Presented here is an exceptionally high-grade complete "master" set of 1961 Topps Baseball currently ranked #13 in the PSA Set Registry with an amazing 8.07 GPA and Set Rating. All 596 cards are present and graded by PSA, with just one card below NM-MT 8 (Ron Fairly #492). A home run for any esteemed collector, this incredibly deep, star-studded set includes three solo versions (base, MVP and All-Star) of Roger Maris, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays and, of course, Mickey Mantle.
In addition to the 587 cards in the basic set, this master set has all nine variations recognized in the PSA Set Registry: two print variations for #47 and 492 as well as seven checklist variations on #98 (two w/ yellow letters, one w red letters), 189, 273, 361, 437 (Luis and Louis Aparicio), and 516. This magnificent set has been meticulously assembled one card at a time over many years by an expert, dedicated collector. It consists of thirty-four MINT 9, ten NM-MT+ 8.5, one NM 7, and 551 NM-MT 8 PSA graded cards.
Of the 34 graded PSA MINT 9, eight are the highest graded examples with zero Gem-Mint 10s accounted for: #73 Spangler, #105 Willey, #175 Freese, #189 3rd Series Checklist (Copyright 263 variation), #377 Gomez, #394 Walters, #525 Perranoski and #530 Malkmus.
Ten PSA MINT 9 cards are the second-highest graded with just one superior Gem-Mint 10 example: #78 Walls, #98 2nd Series Checklist (yellow variation w/ back 98 in white), #102 Stephens, #168 Tommy Davis, #232 Bill White, #259 Schaive, #277 Foiles, #332 Dotterer, #378 Post and #437 6th Series Checklist (Luis Aparicio spelled correctly).
In 2021, a near-complete masters set (595/596) with 8.17 GPA sold for $75,000. Unlike ours here, that one was missing the most important in the entire set, Mickey Mantle's #300 base card.
For a complete list of the cards and grades, view the PSA Set Registry link below:
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/baseball/company-sets/1961-topps-master/publishedset/439876