10.04
Back when the first George Bush was in office, our country witnessed Desert Shield, which then became Desert Storm. Because of that, Topps produced a 792-card set of its flagship brand for the men and women who served during that time. The only difference between the Desert Shield set and the base set is the gold-foil stamp on the front of the card commemorating the event.
These 792 standard-size cards are parallel to the regular Topps issue. These cards were issued in special packs available only to servicepeople serving in the Desert Shield (later to be Desert Storm) campaign. The cards are differentiated by a “Desert Shield” logo in the upper right corner. There were many different types of forgeries created for these cards so some caution is urged in purchasing any expensive cards from the set.
Now, on eBay I’ve found a few commons going for $2 delivered. If that’s the case, that puts completing this set above the $2,000 mark. The big names, like Nolan Ryan and Cal Ripken are each commanding over $100. According to Beckett however, it’s mentioned that a complete set sold for $1300.
Either way, for a set released in 1991 when overproduction was king, that’s a very nice price on a once-in-a-lifetime set.
1991 Topps Desert Shield
