Nice finds, I think...

blazin3 · 02-14-2022, 03:24 PM

My younger brother passed away almost 6 years ago much too young in a motorcycle accident. I inherited his baseball cards. We collected like crazy in the late 80s then I don't think either of us touched another card until around 2010 when I attempted to get my sons interested in the hobby. At that time, he and I both discovered eBay, and we both bought a lot of vintage stuff we could only dream of as kids.

I thought I had looked through all his stuff before, but today I found a box I hadn't seen before. Crazy, right? He had a ton of stuff. Mostly Dale Murphy cards. He got every Murphy card ever made, probably has 2-300 RCs, tons of autos, crazy amounts of Murphy cards.

Anyway, in this previously unseen box, he had what appears to be a bunch of 1956 Topps cards. Conditions vary. I don't recall him ever telling me about him buying these so I'm a little hesitant to 100% believe they are real. I mean they certainly look and feel real. I've attached front and back scans of three of them.

What say you? Any reason to believe they aren't real? Any thoughts on potential grades of these three? The rest are probably somewhere between the Clemente and the Aaron condition-wise. Thanks!

hxcmilkshake · 02-14-2022, 03:32 PM

Real. Clemente 3, Koufax/Aaron 2-2.5

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

blazin3 · 02-14-2022, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hxcmilkshake

Real. Clemente 3, Koufax/Aaron 2-2.5

Thank you! Glad somebody else believes they are real, also. Bummer on the Clemente, I was hoping that might do better grade-wise, but that's okay - I love the eye appeal of it, and I plan on keeping all of them.

CardboardCombat · 02-14-2022, 04:00 PM

Just based on the story I'm inclined to believe they're real, but obviously that isn't enough to prove it by a longshot.

The cardstock should feel a bit heavy and thick. Hold them up to a good light. There will be some light shining through but not a ton.

Call a local card dealer and tell him your story. Just ask him if you can bring them in and do the light test with a '56 Topps of his.

Either way, why not send them in for grading? That same dealer can help you.

discodanman45 · 02-14-2022, 04:36 PM

The cards are 100% real. No need to worry about that. The thickness of the cardboard is apparent from the pictures, the cardstock looks right from the corner damage and back of the cards, the edges are cut correctly and don't look like a razor blade cut them, there are print marks that are unique to those cards, and the printing looks great.

The Clemente may get a 3 to 4 max, but that is it. Can see a surface wrinkle on the back and it also has a crease in the corner. I would personally wait to send them off to grading until prices drop a bit. If you aren't flipping, you will be able to grade those at $15 SGC or $25 PSA by the end of the year. All three of those should be graded, they all have fantastic eye-appeal and the centering of the Clemente/Koufax are tremendous.

blazin3 · 02-14-2022, 04:44 PM

Thank you, discodanman45, for all the information! After closer inspection some of the others may grade better - the Spahn, the Killebrew and the Kaline, in particular, look fairly nice. I'll try to scan and post those later. Side note: I see you have 45 in your name... my brother's # was 45 in all his email addresses, usernames, etc. That was his number during his high school football playing days. Thanks again.

discodanman45 · 02-14-2022, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blazin3

Thank you, discodanman45, for all the information! After closer inspection some of the others may grade better - the Spahn, the Killebrew and the Kaline, in particular, look fairly nice. I'll try to scan and post those later. Side note: I see you have 45 in your name... my brother's # was 45 in all his email addresses, usernames, etc. That was his number during his high school football playing days. Thanks again.

That was my number when I could get it. Rik Smits was 45 and he was my favorite player.

If you have numerous vintage cards, you should be able to easily tell a fake card from the others. Not too many high-quality Kaline counterfeits out there! For vintage I wouldn't get tied up in just the numerical grade. Nicely centered examples get premiums in vintage where collectors actually buy the card and not the slab. Just because a card gets a PSA/SGC 3, you might be surprised at the prices they may fetch if they have great eye appeal. There are many SGC group submitters charging $23 for SGC submissions right now. The tuxedo slabs look great with white bordered cards.

blazin3 · 02-14-2022, 06:21 PM

Here are pics of the others I mentioned might be in better shape. Unfortunately, after closer inspection they may not be. Especially the Killebrew - it's got some kind of stain on the back. Curious what grades these might get. Again, I don't really care - love the eye appeal with the nice centering on these.

discodanman45 · 02-14-2022, 06:36 PM

The grades will not be high, but the centering on those cards is really remarkable! Every card you showed so far is grade worthy IMO. From the back of the cards, you can see that you have grey backs and white backs.

MantleMarisFord · 02-14-2022, 07:39 PM

Those are nice cards, as previously mentioned the centering in particular is very strong. My condolences on the loss of your brother.

MOONBASE1 · 02-14-2022, 10:06 PM

Great star power.

02-14-2022, 03:24 PM	#1
blazin3 Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 37	Nice finds, I think... My younger brother passed away almost 6 years ago much too young in a motorcycle accident. I inherited his baseball cards. We collected like crazy in the late 80s then I don't think either of us touched another card until around 2010 when I attempted to get my sons interested in the hobby. At that time, he and I both discovered eBay, and we both bought a lot of vintage stuff we could only dream of as kids. I thought I had looked through all his stuff before, but today I found a box I hadn't seen before. Crazy, right? He had a ton of stuff. Mostly Dale Murphy cards. He got every Murphy card ever made, probably has 2-300 RCs, tons of autos, crazy amounts of Murphy cards. Anyway, in this previously unseen box, he had what appears to be a bunch of 1956 Topps cards. Conditions vary. I don't recall him ever telling me about him buying these so I'm a little hesitant to 100% believe they are real. I mean they certainly look and feel real. I've attached front and back scans of three of them. What say you? Any reason to believe they aren't real? Any thoughts on potential grades of these three? The rest are probably somewhere between the Clemente and the Aaron condition-wise. Thanks! Attached Thumbnails

02-14-2022, 04:36 PM	#5
discodanman45 Member Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: CA Posts: 9,840 danch27	The cards are 100% real. No need to worry about that. The thickness of the cardboard is apparent from the pictures, the cardstock looks right from the corner damage and back of the cards, the edges are cut correctly and don't look like a razor blade cut them, there are print marks that are unique to those cards, and the printing looks great. The Clemente may get a 3 to 4 max, but that is it. Can see a surface wrinkle on the back and it also has a crease in the corner. I would personally wait to send them off to grading until prices drop a bit. If you aren't flipping, you will be able to grade those at $15 SGC or $25 PSA by the end of the year. All three of those should be graded, they all have fantastic eye-appeal and the centering of the Clemente/Koufax are tremendous. __________________ Always looking for rarer Rik Smits cards and cards from the 2014-15 Spectra Global Icons set. Send me a message!

02-14-2022, 06:21 PM	#8
blazin3 Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 37	More pics... Here are pics of the others I mentioned might be in better shape. Unfortunately, after closer inspection they may not be. Especially the Killebrew - it's got some kind of stain on the back. Curious what grades these might get. Again, I don't really care - love the eye appeal with the nice centering on these. Attached Thumbnails

02-14-2022, 06:36 PM	#9
discodanman45 Member Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: CA Posts: 9,840 danch27	The grades will not be high, but the centering on those cards is really remarkable! Every card you showed so far is grade worthy IMO. From the back of the cards, you can see that you have grey backs and white backs. __________________ Always looking for rarer Rik Smits cards and cards from the 2014-15 Spectra Global Icons set. Send me a message!

02-14-2022, 03:32 PM	#2
hxcmilkshake Member Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Apopka FL Posts: 11,522 hxcmilkshake	Real. Clemente 3, Koufax/Aaron 2-2.5 Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

02-14-2022, 04:00 PM	#4
CardboardCombat Banned - PBM Join Date: Jul 2021 Posts: 169	Just based on the story I'm inclined to believe they're real, but obviously that isn't enough to prove it by a longshot. The cardstock should feel a bit heavy and thick. Hold them up to a good light. There will be some light shining through but not a ton. Call a local card dealer and tell him your story. Just ask him if you can bring them in and do the light test with a '56 Topps of his. Either way, why not send them in for grading? That same dealer can help you.

02-14-2022, 04:44 PM	#6
blazin3 Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 37	Thank you, discodanman45, for all the information! After closer inspection some of the others may grade better - the Spahn, the Killebrew and the Kaline, in particular, look fairly nice. I'll try to scan and post those later. Side note: I see you have 45 in your name... my brother's # was 45 in all his email addresses, usernames, etc. That was his number during his high school football playing days. Thanks again.

02-14-2022, 07:39 PM	#10
MantleMarisFord Member Join Date: Jan 2021 Posts: 126	Those are nice cards, as previously mentioned the centering in particular is very strong. My condolences on the loss of your brother.

02-14-2022, 10:06 PM	#11
MOONBASE1 Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: East Coast Posts: 1,125	Great star power.