1991 Topps Double Front (Glossy/Matte)

[Rookiemonster]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

Correct, I only describe it as matte to state that the glossy finish has not been applied. That it is dull and flat.


My question is really if there are other double sided (picture of the player on each side) 1991 Topps out there. I am sorry if my use of the word matte confused anybody. I just wanted to point out that the finishing of a typical front was not used on the second side.

I would assume that other exist . Only because I doubt there's one lol. It's more likely that atleast on sheet was produced.did you pull this card ?

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

I would assume that other exist . Only because I doubt there's one lol. It's more likely that atleast on sheet was produced.did you pull this card ?

Just because they were produced doesn't mean they are in circulation today. This card came from a woman that sells a lot of error/scrap/test cards that her, now deceased, husband obtained from an employee of topps back when they were produced.

She states he would buy the employee beer and he would bring things to him that was meant to go to the dumpster. It is possible she will run across more, but she is still sorting through his cards. I do have reason to believe it is possible that not all the cards she thinks he obtained this way were actually obtained in this manner (though most probably were).

I was curious, though, if outside of this widows old collection if there were more out there.


I actually have obtained other neat items from her and just had stashed this with that collection. When I saw the thread about the 1991 Topps Oil Can Boyd variation I thought that with such a following by some for this set that maybe someone has seen other cards that were similar.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

Just because they were produced doesn't mean they are in circulation today. This card came from a woman that sells a lot of error/scrap/test cards that her, now deceased, husband obtained from an employee of topps back when they were produced.

She states he would buy the employee beer and he would bring things to him that was meant to go to the dumpster. It is possible she will run across more, but she is still sorting through his cards. I do have reason to believe it is possible that not all the cards she thinks he obtained this way were actually obtained in this manner (though most probably were).

I was curious, though, if outside of this widows old collection if there were more out there.


I actually have obtained other neat items from her and just had stashed this with that collection. When I saw the thread about the 1991 Topps Oil Can Boyd variation I thought that with such a following by some for this set that maybe someone has seen other cards that were similar.

Most of the really rare error stuff made it into the market just like you described. An employee stole it and sold it for extra $ or free beer. Topps also gave a lot of error sheets away to big costumers and has since the 80's that I know of. I have personally got many cards that way and know of other collectors that have done the same.

[Rich Klein]

I would love to see LexCat chip into this convo

[judsonhamlin]

Of course now I need to go through my Telfords to see if the cropping is a legit variation on the issued '91's.
This set is the biggest black hole of all time

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

Of course now I need to go through my Telfords to see if the cropping is a legit variation on the issued '91's.
This set is the biggest black hole of all time

If you have Barfields you should be sure to check those also. I am not a 1991 Topps expert. Even my cards from my childhood don't have many 91 Topps. That said both side's images are cropped differently than any incarnation of their corresponding topps cards (base, tiffany, and micro) I saw on COMC. I know COMC is a very small sampling, it would be interesting if the crop was different in the early press runs.

[Laxcat]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

I would love to see LexCat chip into this convo

I believe I have some uncut sheets that are a little screwy from 82-91. They are still tubed up from topps somewhere in storage. I might be able to get to them in the next few weeks.

It is interesting all of the "scrap" & variations that have been popping up on the market. '91 topps is still super popular for "junk" wax. '52's have been likened to the T206 of postwar. Does this new found popularity call for 1991 topps being called the '52's of junk era?

I still haven't opened the jumbo case that I found. I'm curious to see what, if any, variation can be found in it. I'm guessing it is very early print run but not sure.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

Just because they were produced doesn't mean they are in circulation today. This card came from a woman that sells a lot of error/scrap/test cards that her, now deceased, husband obtained from an employee of topps back when they were produced.

She states he would buy the employee beer and he would bring things to him that was meant to go to the dumpster. It is possible she will run across more, but she is still sorting through his cards. I do have reason to believe it is possible that not all the cards she thinks he obtained this way were actually obtained in this manner (though most probably were).

I was curious, though, if outside of this widows old collection if there were more out there.


I actually have obtained other neat items from her and just had stashed this with that collection. When I saw the thread about the 1991 Topps Oil Can Boyd variation I thought that with such a following by sopme for this set that maybe someone has seen other cards that were similar.

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 regarding experimentation with production/distribution/marketing for 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

[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.

[SikSyko]

Could be them testing the O-Pee-Chee cards. They had the same fronts of the Topps sey with the white cards stock bilingual backs.