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Marvel Topps Stickers 1975 & 1976
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108 posts in this topic

4 hours ago, Xenosmilus said:

I have been buying these cheap on eBay and using them to label my comic boxes.... Is that sacrilegious? (shrug)

No way- it’s a great idea! 
 

(Unless it looks like the one I just posted lol  Then sell it for $100-$200).

Edited by wormboy
Didn’t want you to paste a hundred dollar sticker on a box.
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On 9/16/2017 at 6:18 AM, Paul_Maul said:

I found this image on the web suggesting that the later series was a 12x11 half sheet on each side rather than 7x11. This makes sense since the same is true of the later wacky series 14,15 and 16 which were all published in mid 1975 or 1976.

 

Sheet images are cool also because you can easily identify the double prints in a set like this.

 

 

image.jpeg

Wow, the sheet in this picture is the one I actually own!  You can tell because of the red Bucky in the 2nd from bottom row. I had the sheet pressed before it was framed to flatten it out somewhat.

Also, as you can see from my pictures, even the 1975 series was 12x11.

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On 2/16/2021 at 6:56 AM, Gus Landt said:

This has been a blast seeing everyone's pictures!  I figured I'd share a few of my own.

I have uncut sheets of both the 1975 and 1976 series displayed in my house.  After learning more about these sheets, it seems these are each only the left half of a full sheet, since every sticker on these sheets only has a single asterisk. 

1975_MarvelCBH.thumb.jpg.d3ad67fd4013047d5351965d79ec232a.jpg

 

1976_MarvelCBH.jpg

These are fantastic!

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On 2/19/2021 at 2:34 PM, Gus Landt said:

Wow, the sheet in this picture is the one I actually own!  You can tell because of the red Bucky in the 2nd from bottom row. I had the sheet pressed before it was framed to flatten it out somewhat.

Also, as you can see from my pictures, even the 1975 series was 12x11.

Hey Gus! Actually, the first revision (first printing) of the 1975 "Comic Book Heroes Stickers" was a 154 sticker print sheet (11x7 on each side) on tan back stock. For the second, third and fourth (or UK) revision, Topps switched to the 264 sticker print sheet (11x12 on each side), which was white back sticker stock. That is why tan back retail stickers are so much more difficult to find than their white back counterparts, and also why a lot of people confuse them as the test issue, which they are not.

Below is an image of the first revision, tan back sheet. Notice the wide borders on all four sides, so it is not just a partial of a larger sheet. The commodity code for this sheet is 4-488-05-01-5. The second revision sheet has a code of 4-488-05-02-5 and the only revision I can find is just the layout from 154 stickers to 264 stickers. The third revision sheet has a code of 4-488-05-03-5 and the change was the Spider-Man-2 caption from "Bug Off!" to "You Drive Me Up A Wall!". I have been unable to find a fourth revision sheet image with the changed Captain Marvel caption, so I'm not sure of the commodity code, but most likely it would be 4-488-05-04-5, unless it was only for the UK market and got a new commodity code that matched the UK release, then it would most likely be 4-486-05-01-5.

1975-topps-marvel-superhero-stickers_1_66328a666b6919a06638ede594f7ca90.jpg

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1 hour ago, lcummins said:

Hey Gus! Actually, the first revision (first printing) of the 1975 "Comic Book Heroes Stickers" was a 154 sticker print sheet (11x7 on each side) on tan back stock. For the second, third and fourth (or UK) revision, Topps switched to the 264 sticker print sheet (11x12 on each side), which was white back sticker stock. That is why tan back retail stickers are so much more difficult to find than their white back counterparts, and also why a lot of people confuse them as the test issue, which they are not.

Below is an image of the first revision, tan back sheet. Notice the wide borders on all four sides, so it is not just a partial of a larger sheet. The commodity code for this sheet is 4-488-05-01-5. The second revision sheet has a code of 4-488-05-02-5 and the only revision I can find is just the layout from 154 stickers to 264 stickers. The third revision sheet has a code of 4-488-05-03-5 and the change was the Spider-Man-2 caption from "Bug Off!" to "You Drive Me Up A Wall!". I have been unable to find a fourth revision sheet image with the changed Captain Marvel caption, so I'm not sure of the commodity code, but most likely it would be 4-488-05-04-5, unless it was only for the UK market and got a new commodity code that matched the UK release, then it would most likely be 4-486-05-01-5.

1975-topps-marvel-superhero-stickers_1_66328a666b6919a06638ede594f7ca90.jpg

This is great info, thanks!

Looks like I have the first printing, tan back sheet, as the numbers match your first print numbers.

mine doesn’t have as much space around the edges as yours, but it does have the “Bug Off” quote for Spidey.

499337BC-D865-42A9-BD5E-50FB9A0D03CF.thumb.jpeg.388eaa3b9b988ccbb20e3d02bdd6dd91.jpeg4DB3D123-2B7D-4429-9D68-6F15B3FEB1C2.thumb.jpeg.6c4363e9fccef870b4db8f34050ae70a.jpeg

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39 minutes ago, wormboy said:

This is great info, thanks!

Looks like I have the first printing, tan back sheet, as the numbers match your first print numbers.

mine doesn’t have as much space around the edges as yours, but it does have the “Bug Off” quote for Spidey.

Nice sheet! Thanks for the close-up of the commodity code. Not sure if you've seen this... it is a "slick stock" (also referred to as Cromalin) proof sheet of the first test (T-34) stickers (actually card stock). The commodity code for this proof sheet is T-34-6. I'm proud to say I own it! :)

Test34_ProofSheet_04.thumb.jpg.13679438ac745fe42aefd7ef3ad80cc9.jpg

 

Test34_ProofSheet_05.thumb.jpg.ceca1227960b8996e6407ef1bd02ecbf.jpg

Test34_ProofSheet_03a.jpg.ca83896a23a5221af3d579149c1cfc54.jpg

Edited by lcummins
Added pic
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3 hours ago, lcummins said:

Nice sheet! Thanks for the close-up of the commodity code. Not sure if you've seen this... it is a "slick stock" (also referred to as Cromalin) proof sheet of the first test (T-34) stickers (actually card stock). The commodity code for this proof sheet is T-34-6. I'm proud to say I own it! :)

Test34_ProofSheet_04.thumb.jpg.13679438ac745fe42aefd7ef3ad80cc9.jpg

 

Test34_ProofSheet_05.thumb.jpg.ceca1227960b8996e6407ef1bd02ecbf.jpg

Test34_ProofSheet_03a.jpg.ca83896a23a5221af3d579149c1cfc54.jpg

That is very cool! Never seen one before thanks for posting!

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Anyone know what to make of the fact that the 1st revision 4-488-05-01-5 that Wormboy posted is different than the one that Icummins posted?

The top 4 rows of each are the same, but the bottom 3 rows are different. Yet they are both 1st revision 4-488-05-01-5

Wormboy's sheet is in the same order as the full size sheets, where Icummins is not. That seems to me that perhaps the Icummins picture is maybe an earlier revision?  

Icummins_448805015.JPG

Wormboy_448805015.JPG

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On 8/31/2021 at 8:26 AM, Gus Landt said:

Anyone know what to make of the fact that the 1st revision 4-488-05-01-5 that Wormboy posted is different than the one that Icummins posted?

The top 4 rows of each are the same, but the bottom 3 rows are different. Yet they are both 1st revision 4-488-05-01-5

Wormboy's sheet is in the same order as the full size sheets, where Icummins is not. That seems to me that perhaps the Icummins picture is maybe an earlier revision?  

Icummins_448805015.JPG

Wormboy_448805015.JPG

I replied to Gus in an email, but I'll also post here for others. I'm 99.9% sure these are the "A" and "B" sides to the full 154 sticker print sheet. Wormboy's sheet appears to be the "A" side because it has single asterisks. If the resolution was better on the other image, I would bet it has two asterisks on the stickers. I've attached another image of an uncut half sheet that is identical to Wormboy's. The resolution isn't great on it either, but I can just about make out "Side A" on the right edge of the sheet.

4-488-05-01-5_SideA_05.jpg

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I'm so glad this thread got revived. It made me remember I have the complete 1975 set, but no checklist cards now, although I remember having them at the time obviously. We used to buy the packs in one particular sweet shop that stocked them, on the way home from school and then swap them outside or in the playground the next day. I don't remember any 'abuse' of them, by that I mean we knew to keep them as cards and not stick them around. 

Maybe ten years ago I got interested again and managed to buy maybe 12 of the 1976 set in one ebay listing but haven't pursued the rest of the 1976 ones since. Not as good in terms of crisp printing and colours as the 1975 set, but some cool characters. 

A reminder of happy days!!!

Edited by LowGradeBronze
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Is there a definitive list of all of these sets, including revisions, foreign editions, etc? I've just started to pick these up again (if they're cheap enough!)

I've noticed that in the 1976 UK set, the whole card is a sticker, instead of the sticker being die-cut to match the image. Are there any other variations? Were there many foreign editions? I'd love a Mexican set, if such a thing exists.

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On 9/3/2021 at 8:36 AM, lcummins said:

For those wondering about the two different UK issues in 1976 and 1979... apparently, Topps US printed identical second revision stickers in 1976 for Trebor. I don't think they can be differentiated from the US issue unless you open a sealed pack to check. This issue is virtually unknown. The common issue most people know about, was issued in 1979, made by Topps Ireland for Trebor. These stickers have the blue peel instructions on the back. The wrappers are different for the two issues and I've attached images from both releases.

MarvelSuperHeroes_1976_UK_03.jpg

MarvelSuperHeroes_1976_UK_05.jpg

MarvelSuperHeroes_1976_UK_07.jpg

MarvelSuperHeroes_1979_UK_04.jpg

MarvelSuperHeroes_1979_UK_08.jpg

MarvelSuperHeroes_1979_UK_11.jpg

Fantastic stuff, thanks for posting!

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