In addition to being the largest Topps issue at the time (598 cards), the 1962 Topps set is known for condition challenges. The wood-grain look borders show even the smallest amount of wear. Centering in the early 60’s was often hit and miss. Scuffing is apparent on cards with dark backgrounds. For collectors of high grade sets, it’s beneficial to know just which cards are the most difficult to find.
Here is the third part of a seven-part series on 1960’s Topps baseball high numbers in which we provide a list of the cards that have had the fewest number of NM-MT, Mint and Gem Mint grades assigned by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and a list of the high numbers with the fewest total graded cards.
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The focus is on the commons and minor stars and the idea is to help those building sets of graded and non-graded common cards to see which might be harder to find and worth picking up. Below are lists ranking the 20 1962 Topps high number commons that have the fewest high grade examples according to the PSA Population Report.
The total number of PSA 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5 and 10 cards graded vs. the total quantity of graded cards gives us the percentage that shows us that single printed card of Hoyt Wilhelm, #545 has the fewest cards graded 8-10 compared to the total number of that card examined by PSA graders.
Not that many lower grade examples of common cards in any vintage set are submitted because they aren't worth much, but the charts below still offer some insight as to just exactly how difficult some of the high numbers are, especially the numerous single prints in the 1962 Topps series.
The second chart offers a list of the fewest total cards graded (A-10) in the high number series as of April 21. It’s sort of a top 20 list of the cards that might be worth buying in any condition since collector demand may be higher than the available number of cards in the market at any one time.
Percentage of 1962 Topps high numbers (#523-598) graded PSA 8-10
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Rank Card No. Name Percentage
1 545 Hoyt Wilhelm 26.94
2 575 Red Schoendienst 27.48
3 579 Jim Schaffer 34.66
4 590 Curt Flood 34.72
5 570 Bill Stafford 38.22
6 555 John Buzhardt 38.41
7 533 Charley Lau 38.42
8 549 Bill Rigney 39.01
9 524 Howie Nunn 39.16
10 542 Dave Philley 40.00
11 543 Bob Allen 41.63
12 589 Bob Turley 42.60
13 523 Russ Nixon 44.79
14 561 Gene Oliver 45.16
15 554 Image may be NSFW.
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Bubba Morton 45.89
16 587 Frank Funk 46.23
17 527 Dick McAuliffe 47.09
18 529 John Schaive 47.28
19 571 Billy Klaus 48.02
20 531 Bobby G. Smith 48.89
Cards 523-598 (1962 Topps)
Fewest total number of all 1962 Topps high numbers Graded A - 10
Rank Card No. Name Total
1 555 John Buzhardt 151
2 524 Howie Nunn 166
3 528 Turk Lown 173
4 579 Jim Schaffer 176
5 531 Bobby G. Smith 180
6 549 Bill Rigney 182Image may be NSFW.
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7 529 John Schaive 184
8 533 Charley Lau 190
9 570 Bill Stafford 191
10 523 Russ Nixon 192
11 525 George Thomas 197
12 576 Russ Kemmerer 198
13 569 Ed Sadowski 201
14 550 Art Mahaffey 201
15 571 Billy Klaus 202
16 577 Dave Nicholson 204
17 527 Dick Mcauliffe 206
18 540 Jim Landis 207
19 554 Bubba Morton 207
20 532 Dick Stigman 208
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  1962 Topps 595 Rookie Parade Infielders PSA 6 EX MT SP $1.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 1d 14h 11m |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  1962 TOPPS CHUCK ESTRADA SP 560 PSA 7 $21.85 Time Remaining: 1d 23h 34m Buy It Now for only: $21.85 |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  1962 Topps Gene Oliver 561 SP PSA Graded 9 Mint No Qualifiers Cardinals POP 11 $159.99 Time Remaining: 2d 18h 6m Buy It Now for only: $159.99 |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  1962 Topps Baseball 566 Marty Kutyna High SP PSA 7 03770 $29.99 Time Remaining: 2d 18h 57m Buy It Now for only: $29.99 |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  1962 Topps 534 Tony Gonzalez PSA 8 NM MT OF Philadelphia SP Hi $30.99 Time Remaining: 2d 22h 6m |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  1962 Topps 546 Moe Thacker PSA 8 NM MT Catcher Chicago Cubs SP Hi $30.99 Time Remaining: 2d 22h 6m |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  1962 TOPPS DEAN STONE SP 574 PSA 7 $20.85 Time Remaining: 2d 23h 49m Buy It Now for only: $20.85 |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  1962 TOPPS JIM SCHAEFFER SP 579 PSA 7 $24.85 Time Remaining: 2d 23h 49m Buy It Now for only: $24.85 |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  1962 TOPPS LARRY OSBORNE SP 583 PSA 7 $15.85 Time Remaining: 2d 23h 49m Buy It Now for only: $15.85 |