1957 Topps Baseball Complete Set With Extras, Four Slabs (437)

Bidding

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/30/2023

The offered lot provides a wonderful opportunity to pick up this classic Topps issue in a highly presentable mostly Very Good to Ex-Mt condition, with a handful of cards above the range to Near-Mint and just over three dozen below, mostly to Good. Four cards have been third-party graded and authenticated, most notably the No. 20 Aaron (BGS 5) and No. 55 Banks (PSA 6), No. 95 Mantle (PSA 3), plus the Big Blony Checklist 1/2 (PSA 4 mk). The set has a very consistent and appealing presentation and has the hard-to-find Checklist cards and the Contest card as well, along with some extras within the regular issue, presumably from upgrading. For several generations of collectors, the 1957 Topps Baseball issue was often the starting point and cornerstone of their accumulations, a classic, highly coveted set that marked the beginning of the now standard-size of 2 ½-by-3 ½-inch cards that has reigned in the hobby for six decades and counting. As noted above, the overall set is largely Very Good to Ex-Mt, coming in at 2 percent Near-Mint, 21 percent Ex-Mt, 29 percent Excellent, 38 percent Very Good to VG-Ex and 9 percent Good. In an issue that historically has been saddled with centering concerns, perhaps 1/3 or so of the set have the kind of centering that might prompt thoughts of an upgrade, though not all of those would be severe enough to dictate an off-center designation. The difficult Checklists and Contest card are included, with the Checklists presenting essentially Good and Fair, but they have been marked. Breakdown of keys: No. 1 Williams – VG-Ex, 2 Berra – Ex-Mt-Plus, 7 Aparicio – VG-Ex, 10 Mays – VG-Ex, 15 Roberts – Ex-Mt o/c, 18 Drysdale Rookie – VG (card back is m/c), 24 Mazeroski – VG, 25 Ford – VG, 29 Herzog Rookie – Excellent-Plus, 30 Reese – Fair, 35 Frank Robinson Rookie – Ex-Plus o/c, 38 Fox – Good, 40 Wynn – VG-Ex, 45 Furillo – Fair, 59 Williams – Ex-Mt-Plus, 62 Martin – VG, 70 Ashburn – VG-Ex, 76 Clemente – VG, 80 Hodges – VG-Ex o/c, 82 Howard – Ex-Plus, 85 Doby – Ex-Mt-Plus o/c, 90 Spahn – VG-Ex, 95 Mantle – PSA 3, 97 Yankees Team – Near-Mint o/c, 100 Presidents – Good, 114 Braves Team – Good, 115 Gilliam – VG, 120 Lemon – VG, 125 Kaline – VG, 130 Newcombe – Ex, 135 Skowron – Ex, 138 Minoso – VG-Ex o/c, 154 Schoendienst – VG-Ex, 165 Kluszewski – VG, 170 Snider – VG, 175 Larsen – Fair, 203 Wilhelm – Ex, 210 Campanella – VG, 212 Colavito Rookie – Ex o/c, 215 Slaughter – Good, 230 Kell – VG-Ex, 240 Bauer – VG, 250 Mathews – VG, 252 Erskine – Ex, 277 Podres – VG, 286 Richardson Rookie – Ex, 302 Koufax – VG-Plus, 312 Kubek Rookie – Good, 317 Giants Team – Ex-Mt o/c, 324 Dodgers Team (2) – VG and Good, 328 Books Robinson Rookie – VG, 400 Dodgers Sluggers – Ex m/c, 407 Yankees Power – Good, Checklist 1/2 Bazooka – Good (mk), Checklist 2/3 Bazooka – Fair (mk) and Contest card, May 9 Bazooka – Ex m/c.