Wednesday, May 2, 2018

My Only Buyback

I love to collect.  If you're reading this you probably do too.  I'm also fascinated by the astounding variety of  things people collect.  Even in our own community I'm intrigued by the different ways we build our collections.  I'm guessing a simple idea from Topps has gone beyond what they would have envisioned.  I'm speaking of "buybacks".  Beyond adding to player and team collections some of you are building entire single year sets, and some the aptly named, "frankensets".

All that being said, I don't really fall into any of those groups.  I've owned just two buybacks.  The first, pulled from a pack, now resides in slot 530 in Shoebox Legends' Frankenset.

This is the second.  I bought it in on ebay in 2012 for about 5 bucks.  I honestly don't recall my thinking at the time.  I have no interest in collecting all of the Ron Santo buyback versions.  I guess I wanted this one because of it's unusual nature.  Most of you are familiar with it.  Poor Don Landrum got gypped out of having his image on a card in 1963 and All-Star Ron Santo got a bonus card.  (Don does appear on a Post cereal card.)  I've never read (or have forgotten) the story behind this card.  I'm also not aware of a similar mix-up aside from the 1969 Topps #653 Aurelio Rodriguez/batboy card.  In that case no player ended up with his photo on two cards.   
 Here's Ron's official card.

What are your thoughts on buyback cards?  If you collect them, how do they fit into your collection?

Thanks for stopping by.

7 comments:

  1. Cool card! And I bet you couldn't pick that one up for $5 in 2018, as there are a lot more buyback collectors now than back in 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very cool buyback! I agree with Jon, over the years I’ve seen the demand for buybacks actually increase quite a bit. I’ve seen star players from this year’s Heritage buyback release go for over $100 on eBay, for example. Crazy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting, I wasn't aware of this error.

    I don't seek out buybacks, but if I come across for cheap or through a trade, they'll find a place in my collection.

    ReplyDelete
  4. At least 1 other case, Topps messed up a Cubs' card. In 1966, Dick Ellsworth's card showed the 2-years-deceased Ken Hubbs on the front.

    Also, Don Landrum may have been slighted in the 1963 set, but I think there were 3 versions of his card in the 1966 set - all with variations of his fly being undone!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Buybacks are okay, but I've never sought them out. A few of them do reside in my Cubs FrankenSet because they are a little quirky.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Never heard about this card. Very cool. As for buybacks, I enjoy them and will pick them up in quarter bins. I'd consider spending more if it was a key rookie card or something.

    ReplyDelete