I still have four unopened boxes which I kept because of this promotion. Topps supposedly had gone into the market and had procured at least 3 of each card it had issued prior to 1991 for it's 40th anniversary celebration. The 51 sets were not included in the promo. For 52 to 56, and for any card with a then market value over $ 50 ( not sure how they determined that) they did not insert the actual card due to size or value, but rather had redemption/contest cards as inserts. I was always curious as to whether all the pre 1957 cards and value cards were redeemed.
You could also enter a contest through an insert card to win a grand prize which was a full Topps set run, or one of the complete sets in the run. The game cards said your odds of getting a older card in a pack was 1 in 1000.
The inserts say all redemptions had to be claimed prior to 4-1-92 and that unclaimed cards would not be awarded
There were 2 types of insert cards...Match The Stats and Instant Win Game. The Match The Stats involved a scratch off game for prizes. The Instant Win card involved a chance to win a prize based on the card itself, or a chance to enter a drawing for the Topps set run.
The Instant Win Game cards were sequentially numbered If anyone has any of these laying around, I need the following to complete a "set"
12411
12478
12545
Also, I like to collect variations, errors and print defects with my sets. In my opinion there are more variant cards involved in the 1991 set than any other Topps set.
Also in 1991 Topps offered a lot of other baseball products
Traded Set
Desert Shield Set
Box Panel Set
All Star Glossy Rookie Set
Glossy Rookies Set
East Coast National Reprints
Gallery Of Champions Aluminum, Bronze and Silver Sets
Golden Spike Award Card
Babe Ruth Set---from movie
The Garagiola business card
Super Stand Ups
53 Archives
Major League Debut Set
B Robinson Bronze card