1968 Topps Johnny Bench Rookie, variation or printing flaw error?

ALR-bishop · #1 01-13-2015, 09:23 AM

This card is a great example of why it is so hard to define a variation versus a recurring print defect. Was this a printing error that was discovered and intentionally corrected, or was it just a recurring print defect that went unnoticed for a period of time during print runs, like the 58 Herrer or 57 Bakep. Or does it even matter ? If it does not matter then is any recurring print defect a variation ?

curtis-cards · #2 01-13-2015, 07:27 PM

Interesting...I'll have to look at mine

deweyinthehall · #3 09-04-2021, 06:05 PM

Picking up this thread from 6 years ago - I suppose the basic question for many (myself included) is this: did Topps accidentally send this card to the presses with the word "the" misspelled with an "n", or was there something blocking the black ink on a series of runs which resulted in a chopped off "h" which looks like an "n"? I tend to think a misspelling like this would be very unusual.

Any thoughts?

jchcollins · #4 09-08-2021, 06:45 AM

I've seen this generally accepted as a variation for some time now. To my knowledge one is not worth more than the other. This kind of thing if you are paying attention was incredibly common with 1960's Topps cards. The QC process just wasn't what it is today.

JollyElm · #5 09-08-2021, 03:30 PM

I recently posted one of the Bench variations I have for sale or trade, so I decided to see what I could determine from zooming in on the back scan.

I copied and pasted an actual 'n' from elsewhere on the card and placed it next to the bastardized 'h' for the sake of comparison, and it seems pretty straight-forward that the two letters are not both lower case n's...

1968benchbackcomp.jpg

Something must have simply blocked the ink meant for the h's ascender (look at my typographic knowledge!!), as the rounded nub above the X-height isn't a match for what appears on an 'n.' It looks like a sheared off 'h.'

ALR-bishop · #6 09-08-2021, 07:27 PM

There seems to be no shortage of the misprints, anyone know if this card was a DP.

Kevvyg1026 · #7 09-10-2021, 08:04 AM

The Bench card was issued in the 3rd series printing. This series has 88 cards, printed 3x each (197 to 283, plus another copy of check 3 (#192)), across the 264 card sheet. In 1968, Topps used a pattern of 8 different rows with each row having 11 cards and the 8 rows repeating across the two half-sheets (or slits). Thus, one slit, containing 132 cards will have two Bench cards, while the other will have one Bench card.

So there are no SPs or DPs in this printing. However, I do not know the locations of the Bench card on the sheet.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
**CLOSED*NRMT 1968 Johnny Bench Rookie - Ends Weds 11/5	wolf441	Live Auctions - Only 2-3 open, per member, at once.	5	11-05-2014 02:28 PM
f/s: 1968 topps johnny bench rookie psa 6	chaddurbin	1950 to 1959 Baseball cards- B/S/T	1	09-11-2012 05:13 PM
For Sale : 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle NM-MT / 1968 Johnny Bench NM-MT (Both cards Sold)	svtPONY95	1950 to 1959 Baseball cards- B/S/T	2	01-27-2012 02:07 PM
FS: 1968 Topps Johnny Bench Rookie	Jaybird	1950 to 1959 Baseball cards- B/S/T	0	11-01-2011 01:50 PM
1968 Topps Johnny Bench Rookie PSA 9(oc) ----SOLD	Archive	1950 to 1959 Baseball cards- B/S/T	0	02-15-2008 10:04 AM