The 1966 Topps Baseball issue is one of the most revered sets of its time. What it may have lacked in that one elite rookie, it certainly made up for in star power, dozens of legendary Hall of Famers, and high-numbered short prints. The 598-card basic features Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and Pete Rose, the rookie cards of Hall of Famers Jim Palmer and Don Sutton, and a very tough #1 leadoff card of Willie Mays. It is known as one of the more condition-sensitive sets ever produced by Topps, its key cards often burdened with weak centering and tilted front frames. Such obstacles to achieving an above-average rating, combined with its elusive short prints, make the 1966 Topps set one of the most difficult to complete in high-grade status.
Building the basic set of 598 is hard enough, but several have been sold at public auction. Finding the 612-card complete 1966 Master set – in any condition – available in the market? We can’t find any record of this happening before. One that’s 100% PSA-graded averaging NM-MT 8? An opportunity seemingly as rare as a solar eclipse. Ranked #6 (Current and All-Time) on the PSA Registry among 100% Complete Master sets, this Michael Alden registered set has a 7.97 rating and 7.99 GPA.
Of the 14 Variation cards that give it the “master” designation, 11 of them are PSA NM-MT 8 including these notables: #303 Indians Team w/o Dot (2 higher), #404 Pirates Team w/o Dot (4 higher), #326 Braves Team w/ Dot (5 higher), #62 Merritt Ranew/No Sold Statement (6 higher), and #104 Alex Johnson/No Trade Statement. In PSA NM 7 are #43 Don Landrum/Partial Button (9 higher), #91 Bob Uecker/No Trade Statement, #103 Dick Groat/No Trade Statement.
Notables from the basic set in PSA NM-MT 8: #1 Mays, #30 Rose, #50 Mantle, #70 Yastrzemski, #72 Perez, #100 Koufax, #110 Banks, #126 Palmer RC, #160 Ford, #195 Morgan, #200 Mathews, #215 NL Batting Leaders, #216 AL Batting Leaders, #217 NL HR Leaders,#218 AL HR Leaders, #219 NL RBI Leaders, #220 AL RBI Leaders, #222 AL ERA Leaders, #223 NL Pitching Leaders,#224 AL Pitching Leaders, #225 NL Strikeout Leaders, #254 Jenkins RC, #255 Willie Stargell, #288 Sutton RC, #300 Clemente, #310 F. Robinson, #365 Maris, #390 B. Robinson, #410 Kaline, #420 Marichal, #430 Drysdale, #450 Oliva, #469 Murcer RC, #490 Richardson, #500 Aaron, #526 Twins SP, #535 Davis SP, #540 McLain SP, #543 Craig SP, #544 Cardinals Rookies #547 Clarke RC SP, #555 Perranoski SP, #556 Queen SP, #561 Coleman SP, #562 Snyder, #580 Williams SP, #583 Tigers SP, #591 G. Jackson RC SP, #596 Colbert RC SP, and #598 Perry SP.
The following 15 cards come in PSA NM-MT+ 8.5: #53 Duliba, #120 Killebrew HOF, #125 Brock HOF, #130 Torre HOF #152 Malzone, #206 Jackson, #314 Valle, #320 Gibson HOF, #351 Valentine, #358 Smith, #385 Boyer, #426 W.S. Team, #464 Bearnarth, #502 Green and #550 McCovey HOF SP.
The following 25 cards come in PSA Mint 9: #14 Siebern (none higher), #17 Stephenson (none higher), #28 Niekro HOF (two higher), #37 Herman HOF (one higher) #45 Gentile (two higher), #68 Reniff (none higher), #88 Whitfield (none higher), #134 Parker (none higher), #143 Tartabull (two higher) #182 Lynch (one higher), #205 Tresh (none higher), #210 Mazeroski HOF (four higher), #227 Nixon (none higher) ,#241 Ribant (none higher), #258 Giusti (none higher), #281 Howard (none higher), #290 Ron Santo HOF, (one higher),#308 Haller (none higher), #335 Pizarro (none higher), #387 Reed (none higher), #388 Mincher (none higher), #415 Alvis (none higher), #508 Hatton, #530 Roberts HOF (four higher), and #536 Eagan.
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