Below are short bits & pieces on sportscard & baseball trading card collecting.
Please wander around the website for more info, prices, values & images
on vintage baseball, football, basketball, hockey, sport and non-sports cards.

1974 Topps DECKLE EDGE Checklist & Values
This scarce 72-card test issue set was released with very limited
East Coast distribution making them quite scarce.

Officially simply called "Topps Baseball Photos", their serrated or "DECKLED"
edge gave them the name they go by today.
The 2 7/8" x 5" inch cards were sold in 2 card packs with gum or 3 card
packs without for 5 cents.
Click to enlarge Complete Proof Sheet on left
Fronts are similar to b&w Exhibit Postcards from the 50's
with photos and facsimile autographs.
The backs make this very scarce test issue more interesting !
They feature handwritten script of player's name, team, position & date
and location of the photograph as well as a mock newspaper article.
This was Topps 2nd "Deckle Edge" issue, their first being the smaller
and more common 1969 Topps Deckle Edge inserts in 1969 Topps packs.
Variations of 1974 Topps Deckle Edge exist,
making this issue more fun and challenging to collect.
Backs can be found in gray or a much scarcer white.
Also, more limited proof versions with non-scalloped edges exist and
can be found with and without card numbers.
Click for complete
1969 Topps Deckle Edge checklist and prices
Click for complete
1974 Topps Deckle Edge checklist and prices
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1971 O-Pee-Chee Baseball
Also referred to as OPC or Topps Canada, most vintage OPC sets were near replicas
of the Topps cards from that year. Exactly same in design they usually only
differed with the addition of French to the backs and some fronts.
To the benefit of collector's OPC made several changes in their 1971 set.
The most obvious and useful was a complete redesign of the card backs and the
addition of another player photo ! Additionly, over 20 cards were changed including
the inclusion of what could be considered the first "Traded" cards. Another
difference: Topps cards #202 and #289 were changed to allow the addition of 2
more Expos to the set.
The 1971 OPC set is legendary for its short print run, estimated at perhaps
just 5% of Topps’ Production. This issue is considered quite elusive, even in Canada.
TOP ROOKIE: Steve Garvey
TOP STARS: Nolan Ryan, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks,
Pete Rose, Ted Williams, Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Don Baylor/Dusty Baker RC & MORE !!!
Click for complete
1971 OPC/O-Pee-Chee Baseball checklist and prices
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Team Autographed / Signed Baseballs
Team signed baseballs were the thing well before single-signed
balls exploded on the market.
What is a "Team Signed Baseball" ???
Simple answer: A ball with XXX signatures of a certain team
for a certain year. What is difficult is the XXX.
Baseball tons of roster moves make it nearly impossible to
"Get Them All".
Generally, team signed baseballs from early 1900's had 10 to 15
signatures, the 1940's that jumped to 18 to 25.
Joyce Sports Research Collection (Notre Dame) says "signatures must
include only members of a specific team from a specific year, and there
must be some approximation of completeness."
Not concrete but to me a "team ball" MUST have ALL the team's
STARS (unless a rookie or in season trade) and in today's market
at least 20, preferably more, and the manager.
Determining Age of Team Signed Balls
"Official" league balls have stamped signatures of current league
presidents on the "sweet spot".
Starting 1934/1935 balls were produced by Spalding (NL)
and Reach (AL). Rawlings took over in 1977/78.
Have a possible team roster at hand, ESPN & baseball-reference.com
have great sites), decipher a few signatures then solve the puzzle.
Click for our current
Autographed/Signed Team Baseball inventory
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How do I keep cards in top condition ?
A: There is a wide variety of storage supplies available to help you keep your
cardsin the best condition possible. They range from hard thick acrylic screw-down
holders to "penny" soft sleeves for individual cards to cardboard boxes
that can hold from 100 cards upto "monster boxes" that hold more than 5,000 sportscards.
We have a large selection available on our web site with quantities from 1 to 1,000.
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