I have spent a great deal of time with the 75 Minis in the past few years, and I can share the following info:
1. The # of PSA graded minis is around 1/3rd that of the 75 Regulars. That doesn't mean 1:3 is the relative scarcity, as numerous other factors could drive that, but it is a data point.
2. A number of mini cards were notoriously printed short from top to bottom. These are the yellow/green borders and the yellow/red border cards. More often than not, these cards are found factory short from top to bottom. And as such, it is much harder to find these cards full size and in top condition. These are all located at the top and/or bottom (I think) of the sheets. Minis are officially said to be 3 and 1/8th inch from top to bottom (3.125 inches), but they tend to be closer to 3.15ish inches at full length. Some of the factory shorts are barely short and other are very short. It speaks to the lack of QC with this test issue.
3. These cards also suffer from color bleed / ink quality issues.
4. You actually mentioned some of these factory shorts in your original post. Giutsi, Taveras, Alou, and Washington. These are amongst the most difficult cards to find in top condition.
5. Other notoriously tough cards in this group include: Frank Tanana, Sal Bando, Tommy Davis, Dan Driessen. There are dozens of others.
6. The highest profile players among the short cuts are Bob Gibson and Mike Schmidt. The Gibby also has color bleed issues.
7. Minis also suffer from poor centering and diamond cuts. The Hank Aaron #1 is very condition sensitive due to the dark borders and it's position atop the set. This baby got handled a lot! The Nolan Ryan #500 is no picnic either as it was on the left side of the sheet and suffers from centering issues. Brett and Young have low average grades, but I believe this is because they more people want them slabbed than the others. The checklists are tough as well, especially #646, as are the Highlight Cards.
I have a list of every mini card in a sortable pivotable spreadsheet that shows the distribution of PSA grades for each one. For some of the reasons above, and the fact that the 75 set is so iconic, this set has attracted a lot of interest among serious collectors. It is right up there with 71 Topps as one of the most condition-sensitive issues in the entire catalogue.
There are a ton of minis out there, since 1975 wasn't that long ago, but they are scarcer than their full-sized counterparts, and it is difficult to find truly elite copies.
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05-18-2024, 05:13 PM
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