November 17, 2022: Fall Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/17/2022
Presented here is an impressive near set of the coveted 1957 Topps Baseball issue, the first card issue produced in the now-standard 2 1/2-by-3 ½-inch format and the set that has typically been the launching point for any number of vintage collections. The offered set is an imposing presentation, missing only a couple of dozen, including a few of the major Hall of Famers and keys. As the listing below will make clear, the HOFers and stars included here nicely conform to the broader condition range of essentially Very Good to Ex-Mt, with some above to Near-Mint and a few below, but overall a remarkably consistent presentation. Overall, it comes out to 7 percent Near-Mint, 47 percent Ex-Mt, 25 percent Excellent and 19 percent Very Good, with about a dozen cards below. The near-set includes 30 players with Cooperstown credentials, including some of the monsters like Mickey Mantle, Henry Aaron and Roberto Clemente, plus most of the cards from the very difficult Middle Series (Nos. 265-352, missing 14). Arguably the most challenging set of the decade when it came to finding nicely centered cards, this accumulation is fairly typical of the era, with a couple dozen cards with the kind of centering that might typically prompt an upgrade, though not all of those would be severe enough to dictate an official off-center designation. The Hall of Fame lineup includes Aaron, Berra, Aparicio, Roberts, Mazeroski, Reese, Fox, Wynn, Williams, Ashburn, Clemente, Doby, Lemon, Kaline, Schoendienst, Wilhelm, Slaughter, Kell, Mathews, Bunning and others. A listing of the missing numbers appears at the end of this document. The breakdown: No. 1 Ted Williams – VG-Ex, 2 Berra – Very Good, 7 Aparicio – VG, 15 Roberts – Excellent, 18 Drysdale – Good, 20 Aaron – Fair, 24 Mazeroski – VG, 30 Reese – Ex-Mt-Plus, 38 Fox – Ex-Mt-Plus, 40 Wynn – Ex, 45 Furillo – VG-Ex, 55 Banks – VG-Ex, 70 Ashburn – Ex-Mt, 76 Clemente – VG-Ex, 80 Hodges – Ex, 85 Doby – Ex, 90 Spahn – Ex, 95 Mantle – VG, 100 Presidents – VG, 114 Braves Team – VG, 115 Gilliam – VG-Ex, 120 Lemon – VG-Ex, 125 Kaline – Good, 130 Newcombe – VG-Ex, 135 Skowron – Ex-Mt, 138 Minoso - Ex, 154 Schoendienst – Ex, 170 Snider – Ex-Plus, 171 Red Sox Team – VG, 175 Larsen – VG, 198 Tigers Team – (presents Near-Mint o/c with an erratic cut), 203 Wilhelm – Ex, 210 Campanella – VG-Ex, 212 Colavito Rookie – VG-Ex, 215 Slaughter – Ex-Mt, 230 Kell – Ex, 250 Mathews – Ex-Mt-Plus, 252 Erskine – Ex-Mtr o/c, 277 Podres – Ex, 286 Richardson Rookie – VG-Ex o/c, 300 Garcia – VG, 312 Kubek Rookie – VG, 338 Bunning Rookie – Ex-Plus, 400 Dodgers Sluggers – VG o/c and 407 Yankees Power Hitters – Ex-Plus. The missing numbers (27): No. 10 Mays, 25 Ford, 35 Frank Robinson Rookie, 62, 79, 97 Yankees Team, 139, 161, 165 Kluszewski, 208, 240, 262, 275 Indians Team, 279, 280, 285, 294, 297, 302 Koufax, 304, 317 Giants Team, 324 Dodgers Team, 328 Brooks Robinson Rookie, 336, 346, 347 and 392.
1957 Topps Baseball Near Set (380/407)
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