I just completed the 1956 Topps Super set to 100%

Spahnfan

I think it is just the 3rd set at 100%. That's 455 cards, both gray backs and white backs. Many of the mid-series white backs are tough, and centering is notoriously bad. I tried to get the rest of the cards with perfect or almost perfect centering. I still have about 10 cards to upgrade to better centering (besides the mid series white backs).

Spahnfan

How do you edit posts under this new format? I have a correction on the above post. It is 540 cards not 455.

59Horsehide

Congratulations - one major achievement. Did you go raw or graded on this? If graded, what is the GPA? Would enjoy seeing some of your best cards in the collection.

Jim

Spahnfan

The set is graded. I have the 3rd ranked set on the Registry. It is under Starfire030 on the registry. I would be honored if you checked it out.

jay0791

Absolutely awesome set!!!

Getting the variations is like collecting 2 sets.

Most super nice for the grade also.

jay0791

Does anyone know why there is 2 different backs?

I know PSA only recently started differentiating the diff backs.......but does actual scarcity correspond to psa pops?

59Horsehide

Just looked at many of your registered sets - "Holy Guacamole" is all I can say!! An unbelievable number of absolutely awesome cards. Now to clean the "drool" off my keyboard.

calaban7

Very good achievement and outstanding set ------ Sonny

mrpeanut39

Amazing achievement. Curious as to what the competition is like for those 2nd series white backs? I know how rare those are. When I was completing my own 56 set, I looked for the best centered card with no regard to whether it was GB or WB. When I finished, I only had one of the 80 cards in WB.

Also, am I crazy or can you sort of tell if a card is WB without seeing the back? Seems like they're grainier with not as sharp a focus as the GB's.

Spahnfan

Thank you all for the nice comments. After years of searching for cards and building the set, it is nice to hear some kind words.

Jay-yes it is like collecting two sets. The basic set has 340 cards and the super set has 540 cards, so that is 200 more cards. You ask if scarcity equates to PSA pops. The numbers are not exact because years ago when cards were graded, they were not assigned a color of the back. Therefore there are some cards that are listed in the first series as white backs that are gray backs and some cards in the second series listed as gray backs that are white backs. They only started listing the pops of the different color backs when PSA included it in the title strip. I am not sure when PSA started listing the color of the backs on the title strip. I think it has been 5 or 6 years. In all those years there is still a fairly small number of first series gray backs and second series white backs. So, in answer to your question, yes the cards are scarce, but not quite as scarce as the pops indicate. If you have tried to collect the set and are looking for second series white backs in a grade above PSA 5, you know how scarce they are.

Spahnfan

Mr. Peanut, there is a slight difference in the two cards. When you hold the cards side by side (gray back and white back) I see a consistent lighter color in the white backs. Without holding the cards side by side, I have a tough time telling the color of the back.

jay0791

I collect NY Yankee team sets in PSA 8. Unfortunately I still need mantle and TC in 56.
The 2 most $. Just starting to look for the master set of both backs. I can see from the
pop report both Berra and Rizzuto don't even have an 8 yet.
I was surprised to learn PSA has mislabeled some in the early days.

PSA only recently distinguished the 59 set backs. The pops are definitely a tad screwed up there.

I look for high end centered cards myself and they might be only 25% of the population out there.
Anyways I am super impressed with the quality of the set as well.

Spahnfan

Jay- I did not mean to mislead you that PSA mislabeled some cards in the early days. They did not mislabel them, they just did not distinguish between the white backs and gray backs and did not put any color on the label. If you check 1956 cards on eBay, there are some older cards that do not have any color designation on them. Unless the seller tells you the back color of the card, you cannot tell if it is white or gray.

If you like higher end centered cards, I invite you to check out my 1957 Topps Baseball set. I still have quite a few cards to upgrade for centering, but overall worth looking over. My Master Set is #8 on the Registry under Starfire030.

Yes, Berra and Rizzuto do not have any white backs graded 8 yet, but Killebrew, #164, does not even have a 7 yet.

jay0791

"numbers are not exact because years ago when cards were graded, they were not assigned a color of the back. Therefore there are some cards that are listed in the first series as white backs that are gray backs and some cards in the second series listed as gray backs that are white backs. "

This is what confused me. If they are listed as either white/gray then to me that assumes PSA had knowledge of the difference. I know early grading of these cards are not distinguished.

mrpeanut39

@jay0791 said:
"numbers are not exact because years ago when cards were graded, they were not assigned a color of the back. Therefore there are some cards that are listed in the first series as white backs that are gray backs and some cards in the second series listed as gray backs that are white backs. "

This is what confused me. If they are listed as either white/gray then to me that assumes PSA had knowledge of the difference. I know early grading of these cards are not distinguished.

Just to clarify a little bit. I believe this is only reflected in the pop report. If you look at WB pops in the 2nd series, those numbers reflect only the WB's graded since they started identifying the back on the slab. Undoubtedly there are WBs residing in slabs graded before they started identifying GB or WB but they are just lumped in with the much more common GBs in the pop report. This won't change until the owner of the card gets it re-slabbed.

Bogart417

Just joined the forum. What an awesome set, great accomplishment. I'm looking for '56 Topps baseball cards psa 9.

Spahnfan

Thanks for the compliment on my set. When I first read your post, I thought you were going to build a set in PSA 9. That would be quite and accomplishment. As I read it again, it sounds like you just want some 1956 PSA 9 cards. That is also a nice goal. Good luck with your acquisitions and show us some you get.

SinibobCards

Congrats on an amazing accomplishment! You have shown remarkable determination to reach this point. 1956 Topps has always been my favorite set. -Mike

Spahnfan

I checked out your set. You have a nice start on your set. The Mantle in PSA 8 is outstanding! I have quite a few of the cards you are missing in grades of 7 and 8. I also have quite a few to upgrade your 6's and below to 7 or 8. Send me PM if you want to discuss.

kidsox

I just now read this thread of Spahnfan's stunning accomplishment and learned a lot from everyone's posts. Thanks to all. Several years ago, through a similar forum, I discovered I had a 1959 Topps Haywood Sullivan PSA 8 no circle copyright U.S.A in my collection. At the time it was 1/1 with none higher! I couldn't resist having it reslabbed and selling it for much more than today's price guide.
Now I realize I have a 1956 #20 Al Kaline PSA 8 Gray Back, which I probably won't sell. Since the price guide doesn't distinguish grays from whites, I'm curious about its value. I would greatly appreciate any estimates. I think it's 1/43 with 5 higher. Thanks.

KbKards

There's very little price difference with the white and grays in the 1-100 series. The qualities of the card will have more of an impact on the selling price over what color the back is. From 101-180 it's a whole different story with higher grade white backs selling for multiples of a gray back.

The pop listing for gray at 43 is very misleading in terms of what's actually out there in PSA 8 holders. It simply means there's 43 PSA 8 labels out there with gray listed on them. Under the pop listing for white it lists 230 but that includes labels that list white, and labels that list nothing for color, the vast majority of which were graded prior to PSA identifying the back color. If you gathered all 273 of them up and sorted them by actual back color the difference between white and gray would probably be within 10-20%, and due to the large quantity of both available, not significant enough to warrant a price difference based on back color. Quality of card yes, back color no.