1952 Topps Complete Set in Pr-Fr

frankhardy · August 19, 2007 1:14PM

I have been thinking about this for a while. I still am not sure when I will start, but it is a goal of mine to start one day, even if it takes me 20 years. I wonder how much it would take to piece together a complete raw 1952 Topps set in very, very low condition. I would not care how bad the cards looked, as long it is complete.

I also wonder what the best way to do it would be. I would say that buying up small lots of commons would be a good way to start. I also wonder how much the lowest conditioned Mantle would cost? That is one card that would have to be PSA graded in order for me to buy it. The rest would be raw.

Any discussion on this?

Carew29 · August 19, 2007 3:33PM

You might have more success on the Registry Forum with this question. See if there is a 52' Topps Thread in the "Search" box.

cohocorp · August 19, 2007 4:46PM

one factor you may be overlooking is that this set is very addictive. i started about 2 years ago. my goal was to build the set in vg condition. i had one card, the mantle - in psa 3. but as i moved along, i kept revising my goal upwards. long story short, i now have 1 complete set in vg/ex (4.0) and 2 more sets almost done. the better of the remaining 2 sets is on the registry with a gpa of over 5.5 (15 cards short of complete)and the second is 1/2 graded and 1/2 raw about 90 percent done and is in about 4.2 gpa. it can be a dangerous game you are getting into. my best advice is to stay focused and enjoy the ride.

to directly answer your questions as to how much a low low grade set will cost you--- figure just the high #'s (#311-#407) in mangled condition will probably cost you $35- 40 per for the commons, about $2500 for the mantle, about $750 for the eddie mathews, about $300 for the jackie robinson, $300 for the campanella, $300 for pee wee reese, $150 for the hoyt wilhelm, $150 for bill dickey. the low numbers will be in the $2000 range in that condition.

i agree with you regarding the mantle being graded if you dont know exactly what you are doing. the other star cards were counterfeited as well though.

eye appeal is a biggie here.

frankhardy · August 19, 2007 9:44PM

Which other star cards were widely counterfieted?

As far as staying focused, I have a track record with that. I finished my Cardinals team sets in a relatively short period of time without hardly buying anything else. If you will look at my Cardinals TTM project thread, that will prove my focus as well. I have over 230 TTM Topps Cardinals autographs since February.

Estil · August 19, 2007 9:45PM

Wow, I guess even a 1952 Topps set that looks like a truck ran over them doesn't come cheap. At least I did see a 1953 set in similar condition go for about $300ish.

frankhardy · August 19, 2007 10:31PM

<< <i>Wow, I guess even a 1952 Topps set that looks like a truck ran over them doesn't come cheap. At least I did see a 1953 set in similar condition go for about $300ish. >>

A 1953 Topps set for $300 (as in hundred)? I might ought to go that route. That would be fun!

cohocorp · August 19, 2007 11:39PM

i believe most of the stars i listed above were counterfeited and i know the mays was also.

if you do the 1952 set, buy some of the commons first so that you have a reference as the the colors. that is one easy way to recognize the counterfeits. the mantle is one of the most counterfeited cards of all time. but you already said you would only buy a graded example.

alot of people just collect the low number set (1-310). thats another idea.

as always, pay attention to trimmed cards. they arent to difficult to spot.

feel free to touch base with me if you have any questions at any time regarding the 1952s.

as far as that 1953 set for $300, buy it if it shows up again! it is extremely cheap since just the robinson (#1), mantle (#82), and mays (#244) in psa 1s total over $600 alone.

MooseDog · August 19, 2007 11:49PM

I had a chance to buy a '52 Topps set in really poor condition. Seller wanted $5000 including some other (much nicer early 1950s stars). I balked. Some of the cards had tape, were missing pieces of corners, most were creased, not a lot of eye appeal but hey, it was a complete 1952 Topps set.

Passed and seller put on eBay and it sold for somewhere between $4500-5000. Bought the extras for $1500 and barely broke even after grading. So in retrospect probably should have pulled the trigger on the set.

This was a couple of years ago, the set has picked up some in popularity since then. I sold two PSA 1 high numbers for $60 each last year. At least this should give you some idea of what it will cost you.

frankhardy · August 19, 2007 11:58PM

If I could get by with just $5,000 in the set, I would go after it and have it completed in a few years rather than a few decades.

The above post about the 1953's got me to thinking - I might just try to do the same thing with the 1953 Topps set just to test the waters. It is much less expensive, but, to me, the second most important Topps issue. What do y'all think about that?

cohocorp · August 20, 2007 12:03AM

the 1953 set is a beautiful issue as well. i havent started that one yet, but realistically, i think its going to cost you more than you think, i would guess over $1000. i understand the high #s are short printed. but as i said, i do not have experience with this set besides i had the mantle in poor condition and sold it $300 alone on ebay about 8 months ago. so $300 for the set doesnt sound right to me.

estil- do you have a link to that 1953 set for only $300.

here is an example what you are dealing with regarding the 1952 set. this is a common high number with about 25 dart holes and writing on the front and its at $35 with 6 hours to go. this is not my auction nor do i have anything to do with it. the seller doesnt even take paypal which usually keeps the price down some.

auction

Estil · August 20, 2007 7:54AM

Well, I have no way of showing it to you (as it was almost a year ago) but it did go for somewhere in the $300's. But understand that I'm not kidding when I say all the cards looked like a truck ran over them and was then put in the spin cycle about ten times. And playing cards' corners were sharper than the corners on this set. Let's just say the seller wasn't exaggerating when he/she/it said "This is a very low grade set!" But hey, not everyone can afford about $10-$12K or so for a NRMT one.

I also agree you should start with #1-#310. And you'll also luck out on the famous #1 Andy Pafko card; it's only worth big bucks in top grade; lower grades are about as affordable as any other common.

cohocorp · August 20, 2007 10:56AM

estil is close regarding the pafko. it should be cheap in low grades, but psa 1s average around $100 in past sale while normal commons are about 2-3 bucks in poor condition. the pafko is only rare in high grade as he indictated, but low grade prices do not reflect that.

1952 Topps Complete Set in Pr-Fr

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