The Just Collect Blog

Complete 1955 and 1956 Topps Baseball Sets Purchased by Just Collect

Written by Monte Jennings | May 18, 2024 12:54:41 AM

 

Complete sets of 1955 and 1956 Topps baseball cards including Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and Jackie Robinson have been proudly purchased by Just Collect. A father and son searched "who buys vintage baseball sets" on Google, and Just Collect is the answer! Best of all, we were able to help the family start up their new business by purchasing the collection.

A father and son had a dream to start up their own business. When it came time to purchase the machinery required for their new venture, dad decided it was time to sell his baseball card collection and fund the dream. Joseph, the son, took lead on this project and searched for potential dealers. We came up at the top of his Google search. He said he appreciated the professionalism and the transparency of the information regarding our process for buying collections. He immediately filled out our free appraisal form and we reached out to him a day later. We couldn't be happier to have purchased these vintage treasures and help support a new business! 

THE COLLECTION

The 1955 Topps baseball set was ahead of its time. For the first time, every card in the set is a horizontal design! The size of each card is a little bigger than a standard card size today. The size of the set, though, is quite small compared to modern sets - and this is a huge advantage! In total, just 206 cards make up the entire 1955 Topps set. For comparison, the 2023 Topps set contains 660 cards! Rather than thumbing through bullpen pitchers and backup catchers, the 1955 Topps baseball card set is chock-full of legends.

As you view the lovely images in our slide show below, the first picture has Jackie Robinson right off the bat. A small image of Jackie batting along a facsimile signature is next to a close-up image of the Hall of Famer. This is the year that Jackie led his Brooklyn Dodgers to the coveted World Series championship. Next to Jackie is the rookie card of his teammate, Sandy Koufax. How phenomenal was Koufax on the diamond? From 1962 to 1966, Sandy led the league in ERA, won three Cy Young awards, and an MVP. Sandy Koufax won four World Series championships and tossed four no-hitters on the mound. How do you top Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax in the set? Look at the third card in the picture - Hank Aaron. This is Aaron's second-year card. Hank Aaron made the all-star team this season and then every other season through 1975! When he retired, Aaron had slugged more home runs and knocked in more RBI than any other baseball player in the history of the game. Next to Hank Aaron is his Braves teammate, Warren Spahn. The Hall of Fame lefty, Spahn led the league in wins eight times!

No need to adjust your eyes; you are seeing double! ...and triple...and quadruple. This collection includes the complete set and duplicates! While you're scrolling through the slide show, you can see three Ted Williams cards, three Al Kaline, six (SIX!) Ernie Banks, four Harmon Killebrew, and more stars. 

Speaking of seeing double, a complete 1956 Topps baseball set is just as, if not more spectacular than the 1955 release. Joseph's dad was able to collect two complete sets from this year along with duplicates of the Hall of Famers! The design between both sets are very similar: horizontal with a small action shot, facsimile signature, and close-up image. The size of each card from 1956 matches 1955, too. The size of the set grew to 340 cards. What makes the 1956 Topps set nudge out the 1955 Topps set? The return of Mickey Mantle!

Mickey Mantle was not included in the 1955 Topps baseball set as he was signed to a contract with Bowman. What a year to return to Topps - in 1956, Mantle was the triple crown by leading the league in batting average (.353), home runs (52), and RBI (130). Mantle was awarded the MVP in 1956 and led his New York Yankees to a World Series championship.

In the fifth photo of the slide show, you can see the 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle card leading off another lineup of baseball heroes. After Mantle is Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax, and Luis Aparicio. 

In the pictures, you can see how Joseph's dad safely stored his collection - the nine-pocket pages and a three-ring binder! The first set was stored in a brown binder and the second in a blue binder. Do you remember putting your cards into pages and binders as you built sets? From the days of opening wax packs, trading, and flipping cards, this brings back memories of eating the gum and putting cards in bike spokes

Here are photos of this vintage treasure:

 

 

 

APPRAISAL AND PURCHASE

Joseph and his dad reached out to Just Collect for our free appraisal. After reviewing the 1955 Topps set, we made a fair offer to Joseph and he agreed to sell us the set along with the duplicates. Enjoying the interaction and process, Joseph returned to Just Collect and offered to sell us two 1956 Topps sets. We are thrilled to help Joseph and his dad open up their own business.

In both occasions, we paid Joseph how he wanted to be paid! When you sell your collection to us here at Just Collect, we will pay you in cash, wire transfer, or company check. If you're looking to ship your collection, we offer our fully-insured, two-day FedEx account. For larger collections, we will travel! Recently we purchased a historic basketball collection in Seattle. If you're in the New Jersey or New York area, we also have a store in Summit, NJ. that you're welcome to visit - we'd love to meet you!

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 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.

  • Travel to Us

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

  • Come to convention

We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending.  Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.

  • Meet in-person

If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.

  • Meet in New York City

We have another location in New York you can meet us at; read all the information here.

  • SHIP your collection 

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.

OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY

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.

CONTACT US ANY TIME

Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time!