With the new movie 42 doing big business at the box office and drawing critical acclaim, there’s been a renewed focus on Jackie Robinson cards over the last month. His career was relatively short, so there are a limited number of regular issue Topps and Bowman cards to collect. This week, we're offering one of the most beautiful Jackie cards ever created: the 1953 Topps issue. With its second ever full series, Topps went with original works of art rather than photographs to depict National and American League players. Young artist Gerry Dvorak was kept busy creating the paintings that Topps would use. It was a bold, brash move by the young company at the time but it paid off handsomely then with increased sales and still does today with the ongoing interest in this classic set. The cards are simply beautiful and a huge favorite with collectors of vintage cards. The Robinson card is a portrait that shows this great Hall of Famer at a good time in his life, happy to have proven himself and earned many fans. Following the 1952 season, it was clear that Jackie was one of the game’s greats and he broke another barrier when his card was given #1 in the 1953 Topps series. While that’s kind of neat from a history perspective, it hasn't been so great for today’s condition conscious collectors. The handling the first and last cards in the series were often subjected to has left precious few higher grade examples. By careful shopping, though, you can find mid-grade examples of the 1953 Topps Robinson that are still pleasing to the eye and we certainly believe this one fits the bill. It’s graded PSA 4 but presents much nicer with only limited corner wear and very nice centering—rare for this particular card. If you are selling Robinson cards, it is the perfect time to do so. Renewed interest in an already strong subject has put more buyers in the marketplace. We'd be happy to turn your cards into cash so give us a shout if you have any.
