The 1987 Topps coins baseball card set was a unique and collectible release from the Topps company. Instead of the traditional cardboard cards, the 1987 set featured 33 coins depicting Major League Baseball players. Each coin measured approximately 45mm in diameter and had several notable design elements that set them apart from standard baseball cards.
Topps issued the coins as a one-year novelty item to celebrate their 60th anniversary of producing baseball cards. Rather than paper stock, the coins were made of a composite material intended to resemble silver dollars from the late 19th century. Both sides of each coin featured full color images protected under a clear plastic coating. On the front or “heads” side was a portrait photo of the featured ballplayer against a silver colored background.
The reverse or “tails” side depicted the team logo or insignia along with the player’s name, position, and vital statistics. Each coin edge was delicately tooled with reeding lines that mimicked the look of genuine circulating coins from the 1800s. The overall design and manufacture process resulted in coins that bore a strong likeness to authentic silver dollars while still maintaining their status as collectible memorabilia rather than legal tender.
Along with the 33 regular issue coins, Topps also included four special commemorative coins to round out the set. One coin saluted Topps founder Sy Berger, another paid tribute to the company’s 60th anniversary, and two featured retired all-time greats Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. All coins maintained the standard design scheme, but featured unique imagery and wording befitting their commemorative status within the set.
In total, Topps struck an initial print run of 10 million coins to satisfy anticipated collector demand. The 1987 Topps coins are considered among the rarest and most valuable modern sports card and coin releases ever produced. This scarcity stems from the lackluster reception and sales of the coins upon their initial release over 30 years ago. Several factors contributed to the coins’ commercial failure at retail in 1987.
For starters, $1 coins had fallen out of general circulation by the late 1980s due to competition from dollar bills. As a result, most collectors and the general public were unfamiliar with dollar coins and didn’t easily grasp Topps’ intention of mimicking older coin designs from the 1800s. Metal detectors became popular in the late 80s which caused concerns among some that the coins might set off security alarms.
A final negative was that the coins lacked the traditional cardboard and were more costly to produce. This drove up their initial MSRP to $1.50-$2 per coin versus about 50 cents for a standard pack of cards. With recognition and demand failing to meet expectations, many 1987 Topps coins went unsold and ended up in bargain bins or remaindered to overseas markets where baseball had less popularity.
This combination of a large initial print run coupled with weak early sales growth has led to the 1987 Topps coins becoming extraordinarily scarce to find today – especially in high grades. While the coins received a tepid response from collectors in 1987, demand and appreciation has grown exponentially over the past 30+ years. The coins are now considered a true missing link in the history of Topps baseball card and coin productions.
With so few examples remaining in collectors’ hands and the set long since out of print, pristine 1987 Topps coins in high Near Mint to Mint condition regularly sell on the secondary market for hundreds or even thousands of dollars each depending on the significance of the player depicted. Key coins of superstar players like Wade Boggs, Ozzie Smith, and Roger Clemens are routinely among the most expensive in the set.
In the over three decades since their original release, the 1987 Topps coins have achieved great mystique and fascination among vintage sports collectors. Their strange and short-lived commercial history combined with extreme scarcity has elevated them to an almost mythical status. While some consider them the “Holy Grail” find in the realm of pre-1990s sports cards and tokens, others are content to appreciate them from a distance due to the vast gap between their original retail price and current high-end collectible values. Nevertheless, the 1987 Topps coins remain one of the most enduring and revered novelties in vintage baseball card and coin assemblies to this day.
The 1987 Topps coins represented a bold experiment for the card manufacturer to try something new and different for their 60th anniversary that ultimately fell short of success upon initial release. Their failure to catch on at retail in the 1980s has only added to their mystique and rarity over the past 30+ years. Today the 1987 Topps coins are among the rarest and most valuable sports cards and collectibles, achieving status as one of hobby’s true missing links coveted by advanced collectors. Their unique coin format, rarity, and association with 1980s baseball has cemented the 1987 Topps coins in sports collecting history.
