PSA: The '56 want list is up

Recently, a few people have asked whether I have a 1956 Topps want list. You would think that someone who runs a regular feature called "56 of the Month" and just declared 1956 Topps as the best set the company ever made would have a 1956 Topps want list.

But I've gone all these years without compiling one.

There's a few reasons for that. The overriding one is "I'm never going to complete this and who in the world is going to send me a 1956 Topps card out of their own free will?"

I've kind of gotten over that (although the thought of completing it still seems impossible).

Another reason is that I kind of wanted this to be a free-and-easy set build. I'd just gather cards at random from random places never even thinking that there was a super-pricey Mickey Mantle card in the set. I didn't want this set quest to be a serious-minded mission in which I knew exactly what I needed at all times.

Finally, I had put off putting up a want list because a want list implies that you don't want dupes. This couldn't be further from the truth with '56 Topps. Who cares if I get doubles? It's all 1956 Topps!

But you've broken me down. I've finally got the list together. Here it is:

#1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #7, #10, #12, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #38, #40, #41, #45, #47, #51, #53, #54, #55, #57, #58, #61, #62, #64, #69, #71, #81, #84, #85, #89, #90, #92, #93, #95, #99, #103, #104, #105, #107, #110,  #113, #114, #115, #118, #119, #120, #121, #124, #125,   #130, #133, #135, #139, #141, #142, #143, #144, #146, #148, #151, #155, #157, #160, #164, #165, #167, #169, #178, #181, #187, #192, #194, #195, #200, #208, #210, #213, #215, #216, #217, #221, #222, #225, #227, #229, #231, #236, #240, #242, #245, #248, #250, #251, #253, #256, #257, #262, #263, #264, #265, #266, #267, #269, #271, #272, #274,  #276, #277, #278, #279, #281, #282, #283, #284, #285, #286, #287, #288, #289, #291, #292, #293, #294, #296, #297, #298, #300, #301, #302, #303, #304, #306, #307, #308, #309, #310, #311, #312, #313, #314, #315, #316, #317, #318, #319, #320, #321, #322, #323, #324, #325, #326, #327, #328, #330, #331, #332, #334, #335, #336, #337, #339, #340, Series 1/3 checklist, Series 2/4 checklist


If you look up the numbers you'll find it's heavy with superstars. Williams, Mays, Clemente, all of them. I have a long way to go. Haven't made much of a dent on the fourth series either.

Even though I've completed the Dodgers team set and ideally there'd be every Dodger card in the set quest, too, I've removed the majority of Dodgers from the want list. The idea of having a second '56 Robinson or Koufax is ridiculous to me. One's enough for both set tasks.

If you do send me a '56 card (and thank you very much if you do), I'm not terribly picky about condition, although most of my '56s do not have major creases or rips or stains. I'd like to stick to "moderately loved" cards.

I have no plans to collect both gray and white backs, nor do I care about the team card variations.

So, that's the list, and it's in the want list section, too.

Hell, maybe someday I'll complete it.

I can't believe I just wrote that.