1959 Topps Baseball Card # 245 Ned Garver - Kansas City Athletics (VG/EX)

Baseball Cards

When it comes to card collecting, no other sport garners the same level of interest as baseball cards do. Created by tobacco manufacturers in the late 19th century to serve the dual purpose of both protecting and marketing their products, the baseball cards of the tobacco era were hardly thought of at the time to have any financial value. However the next 100+ years would see a radical change in that perception as in evolved into the $200 million industry that it is today.

Browse our eBay Store which features single cards of the greatest baseball players to ever play, as well as, Team Cards, Checklists and a mix of multi-player combo cards.

1950-1959 Baseball Cards

Other decades may have produced more valuable cards, but 1950s baseball cards are arguably the most iconic and sought after vintage cards in the entire hobby. At times, they seemed more like art than simply sports cards. Vivid colors and beautiful images filled checklists with names that now populate Cooperstown. As the country moved on after World War II, this would become the Renaissance period for baseball cards. A dominant figure throughout much of baseball card history, Topps released their first baseball product in 1951 and would not look back. While the later years of the 1950s and beyond were owned by Topps, they got a serious fight from Bowman in the early 1950s.

Although there are many great options from this decade, 1951 Bowman, 1952 Topps, and 1954 Topps have separated themselves from the pack. Top rookie card offering from this decade include Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Ernie Banks, Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Eddie Matthews, and Bob Gibson.

1959 Topps Baseball Cards

1959 Topps Baseball marked a time of change for a hobby still finding its way. Notable options include Mickey Mantle and the rookie card for Bob Gibson.

Product Details

Anchored by the rookie card for Bob Gibson and other key Hall of Fame cards, 1959 Topps Baseball offers a big change for vintage collectors in comparison to the previous releases. A new design, large checklist and a variety of subsets means that '59 Topps is as memorable as it is groundbreaking.

The 1959 Topps Baseball set was exceedingly large by the standards of the day, weighing in with an impressive 572 cards. This was the largest Topps set in existence when it was originally released. The continued expansion of their core baseball card set was made possible thanks to the lack of competition Topps faced following the buyout of Bowman. However, the Fleer Gum Company attempted to take a bite out Topps' market share when they snagged the exclusive rights to Ted Williams for the 1959 season.

The 1959 Topps Baseball design was quite the departure from the normal method of using a player image against a colored background with accompanying text. Instead, Topps used a modernized layout that features the player in a profile or full-length body pose. The player image is set inside a cut-out circle that showcases a colored bottom and top border area. The player's name is printed in a bold lowercase font and set at a slight angle on the top area of the card.

Finally, the bottom portion is reserved for the player's team name, logo and fielding position. The popular facsimile signature is written towards the bottom of the picture image, also at an angle. Combined, these elements helped to created the appearance that each 1959 Topps Baseball card is a matted, autographed photo.

The card backs, however, still utilize a more traditional layout, detailing each player's name, hometown, and biographical information as well as yearly and career statistics. A cartoon is employed to highlight a memorable moment event in the player's life or career. Admittedly, it is tough to view the color scheme on the back and not expect an image of Santa Claus to appear.

The 1959 Topps Baseball set size was able to be expanded by utilizing multiple subsets of themed cards. This includes The Sporting News Rookie Stars of 1959 (#116-146), Baseball Thrills (#461-470) and The Sporting News All-Stars (#551-572), as well as combo cards and team checklists.

Although the themed combo cards, team checklists and All-Star cards are carried over from previous releases, The Sporting News Rookie Stars of 1959 cards offer a new option to highlight young players. The majority of these Rookie Stars subset cards are official rookie cards are well, but the bigger RC names are found in the traditional base set. This includes George "Sparky" Anderson, Felipe Alou and Bob Gibson. Baseball Thrills covers notable events from the previous year.

The high-number series in 1959 Topps Baseball, card numbers 507-572, have the lowest print run of all the series in the set. While the low-number cards (#1-110) are a bit easier to find, these cards were also issued in smaller quantities, putting a premium on the key names like Mickey Mantle and Ford Frick. The MLB Commissioner at the time, Frick also enjoys an added boost as the first card in the set.

Given the new design, expanded checklist and new subsets, there were bound to be some mistakes in 1959 Topps Baseball. In fact, quite a few error cards made their way into the set. Several errors were corrected, resulting in multiple variations. However, most don't yield any premium. Warren Spahn and Haywood Sullivan actually have three different versions of their base cards.

One oddity about the 1959 set that often gets overlooked is the fact Topps manufactured a version of the set for the Venezuelan market. It contains only the first 196 cards and was printed on a lower-quality paper stock. Virtually identical to the main set, they can be distinguished based on the small printing/distribution info listed on the back. The 1960s would see Topps dive into the waters of test marketing rather aggressively and this appears to be one of the first forays into their well-documented test programs.

Collectors can also find three-card salesman ads that are basically un-cut panels. Fronts match the cards in the 1959 Topps Baseball set and the back includes an ad and the back design for either Nellie Fox or Ted Kluszewski.

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. 

We believe that all our listings are 100% Original and Authentic unless otherwise noted. They are all covered by a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, if for whatever reason you are not happy with your purchase we will exchange it, replace it, discount it or you can return it for a full refund.

Standard/Combined 1st Class Shipping via USPS is $3.95 for the first card and $0.15 for each additional card, with a max. of (40) items per invoice. Subject to change as postal rates continue to increase. Estimated delivery is 3-5 days. Subject to change as postal delivery schedules continue to increase. Please see shipping tab for current postage rates. All cards will ship in penny sleeves, top loaders, team bag & bubble wrap envelopes.

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