Driving me crazy
 

I love the 1970's sets, but the stains on the back of some cards is driving me crazy. It seems to be really bad on the 73's. I swear it seems like more appear every time I look at my sets. Do these bother anyone as much as me? What causes these stains?

looks like it could be the cardboard paper stock. I don't think it was the best stock in those years.

doesn't really bother me but I am not a high high grade collector

When it comes to building my 70s sets, I am a high grade collector, but those spots don't bother me either for some reason.

Don't sweat it, Mac; it's probably a simple wax stain from the wrapper, or possibly a tiny gum stain. The powder Topps used to coat their slabs of gum was very effective, but here and there in the heat of summer .....

--- Brian Powell

Yea as mentioned either from the wax or gum. This isn't unique to 70s cards. There are a few 50s Bowman cards with very common back stains. And I remember seeing them in the 80s and early 90s opening packs as a kid.

I have collected all the Topps sets in ungraded form and I like gum stains. They add character and authenticity to cards. The only gum stains I have avoided are the intentionally manufactured ones in that one Topps Heritage set, 2016 I think

Thanks for all of the thoughts and comments. Never thought about the gum stains adding character. I like that.


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(I'd be more bothered by the giant ink mark someone drew on your card):D

[emoji23]


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Those little stock imperfections are part of the charm of collecting 1970s Topps. I do agree that 1973 baseball was a particularly bad year for card stock. Finding clean, crisp 1973s is a major undertaking. I looked at thousands at the National and only added these:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...ize/img730.jpg

The McLain is one I am particularly happy with; mine was crappy. The centering reminds me of pack busting as a kid.

Nice cards. The 73 set is super tough for a couple of reasons. The card stock is terrible and the back centering is absolutely all over the place. Even so, I still really like the set as it was the first year I bought cards.


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Haha...yes....this was the first set I collected seriously as a kid. I remember getting frustrated by poor centering and color focus...and bought a couple of series from Larry Fritsch..even those had its flaws and they came fresh out of vending cases. Now that this post popped up...I got to go pull my album and see how many of them still have the gum stains.

Ricky Y