If you had to pick one year from the 80's where you could just throw out 80-90% of the cards cause the centering is horrific, which would it be? The other night I pulled a box out of my room and was going thru some 85 Fleer and 85 Topps...good heavens, so many of the cards were like 90-10 for centering...ish
I love when I rip a box and the contenders line up with the stars (and rookies). This was one of those boxes! 20 candidates for PSA 10 in all. Here are the continued piles that don’t make the grade...
Now for the first 16 candidates...
And these final four candidates (with permission from Jim Nance and the NCAA). The Grace and McGwire were extra sweet for me, since I coveted them as a kid...
@Kep13 said:
If you had to pick one year from the 80's where you could just throw out 80-90% of the cards cause the centering is horrific, which would it be? The other night I pulled a box out of my room and was going thru some 85 Fleer and 85 Topps...good heavens, so many of the cards were like 90-10 for centering...ish
Great question! You appropriately called out two of the worst. 1981 Donruss is far and away the worst for me. 90/10 centering, tilt cuts and uneven boarders that look like the cards were cut with kindergarten safety scissors. 1981 Donruss is the #1 mess in my experience. The centering Gods also hate 1985 Topps, 1985 Fleer, 1987 Topps, 1988 Donruss, and 1986 Fleer in that order. They are all so hard to find dead centered. I would guess 90-95% are OC and those that are centered usually have a print defect keeping them from PSA 10. I also find many of the Donruss “The Rookies” sets to be a centering nightmare too. The 1980s can be a real challenge to find perfect examples, which is why you have to break a ton to find that 1-2% that are truly GEM MINT. Thanks for the comment.
This set can be a nightmare to find in GEM MINT. Those black borders coupled with poor sheet cutters and then crammed into a tight set box...oof, this is going to be a challenge in PSA 10. Here are the ones that miss the mark...
These are a good example of the condition challenge...
I broke these two 1987 Topps Traded sets right after the 1986’s. These were an even bigger condition nightmare this round. Not a single candidate. Here are the cards that missed the mark...
Then I ripped this box of 1989 Donruss right after. Not a single Griffey RC and only 1 candidate for PSA 10. At least it was a HOFer. Here was the box and the stars and rookies that keep piling up...
Always fun hunting for Griffey RCs. This box had some nice high-end star power. First, here are the stars and rookies that continue to pile up in less than PSA 10 condition...
I pulled these key cards, but none made the grade...
I was quite happy with the stars within these 14 candidates for PSA 10. Too bad this wasn’t an error box...
That's the error version of that card, I believe. The photo actually shows another player. Fleer later issued a corrected version with Romine in the photo.
@jordangretzkyfan Don't forget to look for the Tom Brookens/Mike Heath errors where the 2 cards have switched backs, incorrectly showing the other player's name and stats.
Countdouglas is correct. This is the “error” version of this card, incorrectly showing Nick Esasky in the photo. Fleer later corrected this card and the photo is of Kevin Romine from the waist up standing with arms crossed. This was the only error in this box, making me think it was likely the last error Fleer corrected that year.
CD - thanks for the Brookens/Heath reminder. I had checked for those along with all the typo backs, but only this Romine error was in the box.
There is also an error on the '89 Fleer Jeff Treadway card (target above head). I think this error was corrected early as it seems to be more "rare' than the Heath/Brookens and Romine errors.
@dennis07 said:
There is also an error on the '89 Fleer Jeff Treadway card (target above head). I think this error was corrected early as it seems to be more "rare' than the Heath/Brookens and Romine errors.
Yes. In my experience of opening, the difficulty on 1989 Fleer errors from most difficult to least is:
I have ripped tons of these boxes over the years and this seems to be the progression of fixing the errors based on ones that came out of packs I have opened (with the exception of Ripken whiteout and scribble, which were a limited run in Jan 1989 prior to black box).
This can be a tough year condition wise. I simply love this design and the rookies in this set will always be iconic to me. The Future Stars Bo is amazing and the young Bonds coming out of his shoes as he swings for the fences is such a great action shot. Here were the stars and rookies that missed the grade...
Got to love the uneven distribution in cello. I pulled all these key cards, but none were grade worthy...
There were only 2 contenders for PSA 10, but I am loving these two cards. The photo on this Kevin Mitchell RC is just SICK!!
This was one loaded box of PSA 10 worthy cards! There were 22 contenders in all. First, here are the piles of sub-10 stars and rookies that continue to pile up...
There were a nice mix of stars and another Leiter RC error in this group of 22 candidates...
There were a few contenders that emerged from their waxy tombs this round. Here are the stars and rookies that keep piling up below the elusive PSA 10 grade...
Pulled these key RCs, but none make the grade...
Here are the 9 candidates for perfection, headlined by Mr. Rice...
I ripped these two 1986 Topps Traded sets last night. This set continues to be a condition challenge relative to other Traded years due to the black borders being placed into these tight set boxes. Overall, I was happy to find 6 candidates for PSA 10. Here were the results...
So then I thought a box of 1988 Topps seemed warranted. This seems to be a day of 7-9 contenders per box, with little to no star power. Here are the growing piles that don’t make the grade...
Here are the 9 candidates for PSA 10. If only this was the elusive 1988 Donruss counterpart for Devon, then I might have won the 80s cardboard lottery 🤣
We ripped into 88T with a vengeance when it first came out, searching for the all star rookies and Future stars. That Devon sure brings back some fond memories.
I also agree on the Grace Card. Like the Seitzer the year before, I loved those cards.
John
Conundrum - Loving my unopened baseball card collection....but really like ripping too
This set always makes me smile when I rip it. It was key to my childhood collecting despite not being worth anything these days. Here are the stars that keep piling up...
Pulled this Glavine RC, but not worthy of GEM MINT...
However, these 11 are solid contenders for PSA 10. I loved Eric Davis back in the day and Matt Nokes was THE RC to pull in 1988...
Eric Davis was the man in the late 80's. Even his cards from that era show his style that I thought was awesome as a kid. Thanks for always ripping and bringing back great memories for me.
@dtsagent9 said:
Eric davis was the man in the late 80's. Even his cards from that era show his style that I thought was awesome as a kid. Thanks for always ripping and bringing back great memories for me.
I’m with you...he was always moving at 110mph. I still remember when my grandma gave me Eric’s 1985 Fleer RC for my 12th birthday. My jaw hit the floor, because it was the first one I had ever seen in person. Was one of my favorite presents of all time!
@SumoMenkoMan said:
Those Team Leader cards are atrociously awesome!
Perfectly said. Not sure who came up with the idea to white air brush around the player photo, but that amazing creativity lives on in 1988 Topps to this day 🤣
Comments
If you had to pick one year from the 80's where you could just throw out 80-90% of the cards cause the centering is horrific, which would it be? The other night I pulled a box out of my room and was going thru some 85 Fleer and 85 Topps...good heavens, so many of the cards were like 90-10 for centering...ish
I love when I rip a box and the contenders line up with the stars (and rookies). This was one of those boxes! 20 candidates for PSA 10 in all. Here are the continued piles that don’t make the grade...
Now for the first 16 candidates...
And these final four candidates (with permission from Jim Nance and the NCAA). The Grace and McGwire were extra sweet for me, since I coveted them as a kid...
Great question! You appropriately called out two of the worst. 1981 Donruss is far and away the worst for me. 90/10 centering, tilt cuts and uneven boarders that look like the cards were cut with kindergarten safety scissors. 1981 Donruss is the #1 mess in my experience. The centering Gods also hate 1985 Topps, 1985 Fleer, 1987 Topps, 1988 Donruss, and 1986 Fleer in that order. They are all so hard to find dead centered. I would guess 90-95% are OC and those that are centered usually have a print defect keeping them from PSA 10. I also find many of the Donruss “The Rookies” sets to be a centering nightmare too. The 1980s can be a real challenge to find perfect examples, which is why you have to break a ton to find that 1-2% that are truly GEM MINT. Thanks for the comment.
Time for some Topps Traded sets. Up first are two 1986 sealed sets...
This set can be a nightmare to find in GEM MINT. Those black borders coupled with poor sheet cutters and then crammed into a tight set box...oof, this is going to be a challenge in PSA 10. Here are the ones that miss the mark...
These are a good example of the condition challenge...
Here is the loan contender for PSA 10...
Wayne! Thanks for making it to the party, Wayne!
Andy
I broke these two 1987 Topps Traded sets right after the 1986’s. These were an even bigger condition nightmare this round. Not a single candidate. Here are the cards that missed the mark...
Party time...excellent 🙃
I was hoping you'd catch that. Haha!
Andy
Here go a couple of 1989 Topps Traded sets...
The Griffey’s in this case are coming out super clean. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the grade...
Check out these 4 contenders for PSA 10...
Then I ripped this box of 1989 Donruss right after. Not a single Griffey RC and only 1 candidate for PSA 10. At least it was a HOFer. Here was the box and the stars and rookies that keep piling up...
Here were the key rookies pulled...
And here is the only contender for PSA 10...
In that 1988 box...Bill Buckner in an Angels uniform? Whew! Stinker!
kevin
Love that 1988 Fleer Grace and McGwire you pulled. Keep those 1989 Topps traded sets coming. Almost every one has landed you a beauty Griffey.
-Nathanael
Back to 1989 we go...
Always fun hunting for Griffey RCs. This box had some nice high-end star power. First, here are the stars and rookies that continue to pile up in less than PSA 10 condition...
I pulled these key cards, but none made the grade...
I was quite happy with the stars within these 14 candidates for PSA 10. Too bad this wasn’t an error box...
I ripped a box of 1989 Donruss right after the Fleer box, but only managed to find one contender in the entire box. Here are the pics...
It was a Big Unit hot box...
Here was the lone contender for PSA 10...
Kevin Romine is a key card???
That's the error version of that card, I believe. The photo actually shows another player. Fleer later issued a corrected version with Romine in the photo.
@jordangretzkyfan Don't forget to look for the Tom Brookens/Mike Heath errors where the 2 cards have switched backs, incorrectly showing the other player's name and stats.
Countdouglas is correct. This is the “error” version of this card, incorrectly showing Nick Esasky in the photo. Fleer later corrected this card and the photo is of Kevin Romine from the waist up standing with arms crossed. This was the only error in this box, making me think it was likely the last error Fleer corrected that year.
CD - thanks for the Brookens/Heath reminder. I had checked for those along with all the typo backs, but only this Romine error was in the box.
There is also an error on the '89 Fleer Jeff Treadway card (target above head). I think this error was corrected early as it seems to be more "rare' than the Heath/Brookens and Romine errors.
Yes. In my experience of opening, the difficulty on 1989 Fleer errors from most difficult to least is:
1) Treadway target
2) Ripken whiteout
3) Ripken scribble
4) Johnson Marlboro
5) Johnson Marlboro (red/green tint)
6) Ripken FF
7) Typo backs (Heep, Ashby, Trillo, Moses, Allen, Vande Berg, CL)
8) Heath/Brookens switched backs
9) Romine wrong photo
I have ripped tons of these boxes over the years and this seems to be the progression of fixing the errors based on ones that came out of packs I have opened (with the exception of Ripken whiteout and scribble, which were a limited run in Jan 1989 prior to black box).
Let the hunt for Jose begin...
No Canseco RC this round, but pretty happy to land 20 candidates for PSA 10! Here are the stars and rookies that didn’t make the grade...
And here are the 20 cards that look pristine at first glance...
Oh, nice change of pace. I like the 86 Donruss!
Andy
Thanks Andy! I always like ripping 1986 Donruss, since the price was always just out of my reach as a kid once Jose had his 40/40 season.
Up next is where it all began for me...1987 Topps...
This can be a tough year condition wise. I simply love this design and the rookies in this set will always be iconic to me. The Future Stars Bo is amazing and the young Bonds coming out of his shoes as he swings for the fences is such a great action shot. Here were the stars and rookies that missed the grade...
Got to love the uneven distribution in cello. I pulled all these key cards, but none were grade worthy...
There were only 2 contenders for PSA 10, but I am loving these two cards. The photo on this Kevin Mitchell RC is just SICK!!
Here Griffey, Griffey, Griffey...
Swing and a miss. At least for PSA 10s. I did manage to find 2 Griffey RCs though...
Back to good ol’ 1988 Topps...
This thread is by far my favourite CU thread ever. Makes me want to bring a case of 80's Topps over and rip in solidarity.
-Nathanael
Thanks Nathanael! Happy to have a rip party with you anytime. We can get into the good stuff like 80T, 83T, 84D, 85F, 89UD 😎
This was one loaded box of PSA 10 worthy cards! There were 22 contenders in all. First, here are the piles of sub-10 stars and rookies that continue to pile up...
There were a nice mix of stars and another Leiter RC error in this group of 22 candidates...
Up next, a box of 1988 Fleer...
There were a few contenders that emerged from their waxy tombs this round. Here are the stars and rookies that keep piling up below the elusive PSA 10 grade...
Pulled these key RCs, but none make the grade...
Here are the 9 candidates for perfection, headlined by Mr. Rice...
I ripped these two 1986 Topps Traded sets last night. This set continues to be a condition challenge relative to other Traded years due to the black borders being placed into these tight set boxes. Overall, I was happy to find 6 candidates for PSA 10. Here were the results...
The growing piles of sub-PSA 10 cards...
And here are the 6 contenders...
Feels like a Griffey kind of morning...
Not much star power in the handful of contenders this round, but always a fun rip. Here are the piles of those not making the grade...
Here are the key cards I pulled...
These were the 8 candidates for PSA 10...
Then I ripped a box of 1988 Fleer afterwards. Pretty similar results. Here are the ones that missed the mark...
This 1988 Fleer Grace RC remains one of my favorite childhood cards...
Here are the 7 candidates for PSA 10, headlined by the Blackjack RC...
So then I thought a box of 1988 Topps seemed warranted. This seems to be a day of 7-9 contenders per box, with little to no star power. Here are the growing piles that don’t make the grade...
Here are the 9 candidates for PSA 10. If only this was the elusive 1988 Donruss counterpart for Devon, then I might have won the 80s cardboard lottery 🤣
Nice Incavilgia!
We ripped into 88T with a vengeance when it first came out, searching for the all star rookies and Future stars. That Devon sure brings back some fond memories.
I also agree on the Grace Card. Like the Seitzer the year before, I loved those cards.
John
Here goes another 1989 Fleer box...
That was a dud of a box. Here are the stars and rookies that keep piling up from my breaks...
I pulled these key RCs, but none are 10 worthy...
Here were the three lone candidates for PSA 10...
Back to 1988...
This set always makes me smile when I rip it. It was key to my childhood collecting despite not being worth anything these days. Here are the stars that keep piling up...
Pulled this Glavine RC, but not worthy of GEM MINT...
However, these 11 are solid contenders for PSA 10. I loved Eric Davis back in the day and Matt Nokes was THE RC to pull in 1988...
Eric Davis was the man in the late 80's. Even his cards from that era show his style that I thought was awesome as a kid. Thanks for always ripping and bringing back great memories for me.
Those Team Leader cards are atrociously awesome!
I’m with you...he was always moving at 110mph. I still remember when my grandma gave me Eric’s 1985 Fleer RC for my 12th birthday. My jaw hit the floor, because it was the first one I had ever seen in person. Was one of my favorite presents of all time!
Perfectly said. Not sure who came up with the idea to white air brush around the player photo, but that amazing creativity lives on in 1988 Topps to this day 🤣
Feel like it is a good time to hunt for the iconic 1986 Topps Traded Bonds and Bo XRCs...