1991 Topps Double Front (Glossy/Matte)

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Zach Wheat

I think this fits with a lot of what was going on at Topps at the time. I think the 1991 Topps sets will be viewed as one of the seminal sets of the modern era. I believe the 1991 set marks a year when Topps was experimenting with a number of items regarding new production methods....experimenting with both cello and wax distribution methods (packs can be found in both wax and cello)......dispensing of the bubble gum...printing fronts on the new clay coated shiny paper fronts (over chipboard stock)....using UV brighteners in the red ink (see previous 1991 Desert Shield discussions) and experimented with distribution of the set in both cello and wax packs

As we have noted before the 1991 Topps set can be found with the most errors and variations when compared to most other modern sets. Curiously the 1991 Desert Shield set has no known variations....only print and ink variations.

Z

I am sure the UV brightener was not added to the red ink on the card backs but applied in a separate layer before the red ink. The brightener was a transparent yellow in color. I had a Nolan Ryan with just the UV brightener layer applied to the back. I started a thread about the card here on Net54.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by bnorth

I am sure the UV brightener was not added to the red ink on the card backs but applied in a separate layer before the red ink. The brightener was a transparent yellow in color. I had a Nolan Ryan with just the UV brightener layer applied to the back. I started a thread about the card here on Net54.

Some how I missed that thread!

sounds fascinating.

Now I have to look for some with a registration issue so both show.
Maybe some of the dark logo cards that aren't consistently dark are from problems getting one to print over the other?

Steve B

[GasHouseGang]

Sounds like Topps was experimenting with that sheet. Maybe the reason you see the cropping differences is because they didn't like the cropping, modified something on the sheet, and ran the scrap through the press again. This wouldn't be unusual, except that they usually don't let that sort of thing out the door with the newer cards. However, I remember reading about people reporting they found sheets of 1960s Topps cards used in the walls of their house as insulation as well as the printing plates. There used to be a fair amount of dumpster diving in the old days when these sorts of things would turn up.

[bn2cardz]

The lady I bought the original one from stated she thought she had seen another but couldn't remember which box it was in. She has now found it and sold it to me. So there are now at least two.

These are the images she provided me (front and back), but you can still see slight cropping differences.




I do agree that this may have been an early run to test image cropping prior to release and just ran both sides of the sheet for cost savings.

I believe her husband must have set up at shows, so maybe some of the non common players have been sold and are in other people's private collections. It will be interesting to see if any more pop up over time.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

The lady I bought the original one from stated she thought she had seen another but couldn't remember which box it was in. She has now found it and sold it to me. So there are now at least two.

These are the images she provided me (front and back), but you can still see slight cropping differences.




I do agree that this may have been an early run to test image cropping prior to release and just ran both sides of the sheet for cost savings.

I believe her husband must have set up at shows, so maybe some of the non common players have been sold and are in other people's private collections. It will be interesting to see if any more pop up over time.

Nice. I wonder how many similar cards or cards with other variations we will find.

[bn2cardz]

I tried to get these graded by PSA. The rest of my order Popped, but these show "N9: NOT GRADED Factory Mis-Print, No Grade". This surprised me.

Does anyone know if these types of issues are graded by BGS or SGC?

[JustinD]

Psa rarely grades proofs, which I would lean more to these being than a printing error for sure.

You might have better luck with Beckett.