BLACK FRIDAY COMC PICKUPS - PART 8: EINSTEIN?

IT'S RARE YOU FIND THE PERFECT CARD BUT SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES

1967 TOPPS WHO AM I? - ALBERT EINSTEIN

TOPPS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ENAMOURED WITH WEIRD GIMMICKS. ONE OF THEIR FIRST TRADING CARD SETS REQUIRED YOU TO WET THE FRONT OF THE CARD WITH THE WRAPPER AND 'DEVELOP' THE PICTURE BY PUTTING IT IN SUNLIGHT. THERE'S BEEN STICKERS, STAMPS, FOLD-INS, POSTERS, PUZZLES, COMICS, DIE CUTS, COINS, AND ALL MANNER OF OTHER GIMMICKS INCLUDING SCRATCH OFF PRINTING. NOWADAYS SCRATCH-OFF MEANS LOTTERY TICKETS OR MAYBE REVEALING AN AMAZON GIFT CARD CODE. BACK IN THE DAY TOPPS USED THE TECHNOLOGY ON THE 1970-71 SCRATCH-OFF GAME SETS, ON INSTANT WIN CARDS IN THE 80S AND 90S AND EVEN USED THE GIMMICK IN THE 1980-81 TOPPS HOCKEY SET TO MAKE STOOPID AMERICANS GUESS THE NAME OF THE PLAYERS ON THE CARDS. ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES IT WAS USED ON A TRADING CARD SET WAS IN THE 1967 WHO AM I? SET WHERE A PICTURE OF A HISTORICAL FIGURE WAS OBSCURED WITH A SCRATCH-OFFABLE TRIVIA QUESTION AND RIDICULOUS DISGUISE. THE KID COULD EITHER SCRATCH OFF ALL THE SILVER STUFF TO SEE THE CARD NAME AND IMAGE OR THEY COULD LEAVE IT PRISTINE AND HIDE IT AWAY IN A BOX FOR 50 YEARS AND GET IT GRADED BY PSA AND MAKE A LOTTA MONEY. OCCASIONALLY THE KID WOULD HALF-ASS IT AND LEAVE A BUNCH OF THE SCRATCHY GOOP STILL ON THE CARD. THANK GOD FOR LAZY KIDS

I FIRST HEARD ABOUT THIS SET FROM A BLOG POST ON BEN HENRY'S BASEBALL CARD BLOG A BILLION YEARS AGO AND IMMEDIATELY WANTED ONE. I CANNOT FIND THE ORIGINAL POST BUT HE DID ANOTHER WHO AM I? POST IN 2016 THAT IS FANTASTIC. UNFORTUNATELY I GOT THE WHO AM I? SET MIXED UP WITH THE 1952 LOOK 'N SEE SET SOMEHOW WHICH HAD IT'S OWN RED CELLOPHANE HIDDEN IMAGE GIMMICK AND NO SCRATCH OFF AT ALL. AFTER COLLECTING A FEW OF THESE CARDS AND WONDERING WHY I'D NEVER SEEN ONE OF THE 52S WITH THE SCRATCH OFF STUFF INTACT I FINALLY FIGURED OUT I WAS A DOPE. I DIDN'T HAVE ONE OF THESE CARDS AT ALL! I SCROUNGED ALL MY USUAL VINTAGE NON-SPORTS DEALERS (ALL TWO OF THEM) AND FOUND NONE, SCRATCHED OR UNSCRATCHED. THEN LAST BLACK FRIDAY I REMEMBERED THE SET AND CHECKED COMC TO SEE IF ANYTHING WAS IN MY PRICE RANGE. THANK GOODNESS NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT VINTAGE NON-SPORTS! THERE WERE PLENTY OF CRUMMY CARDS AVAILABLE FOR CHEAP! THE BEST OF THE LOT WAS THIS ONE. ALBERT EINSTEIN IS AN S-TIER NON-SPORTS SUBJECT NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT. HE'S BECOME AN ICON OF POP CULTURE LIKE THE STATUE OF LIBERTY OR THE MONA LISA. EVEN BABIES KNOW E=MC SQUARED. A MINT UNSCRATCHED COPY WOULD PROBABLY COST MORE THAN MY ENTIRE ORDER BUT THIS SLOPPILY SCRITCHED MESS WAS NOT ONLY IN MY BUDGET BUT I CAN STILL SEE MOST OF AL'S WEIRD SCRATCH-OFF HIPPIE DISGUISE. THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!

AGAIN I WILL SAY, THANK GOD FOR ROTTEN LITTLE KIDS WHO DIDN'T TAKE CARE OF THEIR CARDS