March 24, 2022: Spring Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/24/2022
Presented is a truly intriguing array of the coveted 1956 Topps Baseball issue, a pristine group of cards that reveals the distinctive “vending bend” that bespeaks of uncirculated cardboard. The array represents precisely ½ of a complete set and is headlined by Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and the Rookie card of fellow HOFer Luis Aparicio, along with two other HOFers and eight of the classic Team cards, a subset that made its debut in that iconic 1956 Topps set, the company’s final offering in the oversized 2 5/8-by-3 ¾-inch format. As is not uncommon with large groupings descended from vending, perhaps just short of ½ of the array has the kind of centering that might prompt thoughts of an upgrade, though not all of those would be severe enough to dictate a formal “off center” designation; included in that subset are a dozen cards that are miscut. As noted, the array is in uncommonly pristine condition, coming in at 49 percent Near-Mint or better, 42 percent Ex-Mt and only nine percent VG-Ex. At 170 cards, it would provide an extraordinary opportunity to either upgrade an existing set or launch on building a new one. In the case of the Team subset cards that fall in the early series, all seven are with the team name “Centered.” The breakdown (170): No. 2 Giles – Very Good, 8 Alston – Ex-Mt, 11 Cubs Team – Excellent-Plus o/c, 14 Boyer – Near-Mint o/c, 15 Banks – Ex-Mt-Plus o/c, 24 Groat – Ex-Mt, 72 Phillies Team (2) – Near-Mint and Ex-Mt, 69 Tanner – Ex-Mt, 85 Indians Team – Ex-Mt-Plus, 90 Redlegs Team – VG, 95 Braves Team – Ex-Mt o/c, 99 Zimmer – Nr-Mt, 100 Orioles Team – Ex-Mt, 134 Cardinals Team – Nr-Mt, 146 Senators Team – Ex-Mt-Plus m/c and 292 Aparicio Rookie – Ex-Mt-Plus o/c, plus Adcock, Amoros, Arroyo, Avila, Coleman, Grissom, Haddix, Hegan, Jensen, Konstanty, Labine, Malzone, McMillan, Pafko, Pascual, Rhodes, Sauer, Seminick, Siebern, Simmons, Stephens, Thomas, Triandos, Turley, Wertz, Woodling and Zernial.
High-Grade 1956 Topps Baseball Partial Set From Vending, Banks and Aparicio RC (170/340)
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