1968 Topps 3-D Test - The Brooklyn Summer When Cards Popped Off the Paper
Picture New York in the late 60s. Corner drugstores, spinning postcard racks, and a plain white pack for a nickel that promised something strange called “3-D.” Kids cracked them, tilted them under the fluorescent lights, and watched Roberto Clemente and friends jump forward like they were stepping out of the cardboard. Then the cards curled, cracked, disappeared into shoeboxes, and a myth was born.
What this test issue actually was
The 1968 Topps 3-D set was a tiny test run with 12 unnumbered cards, produced on lenticular plastic by a New York printer called Visual Panographics. Cards are slightly narrow (about 2¼ x 3½ inches), have rounded corners and blank backs, and are widely believed to have been distributed around the New York City area. Stars include Roberto Clemente and Tony Pérez.
“Two to a pack, five cents” and a tiny easel
Hobby lore points to two-card, five-cent packs, and some packs even included a little fold-up easel so you could stand a card on your desk. Few packs (and even fewer boxes) survived.
Why survivors have battle scars
Lenticular plastic looks amazing but it is fussy. These cards often curl or craze across the surface, and edges can spider with micro-fractures. Condition today is half the challenge and most of the value.
Checklist at a glance
The 12 subjects are anchored by Clemente and Pérez, with Boog Powell, Mel Stottlemyre, Rusty Staub, Ron Swoboda and others. If you are checking a shoebox find, confirm against a reputable checklist before celebrating.
How to spot authentic vs “re-imagined”
- Size/shape: authentic cards are a bit narrow with rounded corners and a blank back. Standard 2.5″ width is a red flag.
- Depth effect: backgrounds are intentionally blurred to make the player pop. Cheap reprints miss that layered look.
- Surface: look for natural lenticular ribbing under light, not a flat laminated print.
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