We were contacted by a gentleman who said he and his wife were downsizing and going through things that they had accumulated over the years and felt that Just Collect would be most interested in his childhood collection of baseball cards and most specifically, two complete baseball sets. The sets were 1962 and 1963 Topps and he noted that he complete them while in his early teenage years.
The "Don't Throw Away" Collection
As a youngster, he collected cards from the late 1950's through the mid 1960's, purchasing packs for a nickel at local grocery and Mom & Pop stores in his neighborhood. He recalled that the 1962 and 1963 sets were the two years that he completed sets and being a little older, opted to put them away while chewing the gum. When he was done collecting, he put his collection in a box and labeled it "My Baseball Cards – DO NOT THROW AWAY!" and stored them in his parents' basement before retrieving them nearly 30 years ago and storing them in his own home.
The collection ranged from a few in lesser condition to some in really great condition with most of the collection in the EX to EX/MT range. Unfortunately, the stars seemed to be a little lesser than the average, but that is normal as most kids played with the stars and their favorite players more than the commons.
Two Complete Sets
The complete sets obviously feature all of the stars of the era, but the highlights of both sets would be Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron and Roger Maris as well as rookie cards of Gaylord Perry and Lou Brock in 1962 and Pete Rose and Willie Stargell in 1963!
1962 Topps Baseball Complete Set
The 1962 Topps Set, with the brown wood-style borders and light colored card stock, are very susceptible to exhibiting even the slightest bit of wear. In addition to centering issues, the set is one of the toughest sets of the era to find cards in NM/MT or better condition.
The set packs a wealth of star power and this is quite obvious when viewing the first 10 cards of the set which feature Roger Maris, fresh off of his record setting 61 homerun MVP season starting off the set with #1. Sandy Koufax and Roberto Clemente fill out the first 10 cards in the set with #5 and #10, respectively.
Mickey Mantle is featured on 5 different cards, including his base card (#200) as well as Manager's Dream with Willie Mays (#18), A.L. Home Run Leaders (#53), The Switch Hitter Connects (#318) and All Star (#471). Several Hall of Fame players make their rookie debuts in the set, including Gaylord Perry (#199), Joe Torre (#218) and Lou Brock (#387).
Green with Envy or Just Green Tint
Much of the second series (#110-196) exist in their normal configuration and with a "Green Tint" variation that creates a fuzzy appearance to the card. The wood grain border on the "Green" cards is usually lighter than on the regular cards. The demand and value of the "Green Tints" have waned a bit over the past decade.
Card #139 exists with four different versions. Hal Reniff is appears with two variations (pitching or portrait) and two depicting Babe Ruth (with or without foul pole). Reniff also appears on card #159 in the portrait pose. Other cards depict players wearing and not wearing hats, facing either left or right while the other version features them facing the other way.
1963 Topps Baseball Complete Set
Very colorful, the 1963 Set boasts full bleed borders on one side of the card. A colored banner wraps around one side of the cards and has varying colors boasting red, blue, green or yellow. Most collectors are familiar with color bands like the green bottom of the Mickey Mantle card and the colored bands on the tops of the "floating head" rookie cards like Pete Rose and the team cards are banded on the left hand side.
Stan Musial (#250) appears on his final player card in the set while Tony Oliva (#228), Pete Rose (#537) and Willie Stargell (#553) make their premier.
Schedule an Appointment to Meet Just Collect at a Show Near You
Just Collect travels to several shows on a regular basis. In the New York area, we often attend the White Plains Show at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. If you're in the New England area, you can make an appointment to meet with one of our specialists when we're in the area for the Shriner's Show at the Aleppo Auditorium in Wilmington, MA. We also visit the Metro-DC area when we attend the CSA Show in Chantilly, VA. If you're in the South Jersey or Delaware area, you can also schedule appointments while we're in the Philadelphia area when we do The Philly Show in Valley Forge, PA.
We set up at The National Sports Collectors Convention every year and this year, it will be at the Stephens Convention Center in the Rosemont section of Chicago, IL and it has also been in Cleveland, Atlantic City and Baltimore in recent years. Additionally, we travel to the Sports Card and Memorabilia Expo in Mississauga, Ontario for those of you in the Toronto area that want to meet with us in Canada.
We would love to meet with you and schedule a private appointment to assess and value your collection while we are in your area, so please check out our show and travel schedule to see when Just Collect will be in your area!
Our Buying Philosophy
We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the past decade. Although we are known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage basketball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, also!
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 soul into building their collection. So when you're ready to sell, Just Collect understands the feelings that you're going through and we 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.
Won't They Be Worth More if I Grade Them Myself
We discuss all of the selling options with everyone that we meet with. In most cases, selling the collection on their own will put the most money on the bottom line, but it will also take an large commitment of time and energy and one that most are not ready or able to undertake. Another misconception is that grading the collection will return more money. When I hear people say, "You're just going to grade them and get ten times the money," I almost cringe. Grading a collection can be a money losing proposition, especially if you don't know what you're doing. And most times, we grade very few, if any cards, from average collections that we buy.
We value a collection based upon the condition and the value. If a card is worth $100 in a PSA 7 NM, we're going to value it at $100 whether it is ungraded or graded. You can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars grading your cards, but we're still valuing them the same and paying the same regardless of how much you've invested in grading them.
We Are Always Buying
Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss your collection and 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.
Don't hesitate to check out our Google Reviews left by many of the great people that have considered selling collections to Just Collect
"The "Don't Throw Away" Topps Set Collection" Video: