Randy Johnson RC Topps, Tiffany?
 

Hello. I'm a new member here and also fairly new at baseball card collecting. I was collecting as a kid and just recently started back into the hobby, so I'm learning as much as I can. I pulled this Randy Johnson rookie out of a mixed packs box of cards the other day and here that there are a couple of variations with this card. One of which is a base card and another called a Tiffany? What variation is this card and what is the best way to distinguish the difference?

Thanks in advance for all of your help and I look forward to being a member here!

Pete

Big Unit Tiffany
 

Welcome... the easiest way to spot a Topps Tiffany from a regular Topps is the card back... Tiffanies are printed on white stock, regular on gray chipboard back.... fronts are glossier on Tiffanies too.

Yes, the back of a Topps Tiffany card has much more vibrant colors than the relatively muted colors of its gray-carded brethren. Once you see a Tiffany card you'll recognize one for the rest of your life.

Post a scan of the back and we'd be able to see for sure (assuming its a good scan).

And welcome back to card collecting!

Brian

Thanks for the great info guys! Here's the back.

Looks like you have the regular version, which is also expected since you opened it from a pack. As mentioned, Topps' "tiffany" cards have glossier, smoother fronts, different card stock, more vibrantly colored backs, and they were only issued in complete sets of limited quantities (not packs). They also carry a higher price on the market.

On some cards, the plastic coating on the front, which gives it the gloss, can turn yellow-ish over time.

Here's a good article from cardboardconnection.com about the sets.

And, here's a Randy Johnson tiffany back for comparison....

Great! Thanks a lot! I can definitely see the difference. So are they only in the cello packs?

No, not in any sort of packs.

They only came as complete sets.


Steve B

Tiffany Sets
 

In addition to the original run of Tiffany sets mentioned in the article ( 84-91), Topps also put out limited edition "Tiffany" sets in 2000, 2001 and 2002. As Chuck mentioned, as best I know they were only issued in factory sealed box sets, no packs of any kind

In regards to the article, there are no print runs mentioned for several of the traded sets or the sets from 90-91(other than the 91's are noted as relatively scarce). Does anyone have an idea what the print runs actually were for the 90 and 91 sets?

Thank you guys for all of the great detailed answers!!