The Post War Cards Newsletter #271
Beckett On Beckett By Beckett / A Suspicious 1985 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Second Series Uncut Sheet
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📚 Beckett On Beckett By Beckett
A card of Jim Beckett, signed by Jim Beckett, and graded by Beckett Grading Services…awesome.
This copy sold last week for $52.99. It’s also an uncorrected error, with his place of birth listed as Van West when it should be Van Wert.
The card was distributed at the Topps booth, their first time setting up, at the 1992 National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlanta, along with 13 other cards featuring names like Bob Costas, Lou Holtz, Larry King, Nancy Lopez, and John Wooden. That’s why TCDB lists the set as the 1992 Topps National Sports Collectors Convention Stadium of Stars.
Sports Card Info shared a few more details in a March 2019 post, noting that each celebrity also received 500 copies of their card to distribute, and that two jumbo versions were produced per subject, with one signed for auction. Topps also made 5,000 uncut sheets for dealers. Beckett’s card is believed to have been a late addition, as it doesn’t appear on the original promotional material, including the uncut sheet. Here’s a copy from Sports Card Info’s blog post. Let me know if you have a cleaner scan or one for sale!
P.S. There’s a PSA-authenticated, signed John Wooden card available for $89.95 on eBay.
👀 A Suspicious 1985 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Second Series Uncut Sheet
The 1985 Topps Garbage Pail Kids 2nd Series set has 84 stickers, which makes the May 3rd $56 sale of this uncut sheet of 50 cards, with complete backs, a little peculiar.
Luckily, WGPKR has the details; it’s highly likely a fake (more also in their FAQ). The die cuts appear to be printed on the sheet and then cut out! And doesn’t the coloring on the back look weird along the left edge?
Though it’s not as bad a reproduction as the ones that actually say “Made in Taiwan ROC” on them.
Here’s what a 132-card Series 2 Uncut Sheet looks like; REA sold this one for $420 in 2019 (Remember, most card sheets begin as double-sheets with 264 cards on them).
