The 1961 Post Cereal baseball card set is considered by many collectors to be one of the most iconic sets from the golden age of baseball cards in the 1950s and 1960s. Issued as a promotional insert in boxes of Post cereals like Sugar Crisp, Pebbles, and Corn Flakes, the 1961 Post cards featured colorful illustrations of Major League Baseball players on the front with basic stats on the reverse. The set consisted of 133 total cards issued in four series over the course of the 1961 season.
Series 1 was released first during spring training and contained 16 cards numbered 1-16, featuring notable stars from 1960 like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, and Whitey Ford. The colorful cards were illustrated by Dan Thomas and Ken Smith based on photographs. Series 2 launched next with cards 17-32 containing more big names like Ernie Banks, Bob Turley, and Maury Wills.
Series 3 came out in summer with 33-48 showcasing up and coming rookies and veterans and contained the impressive rookie cards of Hall of Famers like Ron Santo and Fergie Jenkins. Series 4 was issued towards the end of the 1961 season and contained the highest numbered cards 49-133. Major stars in the final series included Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris during his 61 home run season, and Sandy Koufax. The final card, number 133, featured Los Angeles Dodgers manager Walt Alston.
In addition to the 133 standard numeric cards, several special parallel cards were also issues. Highlights included Mickey Mantle traveling to Mexico City for an exhibition series with cards 147-148 issued depicting this trip. A special “Triple Crown” card was inserted in Series 4 to honor Roger Maris for winning the American League Triple Crown that season with his monster home run total. Other insert subsets included All-Star cards, managers, officials, and others inserting them above the base 133 card count.
While not considered the most valuable set from the golden era, the 1961 Post Cereal issue is highly collectible due to the iconic and colorful images from the era. As one of the longest running baseball card promotions issued by Post for over 30 years, the cards also have strong nostalgia and place in the history of the industry. With names like Mantle, Koufax, Clemente, and more, the cards are also loaded with star power from the era.
In terms of the most valuable and desirable cards from the 1961 Post set, the true key rookie cards feature Ron Santo (card #34), Fergie Jenkins (#44), and Bill Freehan (#48). These are consistently three of the highest valued and sought after rookie cards from the set. Mickey Mantle cards are always popular collectors items as well, with his regular issue card #3 and Mexico City parallel cards (#147-148) being top targets.
The Roger Maris “Triple Crown” parallel card has also gained legendary status as one of the true short prints and errors in the set. Only inserted randomly in place of his base card #21, it is extremely rare to find in high grade. Other short prints like the All-Star cards beyond #133 are also collectible alternatives.
In high grades, key 1961 Post Cereal cards can easily sell for hundreds to even thousands of dollars depending on the name and condition. But there is also strong demand for common players and affordable collecting options at all price points from this classic set that capture an iconic time in the game. Whether seeking stars or completing the entire 133 (plus extras), the 1961 Post Cereal issue continues attracting collectors with its memorable imagery and historical significance over 60 years after initial release.
