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leatherman
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Perhaps surprising to most, this card regularly sells in the $150-200 range in a PSA 9 slab, and in the $50 range in a PSA 8 slab. So why so much?
Is it his rookie card? Nope, his RC was in 1974 and often goes unsold in a PSA 9 (or SGC 96) slab when it is listed with BINs over $20. The last 9 that closed at auction sold for less than $10.
There are a few reasons why this card is so valuable. First, the 1975 Topps set is becoming more collectible. The Gary Carter RC used to sell in the $40-50 range as a PSA 8, but it has surged in the past few months to the $100-120 range. With HOFers George Brett, Robin Yount, Jim Rice, and Carter with RCs, as well as the RC of popular Keith Hernandez, this set will remain in demand indefinitely. PSA 8s of many star cards have seen increases of 25-50% over the last few years. Many PSA 9s of star cards rival the PSA 9 price of the Brett RC (which usually sells in the $600 range), such as the Mike Schmidt which recently sold for $900, and Reggie Jackson which recently sold for $400.
Secondly, Driessen was a member of the Big Red Machine which won the 1975 World Series. Team sets of WS winning teams are becoming increasingly popular for PSA Registry collectors, as putting together 25-30 cards is much easier than completing a 660 card set.
Thirdly, and probably the biggest reason, the Driessen card was located on the top row of one of the five 132 card sheets Topps printed that year (it was the 6th of 11 cards in the row). Because the top row was printed flush to the sheet's border, this card is almost always off center, and is subject to the "snow" printing defect which occurred as the ink was just getting started on the sheet. This snow is more visible on the Driessen than most cards because of its dark background.
All of these factors add up to a rather expensive common card for those that are trying to complete a high grade 1975 Topps set.
Is it his rookie card? Nope, his RC was in 1974 and often goes unsold in a PSA 9 (or SGC 96) slab when it is listed with BINs over $20. The last 9 that closed at auction sold for less than $10.
There are a few reasons why this card is so valuable. First, the 1975 Topps set is becoming more collectible. The Gary Carter RC used to sell in the $40-50 range as a PSA 8, but it has surged in the past few months to the $100-120 range. With HOFers George Brett, Robin Yount, Jim Rice, and Carter with RCs, as well as the RC of popular Keith Hernandez, this set will remain in demand indefinitely. PSA 8s of many star cards have seen increases of 25-50% over the last few years. Many PSA 9s of star cards rival the PSA 9 price of the Brett RC (which usually sells in the $600 range), such as the Mike Schmidt which recently sold for $900, and Reggie Jackson which recently sold for $400.
Secondly, Driessen was a member of the Big Red Machine which won the 1975 World Series. Team sets of WS winning teams are becoming increasingly popular for PSA Registry collectors, as putting together 25-30 cards is much easier than completing a 660 card set.
Thirdly, and probably the biggest reason, the Driessen card was located on the top row of one of the five 132 card sheets Topps printed that year (it was the 6th of 11 cards in the row). Because the top row was printed flush to the sheet's border, this card is almost always off center, and is subject to the "snow" printing defect which occurred as the ink was just getting started on the sheet. This snow is more visible on the Driessen than most cards because of its dark background.
All of these factors add up to a rather expensive common card for those that are trying to complete a high grade 1975 Topps set.
