I think its a great promotion, Richard O. Rieger, an analyst for a financial services company, told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. 1989 Deion Sanders Yankees Signed Card 6. There is plenty of room for all the game's top stars. However, while some of them made their way overseas, there are reports of others remaining here in the states. Ungraded & graded values for all '91 Topps Traded Baseball Cards. The rise of the Bowman brand dates back to 1927 when Jacob Bowman founded Gum Inc. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2. I have a small printing plate of the of the Ken Griffey Jr. card,have no idea if is real.Please send comment.Sincere Thanks,Mary B. I dont specifically remember hearing of any 1991 printing plates that made it into the hobby, but its possible, given the Topps Archives sales several years back. Im looking for the way to the honest price for a van load of NFL hockey baseball basketball collection. Regular cards also cost $1000 if it's in mint condition. I was told graded its 10k. We dont know how big a role nostalgia plays with this one, but it still regularly sells north of $40. For the first time since the 1974 Topps set, the company included individual player cards that were oriented horizontally. For some of those veterans, 1991 Topps will always be the last real baseball card set. Read our. But those kids are adults 30 years later and many now appreciate a clean design that may have been too subtle for younger collectors. Yeah, 1991 Topps Baseball contained those old familiars the record breaker cards, league leader cards and ugh checklists, each issued on gray cardboard for one last time. Keep in mind, most cards from this set have no value--there were millions of each card printed. 1990 Topps George Bush USA1 Card #4. The multiple borders in the design allow multiple 3-D effects chosen seemingly at the whim of the Topps artists. Check Tiffany prices on eBay (affiliate link), Check Tiffany prices on Amazon (affiliate link). Win Complete Vintage Sets. 1991 Topps, still, is the last flagship set from the company to use gray, cardboard stock, a look and feel that has gone the way of paper rituals like penning thank you notes. Anyway, Ripken Jr. will always be known for that "other streak", the one in which he played in 2,632 consecutive games. No matter what form of packaging a collector purchased, the promotion appeared, exclaiming the chance to pull any card from Topps vast inventory from the previous 40 years. Topps entered the sports cards market in 1952, so the value of this set of cards is very high. However his iconic 1983 Topps rookie card only goes for $475. Most Expensive, 9. Nolan Ryan's "1990 Record Breaker" card is also high up on the list of cards from this set. Mark McGwire was one of the game's hottest players in the early '90s because of his constant display of amazing power. Here is a look at the baseball cards that have exceeded a million-dollar price tag, including two by one of the sport's top active players: 1. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. Well, it depends on where youre standing and what youre holding. His production during the 1980's playing for the sport's most popular team seemed to put Mattingly on an easy trajectory towards a future Hall of Fame induction. The record book says yes, seeing as how Emmitt owns most of the career rushing marks that mean anything, and he's second to only Rice in total yards from scrimmage. But upon 30 years of reflection, that gray-cardboard set marks the dividing line between the traditional baseball card sets issued the 40 years prior to 1991 and the bright, white and slick sets that have dominated the industry in the last three decades. I got my dads card collection going back to the mid 1940s. But they weren't just any regular bonehead deals, they were two of the worst in MLB history. The 1991 O-Pee-Chee Baseball set consists of 792 cards, each measuring 2-1/2" by 3-1/2". Calling them scarce would a bit much, even if many of the roughly 6,500-7,000 of each player estimated to have been printed were discarded. Mets shortstop Kevin Elster had the previous record at 88 consecutive games. The key to the brand's success lies in the fact that Bowman and Bowman Chrome rookie cards are typically the most valuable and sought after of all rookie cards. Amazingly, during his twenty years in Major League Baseball with the San Diego Padres, Gwynn hit below .300 just once. For whatever reason, 1991 Topps Baseball has an abnormal amount of errors. Issued in two 300-card series, the set featured a 600-card checklist that showcased many of MLB's brightest stars and talent in the highest quality manner to date. Topps relied on a sales gimmick, tied to its anniversary, to entice collectors to the old standby, while still dressed in the familiar, old, gray cardboard. But, Ryan wasn't the only one to dress up so nicely as Dave Stewart put on a tuxedo for his card as well. As part of the 40th Anniversary celebrations, Topps included buybacks and buyback redemptions for Topps Baseball cards released between 1952 and 1990. Rating: 7.1 (153 votes) . The top card in the set is easily the rookie card of Hall of Famer Chipper Jones. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2008-2023 The Cardboard Connection. And the fact that Griffey Jr. appears on this list twice goes back to what I was saying earlier: he was one of the most popular athletes in the world at the time and collectors wanted any card on which he appeared. Find out for yourself with our FREE checklist to guide you step-by-step. And I was incredibly excited when these cards were released because of a special they were offering Because of their 40th anniversary of producing baseball cards, Topps randomly inserted a copy of every card they ever made into packs to help build hype. Topps took no prisoners in this aspect of its marketing campaign, relying on a vast inventory that no competitor could touch. But hobbyists know its value, as this gem mint card consistently sells between $80 and $100. Vertical images have long been one of Topps calling cards and this Ryan exemplifies why. 1909 T-206 Honus Wagner: $7.25 million. It makes sense that Topps would feature the first player in this set in a tuxedo as a clever way of helping to market their first premium set in a higher standard. Whiten played 11 years in the Big Leagues but was never a star. Track your collection and maximize your profit with Market Movers, the hobbys most powerful sports card pricing platform! I found about 100 packs of these 91 Topps 40th anniversary in my dads house after he passed. It has been graded by PSA as a Mint 10 condition card. | Compare vs. At 600 cards total, the Stadium Club checklist was much smaller than the regular 1991 Topps baseball card set but packed a much better design. When I watched Griffey playing during the 1990's, it almost seemed a certainty he would one day be the all-time leader in home runs. This is a classic rookie card and one of the most valuable baseball outfielder cards from the 1960s when found in gem mint condition. I dont know what to do with them all . The power with the bat was gone but he still had his glove, though, and in 1991 he would earn his sixth of nine career Gold Gloves. 2022 Bowmans Best Baseball Checklist, Team Set Lists and Details, One-Sheet Collections: Best Active NBA Stars Who Have Never Been All-Stars, 2022 Bowman Inception Baseball Checklist, Team Set Lists, Odds and Details, 2022-23 Leaf Exotic Basketball Checklist and Details, 2021-22 SP Game Used CHL Hockey Checklist and Details, 2023 GAS Arnold Schwarzenegger: Built to Perfection Trading Cards Carry Some Heavy Weight, 2022 Panini Flawless Collegiate Basketball Checklist and Details, 2022 Topps Allen & Ginter Chrome Baseball Checklist, Team Set Lists and Details. The cards were originally intended for soldiers in Operation Desert Shield, a mission to prevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia. That is probably the most fantastic shot of all time. He had incredible range and could get rid of the ball with lighting speed making him one of the best defensive shortstops the game has ever seen. The look of the card was utterly simplistic gray cardboard; a uniform-matching color border; the teams nickname in the bottom right; a Topps 40 Years of Baseball logo in the top left but it still somehow resonates with collectors to this day. Outside of Bowman, which was owned by Topps, the 1991 Topps flagship set stood alone as the only set issued that year on gray stock. Most are statistical errors, but some players have the wrong photo or wrong team. In addition, the sets featured a super glossy finish on card fronts. It will be blast checking the cards out now for favorites, rookies, errors and all the memories. I have a load of these cards from 91 but who buys them anymore? Pitchers with 300 Wins and Their Baseball Cards! Its the retro-appreciation for a set overlooked in its time. Card backs are red with complete career stats and player vitals. Total Cards: 792. A separate treatment of each of these four attractions might help explain the continuing appeal of The Last Gray Cardboard Set.. A rundown of the most expensive 1991 Topps baseball cards sold on eBay in April-June of 2022.See the most recent eBay top sellers of 1991 Topps baseball card. Among them are Hall of Fame-caliber All-Stars like Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Jeff Bagwell. Cards have a white border. Charles does not believe the many variations which include several statistical errors were intentional on Topps part, which has been a common accusation regarding the litany of errors found in a number of sets during the overproduction era. You can count 1991 solidly in the hit column thanks to the first Topps cards of two future Hall of Famers Houston Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell and Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez. This 91 Topps sold for $47 around Thanksgiving 2021 and moved again for roughly $60 near Valentines Day 2022. All cards feature a "Topps 40 Years of Baseball" logo to commemorate Topps' 40th year of baseball releases. Its a different kind of chase that extends to present-day collecting as a seemingly endless number of errors and variations have captured the fascination of collectors across collecting blogs and chat rooms for decades. It probably does if you have ever seen an Upper Deck card they sort of changed how we saw desirable cards at the time. Derek Jeter 2000 Topps Gallery Exhibits 3. Those sets that followed just dont seem like trading cards to them. I have those 1991 Topps cards how can I get them graded and sell fo.the best price. 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Auto Topps Card 5. Note to readers: If you purchase something through one of our affiliates, we may earn a commission. We don't know how big a role nostalgia plays with this one, but it still regularly sells north of $40. Card Back Q&A: Scott Elarton Talks J.R. Richard and Being Smartest Pitching Prospect, Popular Michael Jordan Baseball Cards Remain Mostly Cheap, 25th Anniversary of Some Great 1991 Rarities, The Ten 1990s Baseball Issues that Killed the Player Collector Completist, Cardboard in the Desert: A Soldier Remembers, Collects 1991 Topps Desert Shield, mentions cards being thrown away and even burned as part of fires, graded examples usually running close to $1,000 or more, sold for nearly $3,000 in September on eBay, In 2018, the No. A double border in two different colors houses the photo image, except when that image is breaking out of the design. I'd like to imagine him having just blasted one of his towering home runs by the looks of him in this image Don Mattingly was another one of those players who was on top of every collector's want list back in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Slab Strong (Protective Slab Bumper Sleeves), 5 Things To Know About Victor Wembanyamas First Investable Card, Netflixs Full Swing: Top Golf Cards From the Shows Stars, Durants Deadline Move Shakes Up Multiple NBA Markets, Elly De La Cruz Rookie Cards: Best Sets and Parallels, Top 10 Most Valuable: 1981 Topps Basketball, Super Bowl Delivers Boost to Mahomes, Hurts and Kelce, Simons Surges; Fultz Returns: Top 5 Hottest Sports Cards, Pop Report: TCG, Ja Morant Rise in Latest PSA Returns. Baseball; Sets; 1991; Overview; 1991 Topps. Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at the list: 1991 Topps #360 Emmitt Smith Estimated PSA 10 Value: $100 After making his rookie cardboard debut in the 1990 Topps football set, the company included Emmitt Smith in their "Super Rookies" subset the following year. However, the Atlanta Braves were willing to try and make things work and signed him ahead of the 1991 MLB season. Was he originally slated to be the first card in the set but Topps decided to go with Dave Stewart at some point instead? 1991 Topps Desert Shield Chipper Jones Rarest Rookie Card. Counterfeits. So there you have it, the ten most valuable 1991 Topps cards in both their base and Desert Shield forms. Lets start at the beginning and work our way through the rest. Due to poor sales of the. Even more impressive was the fact that he led all of MLB in walks (138), OBP (.453), OPS (1.006), and OPS + (180). Cheapest, As you can imagine, not all of the soldiers were into these cards. Get my weekly newsletter with the latest hobby updates delivered straight to your inbox! 22. List by Card #, You own: 0 / 850 items There are faked versions of this card, so this is one worth buying authenticated. To pay homage to that longevity, they added a 40th Anniversary logo on the cards and that is found in addition to the Desert Shield stamp. In all, there are 792 cards in the set, just like the regular 1991 Topps baseball cards. Its no surprise that this beauty of Bo blazing around the base paths made the list. The biggest reason for that was the lack of a widespread internet. Love that Benny Santiago card you guys posted in the checklist page. Nothing against the Boston Red Sox, but despite being one of baseball's most storied franchises, they're also known for a couple of bonehead deals. The perception of the time was the king had lost its crown. Many of the rookies come from the Draft Picks subset, the best of which is Chipper Jones. To put things into perspective, Mattingly led the Majors in 1986 with a .573 slugging percentage and .967 OPS. Above the bar is a ribbon with the team's name. However, they have a special gold foil stamp on the front of them with a palm tree inside of a shield. My brother and I must have gotten tired of opening them, and moved on to something new. Although his career was limited by injuries, he still put up monster numbers and was an easy Hall of Fame inductee. From 1984 through 1991, Topps gave collectors what we wanted sort of. All rights reserved. Ross is the founder of Old Sports Cards and has been collecting sports cards for over 30 years. Whether its the wide-angle photo of Dwight Evans following through at the plate or Sandy Alomar Jr. chasing down a pop-up in full catchers gear, arms outstretched, 1991 Topps offers photographs that had never been seen before and in some cases never been seen since. The card featured above is a 1987 Topps Future Stars baseball card featuring Bo Jackson. Total Cards: 792. Shortcuts: The cards, if youre unfamiliar with them, are moderately rare. Among the more popular ones are Ken Griffey, Jr., Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken, Mark McGwire, Frank Thomas, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, and others. Read our methodology . Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. The 1991 Topps baseball cards issue was a product of its time and of much earlier times. We'll respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.. Posted by Adam Hughes | Baseball Card Values, Baseball Cards, Topps Baseball Cards | 2 |. 9 Roger Clemens #530 One of the most memorable cards in the '91 Topps set, this horizontal stunner shows Clemens posing in front of Fenway Park's famed scoreboard. Anyone have any idea how much a unopened box of 4 decades of baseball cards worth. The 1991 Topps Desert Shield baseball card is a thing of beauty and is a must-have for all Nolan Ryan fanboys. The fact that he didn't appear in the 1991 Midsummer Classic has to be one of, if not the biggest, All-Star Game snub in the game's history. It requires a lot of work, especially if you want to collect the more nuanced and questionable varieties.. At the time of its release, more than a few viewed 1991 Topps Baseball as a dowdy, stuck-in-its ways, all-too-traditional release. Loved Beckett back then and Im gonna check it out again. 3. Then, theres the Chipper Jones card, with graded examples usually running close to $1,000 or more. The hobby loved Griffey during the 1990s and it still loves him today, so there's no surprise that his card leads off this list at the top. How many exist today, really, is anybodys guess. The blog covers a number of sets from that period, even from other sports, but readers keep returning to the posts about 1991 Topps, and many are armed with questions: * I have a Carmelo Martinez (who) played for the Pirates (and) all the Pirates cards have a black border around them but Car-melos border is grey is it (an) error., * I have a Steve Olin #696 with a faded logo, and the E*F* print code., * Is there a way of finding out all the errors that people have found (and) posting them on one post?, Dylans answer to the last question was, No, there is not. What is the value of that card? Total Prize Value. 1952 to 1990. What Is the Most Valuable 1991 Topps Baseball Card? The guy had just broken out, to say the least, the season before when he appeared in his first All-Star Game while winning his first MVP, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards. Sanders made sure to rework his contract in the offseason to be available for MLB playoff games in the future and the move certainly paid off in a big way for the Braves. I was well into my prime childhood collecting days when the 1991 Topps baseball cards were released. Theres a link to the price guide at the top of this page. Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at the list: 1991 Stadium Club #270 Ken Griffey Jr. I have an actual 91 Topps unopened box set. That helps to explain some of the rarity of this set. The story of Jackson's professional sports career finally came to a close after the strike during the 1994 season cut his time with the California Angels short and caused him to retire for good. Jones rookie card is one of the few notable ones. The highlights of the checklist are really the rookie card of Jones and the big-name cards of veterans. 1991 Topps Baseball Checklist Base Set Checklist 792 cards. Thankfully, McGwire took the offseason to work out all of the kinks and would be back on track for the 1992 season. One of the many hats that 1991 Topps Baseball wears is its reputation as one of the most variation-heavy sets ever created. However, the 1991 Stadium Club set will always be remembered as a game-changer for Topps with its unique place in hobby history. I read it a while ago and because of it, finally picked up a factory sealed set for ~$20 tonight. Please enter the verification code that you received on your email. If you would've asked anyone at the time if he was on his way to an eventual induction into Cooperstown, they may have looked at you in disbelief, unsure if you were joking. buy stuff after clicking links on our site Instead, he attributes it to the volume of cards that Topps was producing that year, possible multiple print runs and creating them at more than one printing facility. 1969 Topps All-Star Rookie Johnny Bench Rookie Card #95 SHOP EBAY You can go back and forth on which is the actual Johnny Bench rookie card. By the time the 91 season began, Smith had already earned 11 Gold Gloves. And, just over seventy years later, they came close to pulling off an even worse move when they traded Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for reliever Larry Andersen. Albert Pujols Cardinals Signed 2000 Multi Peoria Minor Rookie Card 5. Other cards in the set also show hats, bats or body parts extended over the border as well but for some reason Topps decided to correct this on Whiten's card. 1. Prices are updated daily based upon 1992 Leaf listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. This set was a monster and contained a 792 card checklist in total and that is not counting the enormous amount of errors and variations, some of which are still being discovered today. Sadly, this was the last set in which Topps inserted gum into wax packs. Ichiro Suzuki 2001 Topps Limited Edition Rookie Card 4. 21 Surprisingly Cheap: Tony Gwynn 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn was arguably the best pure hitter of his era or perhaps any other. He manages a pre-war sports card blog and database at www.prewarcards.com . Giants Signed Topps Baseball Card 2. Tommy Tom Lasorda Dodgers Topps Signed Card 7. Fronts included full color images of players with white borders while backs had the typical statistic-laden layout found on Topps other sets. A pair of thin frames are also around the photo. I had them in their original boxes placed in shoeboxes in my closet, in fact in 2019 I offered the entire package to a friend in NY for $1000 plus shipping, fortunately his kid isnt into sports so he said no. Other subsets include All-Stars and Record Breakers. We use cookies to improve your experience. Traded https://www.cardboardconnection.com/1991-topps-traded-baseball-cards. Budget: 2017 Ronald Acuna Jr Bowman Chrome Prospects RC #BCP127 SHOP EBAY NOW. Or, they'd need to be one of the rarer Desert Shield versions Not to be confused with Topps' set of Desert Storm cards which featured military subject matter, the Desert Shield baseball cards were sent to soldiers who were serving in the Persian Gulf War during that time. One of the most important rookie cards of the 1990's, this card is routinely in high demand. Vintage Topps Cards. Ungraded & graded values for all '91 Topps The big draw is the first-year players. Other superstars like Nolan Ryan, Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken, Frank Thomas, and Greg Maddux can be yours for peanuts or less most of the time. #1. Bagwell was in the Minors at the time and showing decent promise, but the Red Sox were in win-now mode and trying to hold off the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East race, so management green-lighted the trade. #10 1962 Topps Joe Torre (RC) #218 PSA 10 sold for $15,344 1962 Topps Joe Torre rookie card on eBay So in 1991, Topps experimented with that by creating its Stadium Club brand a glossy, upscale Topps branded product. While Topps didnt do anything to move away from their traditional mushy brown cardboard in base sets until 1992, we could always count on Tiffany. I have hundreds of these cards in good to perfect condition. Read our methodology . 1985 Topps Tiffany Nolan Ryan baseball card #760 PSA 10 Value: $1,079 1985 Topps Tiffany Nolan Ryan baseball card #760 graded PSA 10 Check prices on eBay I have cards from early 1900s and up my son inherited them some are in books all in good shape . It may not be quite as valuable as the Mark Whiten variation or Griffey's base card but the Chipper Jones rookie card is easily the face of the entire set. However, a case can be made for the '68 Topps card; we'll cover that in the next item. For cards worth more than that amount or issued prior to 1957, Topps inserted redemptions, according to the spokesman for Topps at the time. Track your collection for free. I always loved how Topps displayed Ryan on this card. Upper Deck had an advantage over other. In the end, Jack Glenn, a 43-year-old collector from New York City, won the grand prize of every Topps set. 2021 Sports Card Investor, LLC. Prices are updated daily based upon 1991 Topps Traded listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. The popularity of 1991 Topps Baseball does not come from the Rookie Cards that continue to carry so many other sets only the Chipper Jones draft pick retains significant rookie value it resides in its variety, the stunning photography and the continued collectability of the set, the ability to be all things to all collectors. Awards; Ballparks; College Baseball; Division Series; . As far as rookie cards go, Jeff Bagwell is still the only key rookie in the checklist. 1991 Topps Micro card list & price guide. Despite that rarity, many of these cards are very affordable. Its commonplace to find PSA 9 Chippers RCs selling for around $2000 on eBay, and PSA 10s of most of the eras superstars north of $1000, as well. The set also offers several tiers for variation or master set collectors. Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $250 Upper Deck could not have chosen a better player than Ken Griffey Jr. to lead off the checklist as card #1 of their debut set in 1989. PSA 10 Chipper Jones rookie cards that sold on eBay for north of $21,000 in March of 2021. The dominant design element was the player photo, big and clear (for the most part). After batting .327 with 100 RBI, 20 home runs, and 76 runs scored to go along with a .527 slugging percentage and .926 OPS during the 1991 season, there was no question that Griffey was well on his way to superstardom. Rememberwhen Upper Deck released their debut set in 1989, they changed the hobby forever and forced Topps and other manufacturers to up their game. Once blinded by the bells and whistles of the new early 90s premium sets, collectors returned to 1991 Topps to find some of the most dynamic and interesting photos in a flagship set. See, in 1990, Topps had issued a set of comic-book bordered cards that marched alongside the garish red of Donruss and the general ickiness of a crappy Fleer set as the three traditional. He also did backflips and other acrobatics on the field which always amazed me as a young kid. PFEW as I did sell every card to one guy who appreciates them and will take care of them, and yes, much more than $1000. After Jones, other big name stars present themselves. By the time the 1980s came to a close, Donnie Baseball had an MVP, batting title, six All-Star selections, three Silver Sluggers and five Gold Gloves to his name. Other cards that come from the same set that are also worth a mention include Mark Whiten and Don Mattingly. Griffey eventually turned into the Hall of Famer everyone thought he would be and his 1989 Upper Deck rookie card has since solidified itself as one of the most iconic cards in the hobby. 1991 Topps. READ OUR DISCLAIMER. The base card design is very clean and highlights the stellar photography. For young fans of that time, Topps couldnt compare to the vibrant and youthful Upper Deck, Leaf or even Topps brand-new offshoot, Stadium Club. Rating: 7.1 (153 votes) Click here to Rate. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. The variety of Topps photography in the set stands out to this day. 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