A Newfound Appreciation

In between my purchases at The National in Chicago earlier this month, I had time to stroll around the show floor, glancing through the display cases that held unbelievable cards.

Don't get me wrong, the modern cards intrigued me quite a bit. I saw around a dozen Wander Franco 1st Bowman autos together in 1 case, a Benintendi superfractor rookie card from 2017 Topps Chrome, and Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero dual autographed booklet (both on the Expos), just to name some of the highlights.

However, my eyes were primarily drawn to the display cases of graded vintage cards that I so frequently looked at during my time at the show. Most of the cards didn't even have price tags, so I knew they weren't in my budget whatsoever.

Nonetheless, just seeing Mickey Mantle rookie cards in-person is a memorable experience in its own right.

Out of all the vintage sets, I found myself taking notice of 1953 Topps more and more. Solely because of how old the product is, I've never been able to familiarize myself with these beautiful cards. In fact, I only began appreciating the set when Topps Living was released last year.

The checklist is incredibly small (280 cards), but when you take into account cards like Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, and Satchel Paige (whose name Topps spelled incorrectly in the '01 Archives card above), it would be nearly impossible to complete.

'53 Topps has often been viewed as an over-used Flagship set, and I guess I can't really disagree with that argument. For starters, Topps paid tribute to this iconic design in the early 90s with an all-1953 Topps Archives set, the first installment in a series that would be revived twice more.

I'm not overly familiar with this release, but I have enough cards to know that Topps didn't do that good of a job recreating their 2nd Flagship set. The original 1953 Topps Cubs cards had a black banner like the 1st card, not red like Roy Smalley's. Not to mention, the cardstock was nothing like it was in '51.

Not only do I not have a single original '53 card, but I'd also be surprised if I had more than 3 cards from the 2002 Topps Heritage set that's modeled after the original set. 

Given that 2002 Topps Heritage hobby boxes are going for $150 on eBay, I don't think I'll be seeing many cards from that set anytime soon. In fact, the closest I've gotten to authentic 1953 Topps cards is thanks to 2016 Topps Archives. 

Still, like the previously mentioned Archives release, they didn't do the greatest job recreating the set. I realize nothing can beat the original, but this card stock was just far too thin, and the checklist wasn't that great either.

Topps Living is likely the closest I'll get to the real thing, but the cards are too pricy ($8 for 1 or $15 for 3) for me to purchase on the Topps website. I never really think to buy them on eBay afterward, and they never seem to turn up at the Baseball card show either.

Last year, I used an eBay coupon to purchase my 1st Topps Living card for around 70 cents. I chose Clemente because, as a retired player, his card was actually cheaper than that of modern guys, especially rookies.

Speaking of rookie cards, I should've just gone for it and purchased Fernando Tatis Jr's card when it was first listed on the Topps website. After all, he's easily my favorite rookie of 2019, so I might just pick one up of eBay when I have the chance.

Although I have this newfound appreciation for 1953 Topps, I don't have many means of acquiring original or reprinted cards from this beautiful set. I may just start buying individual cards if I have the opportunity to do so at the Baseball card show.

I likely won't be trying to complete the set or anything. I just want to get my hands on this gorgeous set.