Big O-Pee-Chee lot

I picked up a big lot of O-Pee-Chee cards, largely vintage, and not too much more than a dime a card. Almost all of the vintage and early 80s sets were represented in this lot.

Going to start with the cards I needed, then move on to the trade bait.

Before 1965 Topps cards distributed in Canada were identical to those in the United States. From 1965-1967, OPC cards differed from Topps by saying "Printed in Canada" on the back.

In 1968, for the first time, the backs changed. This is my first '68 OPC! The back just looks like someone left a Topps card in the sun for years.

My first two 1969 OPCs! The checklist is a rare instance of the O-Pee-Chee name on the front of the card; that would not become commonplace until many years later. I love the dark red backs, though the drawback is that it's harder to read the black print.

For some reason I have a lot of 1970 OPCs, I wonder if they were printed in greater quantities. On the backs you can see the influence of the Official Languages Act which was passed in September of 1969. You can also see that the checklist says Topps instead of O-Pee-Chee. And you can also see that there were not just common cards in the lot but a few stars, too. Fergie Jenkins!

1971 backs are by far the most different from their Topps counterparts. Another big name in Willie McCovey.

Two '72s. Rich Allen isn't a HOFer but really should be. Again the checklist which says Topps.

No 73's or 74s, but a trio of '75s.

For some reason most of the '76s were team cards. Just like their US counterparts, there was a team checklist mail-in offer. Instead of Westbury, Long Island, Canadians had a London, Ontario mailing address.

Five from 1977. Two cards with three HOFers, and three miscut cards that line up perfectly together!

One '78 addition to my collection, and a few '79s. '79 marks the debut of the OPC logo on the front of all cards.

No OPC logo on the '79s. A couple of Hall of Famers and a nice miscut.

The O-Pee-Chee logo would be back for good in 1981. Also finally some French on the card front.

Lots of 1982s. The different teams for some players make for some subtly different-looking cards with the color combos. Also I noticed how much white space there was on Joe Rudi's card when RED SOX became A'S.

On to 1983. The checklists are quite different now, much more French. Cal Ripken second-year card is a highlight here.

By far the most were from 1984 Fleer. I noticed an error on Larry Gura's card, the O-Pee-Chee logo on the back was missing.

There were a few cards in the lot that predated the official O-Pee-Chee launch in 1965. I needed one, the 1963 Billy Hitchcock. And there was also a great Tim Raines oddball!

On to the trade bait. For most of these, I have better-conditioned cards to trade. Here are the vintage cards I have available. I've had some '70 and '71 available in the past, they usually get scooped up pretty quickly.

Early 80s, mostly 1981.

A whole lot of 1984s. Not too many stars but if you have common cards you are looking for let me know. And one random 1985 with the yellow OPC logo.

These were the American cards that slipped into the lot. A few 1959, 1961 and 1963 Topps available. Plus three random American cards in the bottom row.