View Single Post
  #1  
Old 01-24-2023, 12:54 PM
skelly423 skelly423 is offline
Se@n Kel.ly
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 603
Default 1952 Topps Mays vs 1953 Topps Mays - why the price gap

Like many (most) of you, I spend an unhealthy portion of my time thinking about the baseball card hobby, either looking for inefficiencies, or trying to rationalize things that just don't make sense to me.

One price gap that seems to defy explanation is the difference between the 1952 Topps Willie Mays and the 1953 Topps Willie Mays. In all grades, the 1952 sells for substantially more money than the 1953, yet the graded population shows the 1953 is the scarcer of the two cards, by a notable margin (PSA Pop 2755 1952s vs PSA Pop 2345 1953s).

I'm aware of the iconic status of the 1952 set, but 1953 Topps isn't exactly junk wax. The 1953 Mays is a short printed high number, whereas the 1952 is part of the low numbered common series. Visually speaking they're both striking in their own ways, and in my opinion neither is an ugly card. Neither is a rookie card, and they're obviously both early career cards.

Why does the 1952 Willie Mays routinely sell for double or triple the 1953 version in the same grade? Is the cache of the 1952 set so high that the difference can be attributed to that alone?
Reply With Quote