Long term storage

If you bought a set of cards in the 90's and socked them away in the basement thinking "someday these are going to be worth a fortune because they are in 'Mint' condition", you may want to go downstairs and check on your investment.

Topps 1984 Nestles

My latest score! This set, I have learned, was released on uncut sheets which had to be cut by whatever means possible. Since the people who cut them were not the people who normally do this sort of thing, my collection of nearly 2,000 cards looks like it has a crew cut.

But you know, whatever...

I'm only 45 short and I have plenty to spare of this typically hard to complete set. How far along are you?

Topps 1964 Giants

This is a fun set. They're like that comedy deck of cards you do magic tricks with. If you don't know what year they're from, it's hard to tell on the back. There's a newspaper-like write up on the back that talks about the players career. I found most of these cards in the bottom of a box of cards my dad got at a garage sale for $5. It's the kind of find that gets a fella back into collecting.

I'm still 11 cards from completing this set. Some of them are stars and short printed at that, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Topps 1951

Topps 1952

Topps 1953

Topps 1954

Topps 1955

This has become my latest "Set to collect". There's only about 200 and they're rare, but not as hard to find as '51-4.

For a complete look at the set, you can go to this virtual card collection. Pretty cool, huh?

Topps 1956

Topps 1957

Topps 1958

Topps 1959

Topps 1960

Topps 1961

Topps 1962

Topps 1963

Topps 1964

Topps 1965

Topps 1966

Topps 1967

Topps 1968

Topps 1969

Topps 1970

Topps 1971

Topps 1972

Nothing screams "70's" quite like the "Magical Mystery set".

Topps 1973

I have about a quarter of the 660 cards in this set.

Topps 1974

I have about a quarter of the 660 cards in this set.

Topps 1975

I have about a quarter of the 660 cards in this set.

Topps 1975 mini

This was a test market set that was released in just a few states. Michigan was one of them. Unfortunately, I hadn't started collecting yet.

I have only 6 of the cards in this 660 card set.

Topps 1976

I have just a handful of the cards in this set.

Topps 1977

I have about half of the cards in this 660 card set.

Topps 1978

This was the first year I was serious about collecting. Great photography. I love the cursive team names. Great looking card to grow up with.

I need just 2 more cards to complete this 726 card set.

Topps 1979

This is the set from the height of my card collecting youth. I think I bought hobby boxes from Renta Glasso (are they still around?) and actually bought a whole box of wax packs when that sort of behavior was considered abhorrent. I wanted to stretch the box out over the winter, but ended up opening the whole thing in one night while my friends goaded me on to get the gum.

This 726 card set is finally complete.

Topps 1980

This 726 card set is COMPLETE.

WOOT! WOOT! All I needed was a Jack Morris and I already had a Fergie Jenkins in a HOF'ers book downstairs. Done and done!

Topps 1981

This was the year I started high school and quit collecting cards, so this set was put together one card at a time. It was a rotten set, so if you have to buy singles one at a time, at least they're cheap.

Only 5 cards short of this 726 card set, if you don't count the traded set which picks up where this one leaves off.

Topps 1982

I've finished logging my cards through the early 80's, and I don't have an awful lot of cards from before 1977, so the rest of this should go up pretty fast.

Hang on!

I still need about 28 cards to complete this set. Wanna trade for the rest?

Topps 1983

Nice design this year, with the close up, mortis box. No wonder they mimicked themselves the next year. Not much else to say except that I didn't do much collecting this year, but have still managed to cobble together most of the set.

Small wonders never cease.

I am just 1 card shy of completing this 792 card set. Jim Palmer. I have his Oh Pee Chi version, but that doesn't count.

Topps 1984

The year I graduated high school. I wasn't much into baseball at the time which seems strange now since the Tigers were on their way to winning the World Series. I was worried about starting college and staying out of jail after hitting a teacher with a cream pie (long story. Remind me to tell you about it later).

Still...

Somehow I managed to round up all but 1 of the cards in this 792 card set (Ron Kittle). If only I could go back and do all the other things I missed out on in 1984 so easily.

Topps 1985

This was a funny year for baseball cards. Of course the Mark McGwire RC is in here. I picked up a copy at a card show for $2 and had to wrestle with it for a minute or two standing at the card table. He was still going through his third or fourth stint on the injured reserved list and what he would do when he returned was still in question. I felt like a sap when I got home and noticed it had a dent in the side from the machine that wrapped the wax around the pack. 10 years later, after he'd hit #70, I sold that card in a mall in Orlando for $90. I was sorry to see it go, but I knew the price would come down again. Then, a couple years ago, in a big commons swap, I got another (without a dent) thrown in with the deal.

Patience pays off.

So it goes with this 792 card set. I think I have about 3/4 of these cards. How about you?

Topps 1986

The curse of the black border. They did this in 1971, and again last year. It looks really nice when you pull it out of the pack, but it seems there is no way to keep these cards in mint condition. Not that I'm a fan of card grading, I'm just saying. Even if you treat your cards with respect, a black bordered card always seems to look like you left it with your kid brother a year after you bought it. But this may work to your advantage if you don't worry about such things. I got a '71 Tom Seaver for a song because the previous owner repainted the corners with magic marker. You can't see it unless you look at the edges. If you put it in a sleeve, like you would do anyway, you can't see the edges. Which raises an ethical dilema:

If a card is retouched, but no one can see it, is it still mint?

I'm 2 short of completing this 792 card set as well. What do you want for these black and whites?

Topps 1987

Topps again dusted off the old wooden boarder for this set. I'm not sure what the significance of this design is supposed to be. It doesn't look like the tight grain of the ash wood used in baseball bats. Maybe it's supposed to be the bench. Bowman put out a set in 1952 meant to look like a color TV, which was the novelty of the day. Perhaps this year they'll put out one that says "Blackberry" along the bottom.

That would be cool. Heh, heh.

Anyway, I have completed this once-standard 792 card set, but I have more doubles than Curtis Granderson. If you need any, well, you know the deal.

Topps 1988

This is the only set I have that I didn't put together myself. I got a hand collated one at a card show for $5 at the height of the gold rush, so that should be some indication of its value today. To everyone out there laying out big money for baseball cards today, I have just two words:

Gregg Jeffries.

So, as I just said, I have the complete collection of this 792 card set. I'd be willing to trade my commons for cards from any other year or maybe some of those McDonald's beanie babies you still have kicking around your closet.

Topps 1989

This year and year before were some of the classic Topps sets. Nothing flashy. Very clean. Exactly what you would expect a baseball card to look like. 1989 was especially reminiscent of the '65 set with the flag around the name.

Sadly, these were some of the most overproduced cards ever made. While even the Randy Johnson RC has failed to retain any value, on the up side, everyone can have one and the chances of completing the set are very good.

Case in point...

My traditional 792 card set is complete, but if you are a few cards short in this set or would like a Johnson RC, let me know. I'm sure we can work something out.

Topps 1990

Granted, these cards are ugly, but at least Topps was still trying. The cartoonish look makes them identifiable from across the room. They also put out a set of major league debut cards using this format, but attributing them to the 1989 season. (This is probably where Bowman got the idea to do pretty much the same thing in 1992 and started the whole "Well, that's not really his rookie card" discussion.) And this set was in addition to the traded set, which you could still buy by the pack.

Grrr...

I have all but 1 of the cards in this 792 card set... what the? Who is #701? Bernie Williams? That can't be right. Let me check, but I'm pretty sure I have the Williams RC. Otherwise, the rest are trade bait. What do you like?

UPDATE: I found the Williams RC at the cardshow today in the 10 cent bin. I got 2 just in case, so if you still need one, I've got you covered.

Topps 1991

This is one of my favorite sets. It was the last year of the gray card stock and the first year of the gold parallel set. The photography is at times stunning and iconic, such as the Benito Santiago card above.

Nice.

I'm glad to have the complete 792 card set from this year. If you still need a few, let me know. Perhaps you can help me with cards from another year.

Topps 1992

Hello. My name is Erik and I am a... a cardboard junkie.

"Hello, Erik."

I started at an early age. Me and my friends would hustle up some change from our folks, then go out and score a couple packs. Nothing serious, y'know. I mean, everyone was doing it, right? I don't know where it went from being a harmless little habit to this destructive addiction, but I can tell you when I hit rock bottom. 1992. I think it was the sight of Brien Taylor going for $8 in the card shop. Maybe it was the white card stock... I don't know.

It's all a blur now.

So what do I have to show for it? I have all but 2 of the cards in this 792 card set, which is remarkable since I have over 5,000 doubles! How in the HELL does someone buy nearly 6 thousand cards and not complete a freakin' set?!?! Huh? Can you tell me? What are the odds?

"OK! Thank you, Erik. You can sit down now. Would someone else like to share?"

UPDATE: As part of my therapy, I was made to sit down with my 1992 and see how I squandered so much of my life on such a trivial pursuit. In so doing, I discovered the 2 missing cards. The number of doubles is actually well over 6,000 and I think I have at least 3 of each card. My therapist calls this a "slip". I call it "vindication".

Topps 1993

What I remember of this year was that my friends and I had a big swap meet. We gathered in my parents basement, each of us with an unopened box of Topps and started opening. When we were done, we traded for the ones we still needed. Rick gave me his cards because he left them in the back of his car and rain came in through the window. I carefully dried them out and can't tell them from the others.

Score!

So this, gentle reader, is how I managed to COMPLETE this man-sized 819 card set. Please take a look and see if you need any of these cards to complete your '93 set and perhaps you could return the favor for another year.

Topps 1994

Irrational exuberance. Remember? That's how they described the economy under Bill Clinton. It looked like the stock market could keep going up with no ceiling, and people really believed it too. The baseball card market was a lot like that until this year. It was a time before a strike cancelled the World Series, before anyone was really thinking there was a drug that was causing the players to look like weightlifters with the mumps, before eBay demonstrated the laws of supply and demand. Ah, 1994. We thought we'd collect 2 of everything and be retired by now.

Good times.

I still need 100 cards in this 792 cards set. 792? Who would have thought there were that many players in the majors? I guess that happens when you still include rookies.

Topps 1995

This was the last full size set of the century for Topps. For the rest of the decade, 660 cards would seem a lot. I don't know what effect the strike had on the hobby, but it might explain the dearth of rookies in following years. Or it might be where the card company finally became as cynical as the players they portrayed and began maximizing their profits.

whatever.

This 660 card set is about half complete. How many do you have?

Topps 1996

I remember exactly where I was this year: Chicago. I was just getting my bearings after my life was coming out of a tailspin. So for series one, I had better things to do. Especially considering the weakness of this set. But fortunately, there were others collecting, so with your help, I can make up that time (not that I don't have better things to do right now, mind you).

...whatever.

If you have any of these cards, let me know.

Topps 1997

Topps continued to put out rookie-free sets like this one, choosing instead to let inserts carry them. The cards are nice enough looking, but the set is again too small.

Meh.

I am 57 cards short of completing this 496 card set. Let me know if you can help me find the rest.