The little dude on the cover of this box sums up what this hobby has become about. Money. So many people open up products today with the sole purpose of pulling that big “hit”. When that doesn’t happen they run to the nearest message board to bash both the product and company that made it. Its sad and quite annoying. That picture accurately describes what some buyers/sellers were like during the 80s and 90s before the bubble burst. It kinda looks like a young Mr. Mint.
One of the most unique looking test issued products that Topps has made were the 1962 Topps Baseball Bucks. It started as a product all on it’s own. Then Topps decided to throw them in as extras within the 1962 Topps Baseball set. The set totals 96 cards that all look like currency. On the front of each “buck” you’ll find a picture of the player, home stadium, and a short write-up. The back shows the A.L. or N.L. logo along with a team logo. Its very common to find these with a fold down the middle because that is how they were packaged. One “buck” came inside a 1-cent pack. For being a test issue, the cards are very affordable. If Topps didn’t insert them later on in their regular set, I have a feeling they would be worth a lot more. Guys like Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron command the most money. Then again, its all based on condition. If you can find an original sealed pack, on the back it advertises autographs. I think they’re referring to the facsimile signature found on each “buck”. Try doing that with a product in today’s hobby.
I still can’t get past the image on the cover. Its almost as if Topps was able to predict the future of the card industry. Topps made a football counterpart, but it never was a standalone product. Those were just issued as inserts.
Filed under: Flashback Product of the Week | Tagged: 1962, baseball, bucks, flashback, of, product, the, topps, week | Leave a comment »
Sports Card Info 