gum

Specialty Cards

1966 Topps Superman Alternative Set

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PSA Registry Sets

You won’t have to “leap tall buildings in a single bound” to complete the 1966 Topps Superman set. An affordable alternative to the 1940 Gum, Inc. Man of Steel issue, this 66-card offering showcases black and white photos from the ’50s TV show. The fronts – exhibiting vertical or horizontal designs – also boast captions, while the backs of cards #1 through 44 can be uncovered in three different formats.

“The white backs are the rarest. They’re the ones that are commonly called ‘proofs’ because of the absence of color on the back. They never made the final stage of printing,” explained Steve Lucas, whose 1966 Topps Superman set is tied for fourth on the PSA Set Registry.

Superman

PSA Set Registry Hall of Famer, Bill Bengen, who owns three sets, agrees. “I’ve been collecting the white back variety for 10 years and I’ve got all of one card to show for it,” he said. “The white backs are incredibly rare.” An orange border is present on the second back incarnation that also includes copyright information along the card bottom. The final variation boasts an orange border, but showcases “WATCH SUPERMAN ON T.V.” in black print across the bottom. These two versions are more common than the white backs.

The back variations don’t apply to cards #45 to 66 which showcase puzzle pieces. Bengen notes that these pieces can be merged into two puzzles. Cards #45 to 56 form a cartoon picture of Superman, while singles #57 to 66 depict George Reeves. Superman – The vast majority of these cards were distributed in five-cent wax packs without gum. However, in issue #176 of The Wrapper, non-sports card pioneers, Bob and Jeff Marks, unveiled a Superman wrapper indicating on it that gum was included. Wax packs with gum are extremely rare. “I’ve had several boxes and opened a lot of wax packs, and there has never been gum in any of the packs I’ve opened,” said Steve Lam, who owns the registry’s top set. Bengen has had a similar experience. “I really don’t know what went on at Topps at that time. Gum really was Topps’ primary business, so I don’t know what they were trying to do. This set is a real puzzle,” he said.

But mysteries like this are part of this set’s appeal, as are the memories it evokes. “I’m a big Superman fan. I used to watch the show when I was a kid. The cards bring back memories for me,” said Brian Karl, who owns the No. 2 registry set. “I’m such a fan that I own the episodes on DVD now.” Lam shares similar recollections.

Read the rest of this article from PSA…..

The World Of The Wacky Pack!

Odd-ball Cards

The World Of The Wacky Pack!

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It was back in the mid 1970’s for me when I became hooked on collecting baseball cards and also cards of other sports as well.  I was a kid born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.  I can remember that feeling in the 1970’s when you had saved up enough allowance money to go and buy some Topps baseball cards and get some gum in the process.  Can you remember how disappointed you were when you went to get some baseball card packs with your allowance money and that good old mom and pop grocery store was all out of baseball or football cards, but there were tons of Wacky packs.  I know bummer!

Well don’t you wish you had some boxes of these Wacky packages cards now?  Graded by PSA or BVG and in the right grade, 9.0 and above, and you can put a kid through junior college.  As a collector I have spent most of my adult life trying to connect with that childhood that I left behind so many years ago in Brooklyn.  Friends long gone, and so is the city for me now, as I live in Miami.  But I can remember the first day that I purchased a Wacky pack.  I was in that mood to buy, which was basically whenever I got my hands on some money, and I purchased these cards because I just had to buy something and there was nothing else.  Being the anal retentive person that I had to be in order to keep my baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and odd-ball card collection intact and pristine, these Wacky packages were now part of my collection, so I kept them in the condition that you see right here above, mint.

Pictured here is the “Weakies” breakfast of chumps card.  The thing is that these cards like many others from the 1960’s, 1970’s and so on are viewed today as special items from another era, as well they should be.  Many of these Wacky packs are still hard to find in the condition that I like to collect cards in.  Collecting cards is something that I hope to pass along to my kids, and perhaps they can pass it along to their kids.  While times are tough and the economy is at a standstill, this may be the best chance that you can have to go out and purchase some boxes of these great cards, they are most certainly a part of my past and America’s too.  You can probably get them now for a fraction of the cost of say 5 years ago.  If you roam the EBay pages you can also find that Topps has opened up their vaults some years back and there are plenty of original artwork out there that can be purchased fairly cheap.  These cards are funny, amusing, and most of all great collectibles.