Newbie questions on submitting 1956 Topps

cochese

Hello all,

My dad has a nice set, not complete, of 1956 Topps cards, including a Mantle(!). I've had the nicer cards in thick plastic holders for a long time, and I will finally be submitting them for grading. This will probably be the start of me trying to complete a set. I have a few questions that I was hoping you all might help with.

1. What should I put the cards in for submission? I'd like to handle them as little as possible, but it would seem expensive to put them all in the thick plastic holders. Any tips on good card holders that fit these sized cards? Also, does PSA return the plastic holders that cards are submitted in?

2. Are these cards considered "super sized"? I'm trying to navigate my way through the submission levels and fees to get an idea of what this will cost.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

- Dan

jimrad

Link

cochese

Thanks for the link. I guess I'm paranoid that when I slide the cards into a holder like that, no matter how careful I am, the corners could end up being damaged a little bit. The size of those holders is big enough to fit these cards, but they aren't all that much bigger than the actual cards. That's what makes me nervous, since the edge of the cards ends up too close to the corners of the holder.

JoeBanzai

Use the suggested holders. If you are careful there should be no damage. Holders are not returned. I suggest using PSA for the grading, not even sure who PCGS is, if you are going to get the cards graded use the company most people know and trust......PSA

Good luck,

Joe

cochese

Gotcha, thanks.

PCGS is the coin version of PSA. I'm more of a coin guy, so it slipped. ;-)

TmbrWolf22

I thought that cardsaver1s were bigger than cardsaver2s....that may be the way to go. . . .either way, both are on the website that Jimrad posted a link to.

judgebuck

1. Definitely use PSA as your grading company.

2. You may wish to join PSA so that you can get the Collectors Club monthly specials. Check those out on the PSA website.

3. Use Card Saver 1, not Card Savers 2, for putting cards into holders for submission.

4. Only submit the cards that are higher grade and, as a general rule, only submit the superstars cards until you get a better feel for what your grades are going to be when you get them back from PSA. For example, you likely don't want to pay the grading fees (plus S & H) for common cards that come back graded PSA 5.

5. Ask any and all questions you may have. The people on this board will always help.

Finally, the 1956 Topps set is absolutely one of my favorites. I love the action shots in the background and the "comic strip" on the backs. Also, there are many superstars/HOFers in the set. Happy collecting!!!

David

cochese

Thanks all, good stuff. I did some more research and it does sound like the CS1s are the way to go for these cards. I'm going to start by putting them all in CS1s and evaluating which ones are worth submitting for the first round. For sure the Mantle, a few Aarons, a few Robinsons and some of the team cards. Unfortunately the Clemente is a bit damaged =(

From what I gather, card grading is a bit like coin grading services in that some services are better with certain types of cards. It sounds like PSA is the way to go for the vintage cards, so this is a good fit. I already have a membership with their coin grading service, so I'm somewhat familiar with the process. Just need to sign up for the card grading side of things.

JudgeBuck, yes the 1956 Topps set is a great set of cards. I've been out of collecting cards for maybe 20 years, and now that I'm no longer a kid and have some funds, I think I may go the slow route of putting together a really nice looking set. It's also neat to me that many of the cards were actually collected by my dad.

Take care all!

Sean1125

Still worth it to slab lower condition major stars. In that shape raw you will get half if not less of what you get graded.

cochese

My intention is to eventually do this, but first I want to spend some time getting to know the series better, and tuning my eye for grading. This'll help me know which cards are more suited for grading vs. which ones I can let be. At which time I send in the more common cards, I'll do it in bulk to try and save on grading. One thing I've learned is that grading fees plus shipping fees can really add up!

Edit: by "bulk" I mean 50+ cards at a time vs. onesie twosies.

jimrad

Absolutely use the card saver I's. I thought that was what I put the link to, but its on the same website.

Dboneesq

LINK to Card Saver 1. Geeze, ya can't trust those hockey guys! LMAO

JoeBanzai

Oops, sorry, card saver 1's are the ones to use.

Good luck with your submissions.

Joe

53BKid

Welcome cochese

Personally, I also submit using a "NQ" designation, for no qualifiers. It eliminates the potential for off centered "O/C" cards. I think there's better price support for PSA graded 6s compared with 8 O/Cs.

Also, I may be wrong, but believe there's a quarterly grading special this month discounting bulk submissions of 50s cards if postmarked by 11/30.

Good luck with your set. Should be fun.

cochese

Ok, ordered the CS1s. Will be fun to go through all the cards, categorize them and get them in these holders.

Looks like I'm missing the Mays and Yankees team cards, and will need a better Clemente. Most of the other big cards are there, and in fact I have duplicates of many so hopefully can trade for what I need.

Question about the NQ option, if I choose this then they just lower the grade for off center cards, vs. applying a higher grade with the off center designation? I see the logic in doing this. Definitely have a few off center cards, as I'm sure were common with this series. Thankfully, most of the nice ones are centered. I'll snap a pic of some of the nicer ones later and post a link.