Variations reported in Mantle Punch-Outs

A report of yet another variation among the scarce 1967 Topps Punch-Outs has reached us, hopefully in time to make the 2012 edition of the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards.

The variation is, probably to the consternation of Mickey Mantle specialists, on the most expensive card in the set, i.e., the Mick.

Texas collector Al Richter, who specializes in Topps cards, including test issues and both cataloged and uncataloged variations, reports that the Mantle Punch-Out can be found with a background behind the portrait photo that is either "stadium (left)" or "sky (right)."

As with all of the Punch-Outs, the Mantle is also found with variations in the line-up on the card. We covered a few other recently discovered Punch-Out variations in the Dec. 17 posting.

Al is the only collector I have heard of that has completed the master set of '67 P-Os not only by "Captain" photo, but also by the two or more line-ups that can be found for each.