Basestealer's Countdown: The Most Beautiful Topps Baseball Card Sets of All-Time

1955 Topps Baseball Set

History:

The 1955 Topps baseball card set is numerically the smallest set Topps has produced to date.  1955 was the final year Bowman (Topps' main competitor) issued a set (Topps purchased Bowman at the end of the year), and the competition was never more fierce than it was this year.  Bowman had made one final push to drive Topps out of business by purchasing many of Topps' major league contracts, thus reducing this set to a modest 206 cards.  In the end, Bowman's attempts failed, as despite the slim pickings this set had to offer, it yielded winfall profits for Topps and enabled the company to purchase the ailing Bowman giant and bury the competition for 3 decades to come.  Cards in this set were issued in 1 card penny wax packs, 6 card nickel wax packs, and 15 card cello packs.  Wax boxes contain 36 wax packs (as opposed to 24 packs in previous years).

Set Description:

Wow, there's so much to say about this gorgeous set, I'm not sure where to begin!  You might notice right off the bat that the 1955 issue is almost identical to the '54 issue with the player portraits and action shots (it is), but you will also notice that this year Topps used a horizontal layout (instead of the standard verticle orientation) for the very first time.  Unlike the '54 set, both the full length action shot and the player portrait are in full color, and with the bright and cheery backgrounds, this is one of Topps' most vibrant sets ever produced.  The 1956 Topps set (which didn't make it to my list of most beautiful sets) is almost identical to this issue, and perhaps this is because Topps could rest easy now that Bowman was out of the picture.  Cards in this small but fantastic set measure 2 5/8" x 3 3/4", and number from 1 to 210 (although only 206 cards were issued).  Cards #170, 186, 203, & 209 were never issued (last minute contract switches to Bowman).  Topps once again utilized a fascimile autograph on the front of the card, along with artfully drawn team logos.  This was the first year Topps had toyed with "subsets", and in 1955 two can be found (although they were sold seperately and not part of the regular issue set): 1955 Topps Double Header (66 cards), and 1955 Topps Test Stamps (21 cards). 

Key Cards:

This was the second year that Topps had omitted Mickey Mantle from the set (also absent in 1954) due to contractual obligations with Bowman.  For this reason, and because of the dismal set size, this is one of the most affordable 1950's sets to complete.  However, this set does house three key rookies that keep value and interest high: Roberto Clemente #164, Harmon Killebrew #124, and Sandy Koufax #123.  The Killebrew rookie, priced at just $250, is the one of most undervalued cards in this great set!  Other key cards in this set include Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, and Duke Snider. 

Scarcity:

The 1955 Topps set suffers from the same scarcity issues as other sets from the 50's, but they are definitately in more abundant supply than the '52 and '53 sets.  There is reliable information that Topps began discounting unsold product towards the end of the season, rather than simply discarding it as they had in previous years.  For this reason, cards are rather easy to come by today, albeit high grade examples are scarce.  Even though this set features white borders, the cards in this set tend to chip rather heavily due to the weird card stock used this year.  As with other 50's and 60's cards, this set wasn't well preserved by collectors at the time of it's release.

1955 Topps on eBay:

Now this is one set you can really complete with relative ease on eBay and without too much worry.  Obviously, avoid all second and third tier grading companies.  Any grading company other than PSA and BGS is risky, and any grading company other than PSA, BGS, SGC, and GAI is almost a sure-fire fraud.  Mid-grade examples of these cards are plentiful and (dare I say it) cheap when compared to other sets from this era.  I suggest anyone who wants to start a vintage 50's collection start with this great set.  Not only is it one of the most beautiful set designs of all-time, but it has 3 hot rookie cards, it's loaded with hall of famers, and lacking the Mantle it is affordable to complete!  I recently assembled a fair-good grade complete set of these for under $600, which is amazingly little more than Beckett values the complete "heritage" set that came out just 2 years ago. 

Fast Facts:

• The "high" series (cards 161-210) are much more difficult to obtain than cards 1-160. 
• Cards #170 (Stan Musial), 186 (Whitey Ford), 203 (Bob Feller), & 209 (Herb Score) which were never originally issued in 1955, have recently been re-issued by Topps and distributed at the National card show to "fill the gaps".  The set is considered complete without these additions.
• The "Test Stamps" issue in 1955 is identical the 1955 regular issue, except the cards are printed on paper with glue backs (as opposed to statistical information) and have perforated edges.  These are exceedingly scarce. 
• A quick way to distinguish the '55 set from the '56 set is that player names are printed on the bottom of the card in 1955, and at the top right of the card in 1956. 
• The Hank Aaron card #47 is an uncorrected error: Topps erroneously lists his birthdate as February 10th.