Hi Guys,

Not sure if this question has been asked before but here it goes:

Does anyone know why the 1954 Topps #45 Tony Leswick it is such an expensive card in PSA 7 & PSA 8?

It is NOT even a low pop card - infact it is the highest pop card in the entire 1954 Topps set. There are 332 total Leswick graded cards - more than Howe (326) and Sawchuk (221) respectively.

There are plenty of Leswick PSA 7's (57 graded) and 26 PSA 8's.

Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul

Paul--I said the same thing over a year ago when this card started selling on eBay for $350-$450 in PSA 7. Based on the pop. report, this card should be a common card!

I was told that a dealer in Canada bought up every Leswick that he could get his hands on. He went out of his way to acquire these cards, grade them, then hold on to them. I'm not sure how the story got out, but eventually collectors started realizing that they couldn't find the Leswick card. Once the demand increased, the dealer started selling them, 1 at a time. I also understand that he would wait a while in between selling each card so that the demand would increase again! I honestly can't believe that he was able to buy up enough of these to be successful, but he was.

I was offered this card for a high price before, but I refuse to pay an inflated price for a card that shouldn't be difficult to find. Eventually I found this card on a dealer's website who was having his own auction. I picked it up for around $50 in PSA 7!

I'm sure that someone else will know more details about this story. Interesting story though...

Earl

Earl,

If that story is true then whoever that dealer is should be run out of the business. That is dirty and not fair to collectors in the hobby.

Is that really the main reason why that card is priced the way it is. Does anyone else have a theory or story about why it is over valued.

Paul

Paul, supply and demand is usually the big reason for inflated prices(including commons). You also have to look at the set. It's probably the most sought after set in all of hockey. Just look at how many people on the registry are putting this set together. This card will most likely come down once more and more appear. I remember alot of 1 of 1's that used to sell for an insane amount at first only to come down tremendously once more and more show up.
Perfect example is the 1980 OPC Wayne Gretzky PSA 10. I remember years ago when there were only 2 PSA 10's in population and one sold for $5,500. Last year the same card sold for $1,200 since at that time there were about 5 or 6 PSA 10's in population.
I would rather be patient and wait for the card to show up again and pay what it's really worth. I don't see any other reason for that card to be worth alot since there are alot to go around. Like I said earlier, it's one of hockey's biggest sets ever.

Earl,
You just got lucky by getting this card for $50 and sometimes it happens. But that is not the case and I don't believe that anybody will be ever selling it for less than $350.

And by the way Paul, PSA 6 is also pretty expensive. Most common cards in PSA 6 are sold for $30-50 but Leswick sells steady for $150+ and I was lucky to sell mine for $204 just 4 months ago.

Elmar--I agree! I totally got lucky getting a deal on that card. My purchase doesn't have anything to do with the current price and/or current demand for this card.

Paul--I don't remember the name of the dealer, but I used to see him on eBay all the time. I actually heard this story on this forum, so I know that there are other people who know the details and who started this increased demand for the Leswick card. Whoever did it is, in my opinion, on par with the kind of people who sell lifejackets for $1000 during a flood! Hopefully someone will add more info and explain how all of this actually came to light.

Earl

This information is not relavant but in 1954 an OPC employee to a large truck down to the train station and picked up skids of sheets to be cut here in London for production, along with display boxes. These sheets came directly from New York.

The only information this can do is that there were no corrections made to sheet making any card a short print.

Bobby

1954 Topps Baseball Sheets were 100 cards (10 x 10). In 1955 they went to 110 cards per sheet. Unsure where the hockey falls but it was likely either 100 or 110 per sheet (I would guess 100). Starting in 1953Topps would print an A and a B sheet for the golden age (or "giant") sized baseball cards so the SP/DP ratio could vary depending upon series.

Assuming there were two different sheets, 200 total cards over two 100 card sheets would likely mean 40 Triple Prints and 20 Quadruple Prints. At 220 cards 40 Quadruple Prints and 20 Triple Prints would exist.

Hoarding would explain Leswick being a high priced card if no other SP's can be identified. It's common on the baseball side and screws up a lot of sets.