY BRIGGS
NEAR MINT 7 1975 TOPPS MINI 125 KEN SINGLETON
MINT 9 1975 TOPPS MINI 299 BUCKY DENT
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 308 R.B.I. LEADERS J.BURROUGHS/J.BENCH
MINT 9 1975 TOPPS MINI 327 JERRY HAIRSTON
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 325 TONY OLIVA
NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1975 TOPPS MINI 345 CLAY CARROLL

CalamityTodd · September 20, 2011 9:59PM

You will do better putting them on eBay.

hammered · September 22, 2011 12:11PM

1 18503835 MINT 9 1975 TOPPS MINI 438 DON CARRITHERS Card US
1 18503836 MINT 9 1975 TOPPS MINI 162 WILLIE MONTANEZ Card US
1 18503837 GEM MINT 10 1975 TOPPS MINI 77 RICHIE ZISK

Just popped these. Wasn't expecting a 10 on Zisk, looks like it's a pop 2 now. Does anyone know if the other 10 is a short or is it full size?
Thanks

MattyC · September 22, 2011 1:18PM

The Zisk 10 sold for 238 in 2007. No pic is available on VCP.

grote15 · September 27, 2011 7:37AM

Great job on the PSA 10 Zisk!

MattyC · September 27, 2011 10:36PM

$1100 for that Stanley. That's gotta be a record price for a PSA 9 common. Great card.

MiniMaster · September 27, 2011 11:01PM

Big bucks for a common 9. Not surprised though. This card centered like that and free of print marks..... very tough! Fine example

I hear the case it came from has many examples of this card well centered....price should come down dramatically when they all start popping up.... of course I'm Just Kidding

Probstein123 · September 28, 2011 2:30AM

if you like 1975 Topps MINI PSA 10s, then we just posted a hoard of them....

many pop 1s and pop 2s ...

75 MINI for auction , no reserve

MiniMaster · September 28, 2011 3:38AM

Probstein123,

Official 1975 Topps Mini Thread

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