Along with the T206 and 1933 Goudey sets, the 1952 Topps issue is one of the most desirable, valuable, and timeless sets in the hobby. Ushering the golden era of collecting, the set was the largest of its time, both in number and in card size. The issue was the first to include col- or team logos, and the first to include stats from the previous season as well as the player’s career. Additionally, the set was issued in series, with the second series (#311-407) considered by many to be among the toughest “high numbers” of all the Topps issues. The set included popular and highly sought-after early cards from Willie Mays, Eddie Mathews and, of course, Mickey Mantle. Even today, it is considered one of the most beautiful baseball card sets ever issued. Presented here is a near-complete 1952 Topps set, missing just the cards of Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays for com- pletion. Those three cards are being offered as single cards elsewhere in this auction. Assembled card-by-card by an advanced collector, the set is, of course, the key to a large run of Topps sets being offered in this auction. The majority of the cards are collector-grade examples, though there are several higher-grade examples included. A total of 61 cards have been graded; those cards tend to be among the higher grade cards in the set. A condition breakdown of the graded cards is as follows: SGC NM+ 7.5 (1 card): #81 PSA NM 7 (2 cards): #97, #101; PSA EX-MT+ 6.5 (1 card): #282, PSA EX-MT 6 (3 cards): #102, #111, #389; PSA EX-MT 6Q (1 card): #179, PSA EX 5 (11 cards): #22, #26 Irvin, #59, #65 Slaughter, #105, #309, #318, #372, #376, #400 Dick- ey, #404; SGC EX 5 (1 card): #31 PSA VG-EX+ 4.5 (4 cards): #315 Campanella, #346, #384, #394 Herman; PSA VG-EX 4 (17 cards): #36 Hodges, #66, #88 Feller, #91 Schoendienst, #129 Mize, #195 Minoso, #245 Doby, #285, #317, #328, #355, #358, #380, #385, #386, #390, #402; SGC VG/EX 4 (6 cards): #332, #340, #344, #349, #374, #395; PSA VG 3 (6 cards): #37 Snider, #313, #333 Reese, #337, #377 #382; SGC VG 3 (5 cards): #319, #342, #364, #369, #396; PSA GOOD 2 (1 card): #33 Spahn; SGC GOOD 2 (2 cards): #392 Wilhelm, #407 Mathews. A complete condition breakdown of the collection in its entirety would be 2% EX/MT or better, 5% EX, 12% VG/EX, 21% VG, 31% GOOD, 25% FAIR, and 4% POOR. The remaining ungraded keys would grade as follows: #1 Pafko (P), #11 Rizzuto (F), #175 Martin (F), #191 Berra (F), #216 Ashburn (VG), #246 Kell (G), #268 Lemon (G), #277 Wynn (F), #315 Durocher (F). Easily the most important of all postwar baseball card sets, a nearly-complete grouping with a large number of graded cards, missing just three cards for completion. 404 cards total. 16. 1952 Topps Near-Complete Set (404/407)
MINIMUM BID: $4,000
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