Over the past week or so, we’ve been culling through binders of mostly modern material from the Texas find, pulling out some of the key cards for grading.
Yesterday, we opened a binder that contained what we initially thought was a complete set of 1967 Topps hockey. Upon further review, we discovered that the last 12 cards in the set (the all-star cards) were missing. However, the remaining 120 were in stunning condition.
Included in the binder was a clipping from what looked like an old ad from Sports Collectors Digest for this collection, which was billed as a complete set and offered as a mail-order auction with an opening bid of $1,000. The set was billed as GEM MINT, and judging from the condition of the cards in the binder, we won’t argue. Though many of the cards exhibit flaws that were not considered flaws at the time (centering issues and print defects), the cards are exceptionally bright and sharp. In this case, “pack fresh” doesn’t quite describe the cards, as they look as if they were taken right off the printing press.
That cards have survived in this condition for nearly 50 years, and have been part of the same collection since long before third-party grading had caught on, continues to amaze us. Here are some examples of better-centered keys, along with the Gordie Howe.
All of these cards are headed off to PSA for grading.
