Maybe the 52 Topps Highs did get dumped?

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by toppcat

Irv, sorry that may have come off as vitriolic which was not my intention.

Its hard not to when you are the first person, everytime, to say the prices on highs were a marketing ploy from day one, and they aren't scarce. The whole community, if not 95% of those working on the set, would wholeheartedly disagree. Opinions are fine to have, but this isnt rhe first time you've jumped at the chance to discredit the story and scarcity of the high numbers.

[ALR-bishop]

I am of the opinion the 52 gray back Reisner is not scarce

[pclpads]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

I am of the opinion the 52 gray back Reisner is not scarce

But, it is probably more scarce than the 52 gray back Reiser.

[irv]

Originally Posted by toppcat

Irv, sorry that may have come off as vitriolic which was not my intention. Sy got a lot of stuff wrong over the years, such as as the "taffy" going bad with the 51's, which I'm pretty sure was just PR spin to avoid saying they got shut down by Bowman. Why he continued to weave such tales well beyond the need to do so is beyond me. Most of the hobby lore surrounding the pre-1981 era of Topps is fabricated or hopelessly incorrect.

I wasn't thinking that, Toppcat, and sorry if you thought my reply was alluding to that.

I know very little about all the stories over the years and in my quest to learn more, I have found it a daunting task as so many stories exist that seem to dispel the previous ones.

Watching this video, and the fact it is from Sy Berger, I immediately assumed it was correct and truthful, but reading your reply, and others, I have learned, once again, never to assume anything.

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

Its hard not to when you are the first person, everytime, to say the prices on highs were a marketing ploy from day one, and they aren't scarce. The whole community, if not 95% of those working on the set, would wholeheartedly disagree. Opinions are fine to have, but this isnt rhe first time you've jumped at the chance to discredit the story and scarcity of the high numbers.

Yeah, so?

[Cliff Bowman]

As far as being scarce, 1952 Topps high numbers are plentiful as being compared to many regional issues and Topps test issues. I agree that there is a huge demand for them which explains the high prices, but if someone has the money they could easily purchase every card from 311 to 407 in at least PSA 6, many of them in PSA 7 and PSA 8, on eBay today. I counted thirty cards of 1952 Topps Pee Wee Reese available on eBay right now. In comparison, the stuff I am looking for is never available, and when it does pop up once every five years it is scooped up by a whale.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by Cliff Bowman

As far as being scarce, 1952 Topps high numbers are plentiful as being compared to many regional issues and Topps test issues. I agree that there is a huge demand for them which explains the high prices, but if someone has the money they could easily purchase every card from 311 to 407 in at least PSA 6, many of them in PSA 7 and PSA 8, on eBay today. I counted thirty cards of 1952 Topps Pee Wee Reese available on eBay right now. In comparison, the stuff I am looking for is never available, and when it does pop up once every five years it is scooped up by a whale.

Cliff I agree the 52 hi #s are plentiful in comparison to many other of the lower pop issues you mention. As I have been building this set in PSA 5 or better and am about 80% complete, I have noticed that with many of the highs (and even cards from all series of this set), there are a decent selection available on ebay. However, the reason I find that so many are available are the fixed prices are significantly higher than what the market brings on a similar graded card via auction. For example a centered PSA 4 Reese sold for $566, the least expensive PSA 4 copy available via fixed price is priced at $699.

IMO, there would be far fewer fixed price offerings of these 52 Highs if the listed prices were much more in line with auction results. In other words, the supply is only high because these fixed prices are higher than what the market will bring on these cards. I probably would have finished my set long ago if the fixed price listings were even remotely close to auction prices as I have built my set to this point either via auction wins or by waiting for fixed priced listings to show up at auction type prices.


As far as overall availability, the Reese card has 558 copies graded by PSA (less any resubmits), while most other SP 52 highs have between 400-500 copies graded by PSA.