Saturday, June 12, 2010

From the Topps Vault

While browsing ebay a few weeks ago, I found a bunch of Topps Vault auctions. Among the items were several of the final negatives that were used for cards. Those for sale included several for Cubs back up catcher Ken Rudolph, the '71, '73, and '74 cards. I decided to go for the '73.

I liked that the '73 picture showed the Cubs' '72 road uniform, their first pullover uniform. They changed the style for the next season, so the '72 was a one-hit wonder. Its the only time any MLB team has ever worn centered numbers on the front of a jersey.

There wasn't much action on the auction, and I won the negative.

Here is what it looks like:



And here is the card.



Though the picture is much sharper than the card, the card is brighter.



In addition to the negative, Topps also included the envelope that it was stored in. I love the old time Topps logo on the envelope and the typewritten info on it.



And lastly, there was also a Certificate of Authenticity.

I don't feel I need more than one of these, but one is a nice addition to my collection. Does anyone else have any experience with the Topps vault?

3 comments:

  1. I don't other than saving some of the pictures of players that didn't get cards. They had a few Cubs in there too over the last several months, such as Art Shamsky. One set of pics had Jay Johnstone in a Cards uni, another had Billy Williams with a catcher's mitt(!). They also have a few of the bad airbrushes, I kept a pic of a really bad Rollie Fingers with a half A's/half Padres uni on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A couple of years ago I bought a couple of Jon Matlack proof cards from the 1982 set. They too came with a certificate. I think they are a cool addition to my collection.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think this is a very cool piece to have. Nice pickup.

    ReplyDelete