As a history lesson, 1956 Topps baseball cards may not be all that instructive.
After all …
What would you do if you banished your competition to the scrapheap of history?
Well, if you were 1956 Topps baseball cards, the answer would be … “pretty much what I did last year.”
And it’s true, because the 1956s are a lot like the 1955s — horizontal format, painted photo thingies, large head shot, small action shot.
If that was good enough to end Bowman in 1955, then it was good enough for 1956 Topps.
And so it was.
The design repeats, right down to several identical head shots, haven’t hurt card values over the years, though.
As you’ll see in this list of most valuable 1956 Topps baseball cards, as determine by the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide for PSA 7 copies, building a ’56 collection would set you back a pretty penny.
Note that cards #1-180 exist in both white- and gray-back variations. The grays seem to be a bit more scarce for numbers 1-100, with the whites tougher to come by from #101-180. Difference in pricing between the two varieties is generally small, with the exception of Mickey Mantle, detailed below, and some commons that jump up in price for the scarcer version.
(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed.)
1956 Topps Mickey Mantle (#135)
Mickey Mantle once called 1956 his favorite summer, and it’s not surprising considering he won the American League Triple Crown, an MVP, and another World Series with the New York Yankees.
Yep, the Mick was in his prime and this gorgeous card was a perfect complement for collectors lucky enough to pull one from wax packs that summer.
Aside from his 1952 Topps card and (maybe) his 1951 Bowman rookie card, this one is also maybe his most iconic cardboard.
The 1956 also benefits from the fact that The Mick had been missing from Topps issues since 1953.
For all those reasons, this card generally sells for big bucks, just like all Mantle cards.
Note that the value below is based on selling prices for the gray back version. The white back variety can run at a factor of 2-3X these levels. Either way, Mantle is the king of 1956 Topps baseball cards.
No surprise, right?
Value: $6000-7000
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1956 Topps Roberto Clemente (#33)
The head picture on this card exactly matches the one Topps used on Clemente’s 1955 rookie card, but the action shot against the outfield wall is different — and spectacular!
Just about every Clemente card is a popular item with collectors these days, and such a striking piece as this one gets some extra oomph.
Value: $2500-3000
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1956 Topps Jackie Robinson (#30)
Yeah, Topps was up to its repeating tricks again with Robinson’s head shot here, but also again, they sort of made up for it with a sliding shot of Jackie in the background.
This is another iconic baseball card of another super duper star of the 1950s and a historical figure in the game.
Value: $1800-2500
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1956 Topps Willie Mays (#130)
Like others on this list, the ’56 Mays features a holdover head shot and sliding action shot.
While Willie hadn’t quite yet touched the heights that Mantle would reach in 1956, he was already a budding legend in his own right.
Value: $1750-2000
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1956 Topps Hank Aaron (#31)
Aaron was still nearly two decades away from breaking Babe Ruth‘s all-time home run record when this card was issued, and he wasn’t quite the most feared slugger in the game.
Evidence of that exists in the form of his background action shot here, where, like Robinson above, Aaron is shown dropping into a slide.
Still, it’s a classic card that commands plenty of attention all these years later.
Value: $1500-2000
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1956 Topps Ted Williams (#5)
Another head shot repeat bolstered by a more complete action shot makes this Ted Williams beauty an able follow-on to his 1955 issue.
After appearing only in Bowman issues early in the decade, and before he became a Fleer exclusive in 1959, the Splendid Splinter had a splendid run of Topps cardboard in the middle of the decade, and this one fit right in.
Value: $1300-1500