Question - 1991 Topps (of all things...)

Nikklos

Hey all:

For some strange reason, I've been thinking about buying a case of 1991 Topps to see if I could pull some vintage cards. Has anyone ever pulled these opening 1991 Topps? It would be interesting to hear what you got.

I do recall opening a box back then - there was a baseball card frenzy at the time and it briefly sucked me back into the hobby - and of course did not pull a single vintage card.

Thanks all!

Foo3112

Its not worth it.

I clearly remember buying a pack in 1991 when I was 11 and I got a different card in my pack. I was like "hey, whats this?". It was a common from the late 70's. It was a 1979 or 78. One of those. Topps clearly dupped us into thinking if we pulled one, it would be a star card. For that, save your money and go buy a common on ebay for $1.

Nikklos

Tnanks Foo. I wonder if the cards they put in would even grade PSA 8. Probably not.

bishop

Topps said they would give away 3 full sets of all of it's cards that year, one run as a grand prize, individual full sets as prizes for redemption cards, and a full run as individual inset cards. But cards for 52 to 56 ( 51 was not included) were too big to be inserts and had to be claimed via redemption card inserts . Also, the contest cards said that any card with a then value of $ 50 ( not clear how determined) were not inserted but also had to be claimed via redemption cards. All the cards were apparently obtained by Topps on the secondary market and were rarely in great condition. There was a date deadline on the redemptions.

Notice the serial # on the game card below. I am looking for #s 12411/12478 and 12545 to finish a run of them. If anyone has one of them, I would pay a premium

Nikklos

Great info. Thanks Bishop.

mlbfan2

The odds of winning 1 card were 1000:1.
From 1952-1991, there were about 25,000 different Topps baseball cards.
So, I guess that means Topps made ~25,000,000 packs in 1991, or ~694,444 wax boxes.
Sound about right?

lahmejoon

I had fun with those '92 scratch off cards. I remember initially getting the scratch off cards that were printed on white card stock. I used to take them into the pantry with a flashlight and see right through them. Later, I remember getting them on darker card stock where you couldn't see through them.

Nikklos

So what is a good junk wax case that could have some worthwhile pulls? Not interested in anything with slices of bats or cut-up uniforms. How there isn't outrage about such things is beyond me.

digicat

1991 Topps Chipper Jones can get $50 in PSA 10 or $10 in PSA 9. As long as you can tell the difference between 9s and 8s, that seems to be the only thing in the set you can make money on. However, not sure where you'll end up after the cost of the rip and the grading fees. Your profit might be a pile of commons.

mygotta

<< <i>The odds of winning 1 card were 1000:1.
From 1952-1991, there were about 25,000 different Topps baseball cards.
So, I guess that means Topps made ~25,000,000 packs in 1991, or ~694,444 wax boxes.
Sound about right? >>




Those are interesting odds. So are these cards only available in wax packs? Or would you consider rack packs, cello packs and jumbo packs as part of the package? That would change the numbers if its only available in rack packs.

billwaltonsbeard

I ripped 6-7 boxes that year and never pulled anything

Nikklos

I am pretty positive if I pulled any vintage card, it would be a Steve Renko. He seems to show up in multiples in all my rips.

dennis07

I opened a lot of 1991 Topps back in the day. I probably opened the equivalent of a case. I remember pulling 2 of the "vintage" cards out of all that.
Both were 1970 something commons and both would have graded 6 or 7.

byronscott4ever

<< <i>I had fun with those '92 scratch off cards. I remember initially getting the scratch off cards that were printed on white card stock. I used to take them into the pantry with a flashlight and see right through them. Later, I remember getting them on darker card stock where you couldn't see through them. >>



I remember stocking up on them and then finding the pattern through trial and error. I had a few winners and then Topps sent me a huge box of packs, well more than I had coming, but being in the middle of no where and no idea how to reach Topps, there wasn't much I could do but rip them open and enjoy.

Guru

1989 Fleer Baseball is fun and inexpensive. You could always pull the Ripken or Johnson error or a Griffey, Jr. rookie.

saucywombat

Bishop

Those game cards you are looking for must be pretty rare. After seeing your post I went through about 500 that I had and not one of those numbers.

BTW - What is the number range for all the cards?