Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Keep or toss?

Beauty is on the eye of the beholder. We've all heard that, but how does that apply to baseball cards. I could provide various examples of cards that others despise aesthetically, but others enjoy. Some people think 1961 Topps is plain and boring, but I like the clean look. Many collectors poo-poo the early attempts  of Donruss because of the photo quality, but I think it gives it character. 1990 Donruss and 1991 Fleer battle it out repeatedly for the worst set design of all-time on various Twitter polls. I bought packs and boxes of box sets as a 9 and 10 year old and they will always have a special place in my heart.

Aside from the design, there are certain things that can diminish the look of a card. With social media, we've probably all seen videos of athletes signing their cards for Topps and tossing them all over the place, which can lead to damaged goods. Pack searchers have also been known to damage cards in the retail environment. There are various printing and packing issues create imperfections that can "ruin" a card. Today I want to talk about miscut cards. Not just off centered, but truly miscut. You don't see them all that often and I don't recall ever being a huge fan. In fact, I think I probably just tossed them most of the time.  But in one of the collections I bought last year I came across a few 1989 Topps cards that were severely miscut and I decided to keep them. 


Then I saw this 1964 Topps card at a card shop a few months ago and noticed the partial numbering on the  left hand side of the card. It must have been on the far edge of the printing sheet. Again, not something you see everyday, so I decided to pick it up.


What do you do with your miscut cards? Save or toss?

4 comments:

  1. I always save any miscut I come across. They're so unique.

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  2. JediJeff collects these - I've traded to him most of the miscuts I come across.

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  3. I never throw any cards away unless they are completely ruined. I still have just about all of the miscut cards I've ever acquired but I'd be really glad to trade them away. I have some 1969 Topps cards with the partial numbering in the border. But I have not seen any partial numbering in the border on any cards produced after 1969.

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  4. If they're 1989 Topps commons... I use them in my bicycle spokes. If it's a vintage card, then I classify it as a card with character and add it to my Damaged Card PC.

    P.S. I didn't like 1991 Fleer back in 1991... but I like it now. Some of the photography in that set is top notch.

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