Flashback Product of the Week: 1984 Topps Tiffany

From 1984 to 1991, Topps issued limited edition sets that paralleled their regular and Traded sets.  These high-end sets were known as “Tiffany” sets.  The cards look almost identical to their massed produced counterpart, except they were printed in Ireland on white card stock instead of the standard grey, and have glossy fronts.  When placed side-by-side you can clearly tell which one is of the higher quality.  These were distributed in a dealer exclusive factory set form, although Topps did offer some of them directly to customers.  This means only certain dealers were able to get their hands on them.  About 10,000 1984 Topps Tiffany sets were produced.  That isn’t a lot considering at the time how much overproduction was poisoning the market.

Given that the Tiffany sets were issued in much lower quantities, demand for the Tiffany cards is much higher.  The Tiffany card of a specific player will almost always be worth more than the regular version.  Out of the 1984 Topps Tiffany set, the Don Mattingly rookie is by far the most popular.  Complete sets continue to sell for over $100.00 which is mind blowing since these come from an era filled with totally worthless junk.  All of the Tiffany sets from this time still hold some good value today.

For those collectors looking for the very best card of a player from the 80’s or early 90’s, Tiffany is the way to go.  Upper Deck brought this card quality to the masses in 1989 with their first set.  Topps did revive the Tiffany brand in 2001 and 2002, but since has disappeared.