March 24, 2022: Spring Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/24/2022
Presented is a near-complete set of one of the most unusual Topps mainstream issues, the tri-card 1980 basketball set that features three perforated cards within the traditional format of 2 1/2-by-3 ½ inches, yielding individual cards of 1 1/6-by-2 ½ inches, though the cards are most typically found on the secondary market in the unperforated condition. The unique offering features one of the most prominent and expensive Rookie cards of the modern era, the Bird/Erving/Magic card (PSA 5) that presents the first-ever Topps cards of the two players who would revitalize an entire league, neatly bookending perhaps the most exciting performer from the by-then defunct American Basketball Association. Boasting easily the most-indecipherable checklisting concept the company ever proffered, it comes out to 88 perforated panels of three cards, but since Topps produced two distinct printing sheets and changed the players around, the complete set comes to 176 different cards. The offered near set is missing one card; the overall condition is essentially as issued, largely Near-Mint to Mint, with a few Near-Mint cards. It’s a simply spectacular, uniform and consistent presentation of an iconic basketball issue.
High-Grade 1980 Topps Basketball Near Complete Set, Bird/Erving/Magic Rookie PSA 5 (175/176)
Click above for larger image.