Just Collect has proudly purchased a collection of RARE 1964 Venezuela Topps cards for the first time since 2019! After six long years, these rare cards came to be after a collector found us on Google. This collection includes legends such as Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski, Frank Robinson, and more!
Just Collect, like many collectors in the hobby, is always looking for rare finds. Recently, we’ve acquired a collection that has been rather elusive over the last half decade.
The previous owner of the collection, Ruben, was born in Venezuela and moved to the US in the 1990s, settling in Miami, FL. As a kid, Ruben had a love for baseball, playing and collecting cards much like any other. During one of his games in 1994, a man brought a collection of cards that Ruben took interest in. 1964 Venezuelan Topps cards. All his favorite players and his homeland in one place.
Ruben knew he couldn’t pass it up and purchased the collection, a little memento of where he had been born. He hung onto the cards for decades, until finally deciding to part with them in 2025. He started looking for the perfect buyer that would appreciate his cards in the way he knew they should. After doing some searching on Google, Ruben reached out to Just Collect. He spoke with our representative, Kristen via phone call and realizing what a big deal the potential collection could be, she initiated direct contact with John, the Vice President. From there, John spoke with Ruben, who sent over pictures and eventually the cards to be evaluated in person.
As you can see, a deal was reached and Just Collect acquired Ruben’s decent condition collection of 1964 Venezuela Topps cards! It’s the first time in years that we’ve been able to do this! You can see how rare these are, considering Just Collect has only been able to purchase a set of them about 5 times in 18 years, with the last time being 2019.
As always, we’ll be going into some background on the cards.
Between 1959 and 1968, Topps had a contract with Benco C.A. to produce cards in Venezuela—this might remind you of a similar contract they had with O-Pee-Chee in Canada. It was easier for Topps to manufacture the cards in Venezuela than to ship them from the US, but this also meant that the cards weren’t exactly the same as if they were made in the US. They were printed on cheaper, flimsier cardstock, making many resort to GLUING their cards into albums! Given these two problems, it is very hard to find good condition Venezuelan cards.
How rare are these cards? PSA, one of the top grading companies, has only graded 5,884 of the 1964 Venezuela Topps cards - total. PSA has only graded 69 of the Willie Mays cards!
You may also be wondering how to tell these cards apart from others made in the US in the same year. Well, if we flip the card over, we can see that Venezuelan Topps cards have a black background, whereas other 1964 Topps baseball cards have an orange background! In the photo below, you can see the backs on a few cards.
Hall of Famers and stars shine in the second photo! You can see the team name on top of the cards and the player on the bottom. Key names from this collection include Willie Mays (dead center!), Carl Yastrzemski, Willie McCovey, Al Kaline, Frank Robinson, Lou Brock, and the stars keep coming.
The third photo has more baseball greats! Hard to pick a favorite card, but in the center of the third photo catches our attention. A 1963 NL Home Run Leaders card including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepada, and Willie McCovey card is in the collection. One card - four legends! The final photo is of these cards in a binder. A binder like this is one of the ways we suggest to safely store your collection.
Photos of the collection:
Video of the collection being opened at the Just Collect store:
Ruben found us through a Google search. He stopped at the right place! The retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections and teach you about "old" PSA labels vs. "new" PSA labels. This is where we are happy to help you! We have purchased thousands upon thousands of collections and bought and sold over 50 MILLION dollars in cards.
After calling our store, our wonderful employee, Kristen, explained the process of Just Collect purchasing collections. We always offer you a
Ruben used our SHIPPING option. Just Collect offered our fully-insured, two-day FedEx account. When the binder of cards arrived, we carefully reviewed each card. Our Vice President, John, made a fair offer to Ruben to purchase all of the cards. Ruben happily accepted, and we then paid him how he wanted to be paid! When you choose Just Collect to purchase your collection, we can pay you in cash, company check, or wire transfer. Thank you for choosing Just Collect, Ruben! We are excited to own these historic cards.
If you're interested in selling a collection, we offer many ways to evaluate and purchase your collection! Ruben shipped his cards, but we also have a store here in Summit, NJ., we travel to you for high-end collections, and we attend shows where we buy and sell including The Philly Show next month. Reach out to us any time; we'll be happy to help!
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Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 2009 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.
We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:
We offer may ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.
If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.
We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending. Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.
If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.
If you're near New York City and would like to meet in a public place, our owner, Leighton, would be happy to meet you; read all the information here.
If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back shipping fees paid by us! We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.
We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!
Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.
Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time!