1957 Topps Planes of the World Card # 118 Tu-31 Barge - Russian Bomber (VG/EX)
1950s Entertainment Trading Cards
Part of a big surge in Topps entertainment releases, the 1950s Entertainment Trading Cards offer a strong mix of non-sport choices.
1957 Topps Planes (R707-2) Trading Card Set
Following in the footsteps of their popular “Wings … Friend or Foe” airplane trading cards, Topps introduced a new series of 60 “Planes of the World” … aka “Planes” airplane trading cards in the Spring of 1957. This initial series was consecutively numbered from 1 to 60. A second series of 60 cards quickly followed during the summer of 1957. The second series of cards were numbered from 61 to 120.
This series of airplane cards is most commonly known as “Topps Planes,” however the real title of the series is “Planes of the World.” The colored artwork of the card fronts depicted planes, dirigibles, and helicopters, with the name of the aircraft and one line of description located in a small yellow panel inside the picture area. The card number, data table, text, and a “Junior Skywatcher Quiz”; are printed on the back. A Public Service ad, “Earn Your Wings … Join The Ground Observer Corps,” sits at the very bottom of each card.

There has been much discussion about the detail differences found in this set. The most important of these is the color of accents on the gray stocks backs: Blue and Red.

Every card in the series is found in both colors. The most likely reason for the variations in colors was that Topps had recently bought Bowman Gum and decided to test out their newly acquired equipment by printing the Planes set in one color with their old printing presses, and in another color with Bowman’s printing presses, using Bowman’s cardboard, ink, and gum. This speculation is made more plausible by the fact that the Planes checklist comes with advertising lines for both Bazooka and Blony gum, the latter being Bowman’s brand.

At any rate, “Blue-Back” cards are twice as numerous as their “Red-Back” counterparts, and the second series of both cards is harder to find in the first. In addition, Card No. 9 appears on many want lists, and is considered the “key” to completing the set. The American Card Catalog reference number for the set is: “R707-2”.

There were two versions of the R707-2 “Checklist” cards: (1) The “Bazooka … Young America’s Favorite Bubble Gum,” checklist card, and (2) the “Big Blony America’s Longest Chew” checklist card. The two checklist cards are identical on both sides except for the brand names.

There were two different wrappers and two different display boxes associated with the series. The 1¢ wrapper is made of wax paper and has red, white and blue planes repeated on alternating red and yellow bands. The 5¢ wax wrapper is yellow and green with a single red, white and blue in the center. The 1¢ and 5¢ retail display boxes colors are presented in a mixture of blue, yellow, red and white.

How We Grade:

Gem Mint (GMT): (10.0) A flawless card. To be in Gem Mint condition, a card’s borders must have a ratio of 50/50 side to side and top to bottom.
Mint (MT): (9.0-9.5) A perfect card. Well-centered with parallel borders which appear equal to the naked eye. Four sharp, square corners. No creases, edge dents, surface scratches, paper flaws, loss of luster, yellowing or fading, regardless of age. No imperfectly printed cards – out of register, badly cut or ink flawed – or card stained by contact with gum, wax or other substances can be considered truly Mint, even if new out of the pack. Generally, to be considered in Mint condition, a card’s borders must exist in a ratio of 60/40 side to side and top to bottom.
Near Mint/Mint (NM/MT): (8.0-8.5) A super high-end card that appears Mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may exhibit a very slight wax stain on reverse, slight fraying at one or two corners, or a minor printing imperfection. Centering must be app. 65/35 to 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.
Near Mint (NM): (7.0-7.5) A nearly perfect card at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may have slight surface wear, slight fraying on some corners, slightly out-of-register picture focus, a minor printing blemish or slight wax stain on reverse. Centering must be 70/30 to 75/25 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.
Excellent/Near Mint (EX/NM): (6.0-6.5) Card may have visible surface wear or a printing defect. A very light scratch. Corners may have slightly graduated fraying. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. Card may have minor wax stain on reverse, may have very slight nothing on edges. Centering must be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.
Excellent (EX): (5.0-5.5) Corners are still fairly sharp with only moderate wear. Card borders may be off center as much as 85/15. No creases. May have very minor gum, wax or product stains, front or back. Surfaces may show slight loss of luster from rubbing across other cards. Dark bordered cards may have one or two small nicks.
Very Good/Excellent (VG/EX): (4.0-4.5) Shows obvious handling, but still looks nice. Corners may be rounded or have minor creases. No major creases, tape marks or extraneous markings or writing. Surfaces does exhibit loss of luster, but the printing is intact. May have paper wrinkles. May show major gum, wax or other packaging stains. All four borders visible, though the ratio may be as poor as 95/5. Exhibits honest wear.
Very Good (VG): (3.0-3.5) A well-worn card, but exhibits no intentional damage or abuse. May be “Mis-cut or Off-Center” with no border visible. May have major or multiple creases, however, creases are not so deep as to show the underlying paper. This card is completely readable, has not been written on, and has no tape marks or holes. Corner rounding may extend well beyond the border.
Good (GD) (2.0-2.5) Shows excessive wear, along with damage or abuse. Will show all the wear characteristics of a Very Good card, along with such damage as thumb tack holes in or near margins, evidence of having been taped or pasted, perhaps small tears around the edges or creases so heavily as to break the cardboard. Backs may show minor added pen or pencil writing or be missing small bits of paper. Still basically a complete card.

Poor (P): (1.0-1.5) A card that has been tortured to death. Corners or other areas may be torn off. Card may have been trimmed, show holes from a paper punch or have been used for BB gun practice. Front may have extraneous pen or pencil writing, or other defacement. Major portions of front or back design may be missing. Not a pretty sight.
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