THE GIMMICK
Early on, the backs of these cards were more important
than the fronts. While the fronts feature great artwork and
design, the backs are ugly. Orange is the color of choice with
printing in white. Small shields enclose card numbers at the
top left, followed by the name and a brief biography of the
pictured person. At the bottom of each card back is a trivia
question. Answers are revealed only by covering the card wth
a red cellophane strip included in every card pack.
THE FORMAT
Card fronts are almost identical to the 1952 Topps baseball
set. Striking portraits are bordered in white with the subject’s
name below in a white rectangular box bordered in gold.
Each name is accompanied by a small emblem that indicates
the person’s role in life. For example, Harry Truman’s seal is a
presidential eagle, Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s is a cannon, and
Cochise has a western wagon. Measuring 2 1/16"-by-2 15/16",
the cards are smaller than their baseball counterparts (2 5/8"-
by-3 1/4") and today’s standard (2 1/2"-by-3 1/3").
THE PEOPLE
The 135 personalities portrayed run the gamut from “A”
(explorer Roald Amundsen) to “Z” (writer Emile Zola) and
their lives span more than two millennium (from Julius
Caesar’s birth in 100 B.C. to the reign of England’s Queen
Elizabeth II which continues to this day). It must be a strong
assemblage when cards picturing Albert Einstein and Winston
Churchill are classified as “commons.”
SHORT PRINTS
The set was produced in two series (1-75 and 76-135)
and several of the second group have been identified as short
prints. The key was the surfacing of an uncut sheet of series
two cards. The way the cards were laid out on the sheet, it
appeared that the nine in the bottom row are short prints
(cards #82, 84, 88, 98, 101, 112, 118, 130, 133). It has become
generally accepted that card #82 of Dutch artist Rembrandt is
the scarcest and prices attached to it have soared, sometimes
passed “Ruthian” proportions.)
CURRENT PRICES
Professional grading is the tide that has raised a boatful
of card values. PSA lists the value (pristine condition) of the
#15 Ruth in the $1,500 range and the #82 Rembrandt card at
$4,000. The winning bid at auction for a 1¢ wrapper and a 5¢
display box was $1,208 in 2004, one of the few exchanges of
boxes. Ungraded cards are slotted much lower — $900 for a
full set of 135, $200 for Babe Ruth, $15 for commons in the
first series and $10 in the second. NSU
Have a Look
24 Non-Sport Update