1961 Nu-Cards Dinosaur Series Card # 19 Mesosaurus (VG/EX) for Sale

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1961 Nu-Cards Dinosaur Series Card # 19 Mesosaurus (VG/EX) For Sale

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1961 Nu-Cards Dinosaur Series Card # 19 Mesosaurus (VG/EX):
$9.95

1961 Nu-Cards Dinosaur Series Card # 19 Mesosaurus (VG/EX)

Entertainment Trading Cards

Browse our store of Entertainment Trading Cards which features cards from the early 1900\'s.

Includes coverage for non-sport Topps, \"Bubbles, Inc.\", Fleer, Leaf, Goudy and other entertainment manufacturers, like Nu-Cards.

1961 Nu-Cards Dinosaur Series Trading Cards

One of the classic US-produced prehistoric animal-related sets. The 1961 Nu-Cards Dinosaur Series set is made up of 80 subjects. The fronts of the cards are an odd combination of black & white vignettes with aquamarine-like highlights and borders. Another unique feature of this set is its attention to prehistoric non-reptilian animals. A quick survey of the set reveals that the subjects of the 80 cards are pretty much split 50/50 with approximately 40 cards featuring reptiles (e.g., dinosaurs, pterosaurs, plesiosauria, pterosauria) and approximately 40 cards featuring non-reptiles (e.g., mammals, fish, amphibians, therapsida).

The backs of the cards, which are plain and uninformative, are the subject of a couple of on-going controversies associated with the strange symbols & single letters that are printed on them. Under the Apatosaurus image on the back of each card is a seemingly meaningless symbol. There currently is no definitive explanation for these symbols however the leading theory suggests that these may have been identification codes for each print sheet (e.g., sheet \"X\", sheet \"||\", and sheet \"O\").

The letters next to the \"See wrapper for free album\" box printed on some of the cards are slightly less of a mystery. The wrappers of this set contain an offer for a \"free\" album to anyone who (a) sends in eight cards with the letters on the back that spell the name of this set (i.e., D I N O S A U R) or (b) sends in one wrapper and $1.00. The catch was that Nu-Card short-printed cards with the letter \"S\" making it extremely difficult to obtain an album which incidentally may or may not account for the associated scarcity of the album itself. From what I understand, there were 16 cards which were printed with the \"S\" back as listed below. Apparently, Nu-Card printed 10 copies of each S-backed card and then distributed them at a rate of approximately one card per every 10 cases.

How We Grade:

GemMint (GMT): (10.0)A flawless card. To be in Gem Mint condition,a card’s borders must have a ratio of 50/50 side to side and top tobottom.

Mint(MT): (9.0-9.5)A perfect card. Well-centered with parallel borders which appearequal to the naked eye. Four sharp, square corners. No creases, edge dents,surface scratches, paper flaws, loss of luster, yellowing or fading, regardlessof age. No imperfectly printed cards – out of register, badly cut or ink flawed– or card stained by contact with gum, wax or other substances can beconsidered truly Mint, even if new out of the pack. Generally, to be consideredin Mint condition, a card’s borders must exist in a ratio of 60/40 side to sideand top to bottom.

NearMint/Mint (NM/MT): (8.0-8.5)A super high-end card thatappears Mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may exhibit a veryslight wax stain on reverse, slight fraying at one or two corners, or a minorprinting imperfection. Centering must be app. 65/35 to 70/30 or better on thefront and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

NearMint (NM): (7.0-7.5)A nearly perfect card at first glance, butupon closer inspection, may have slight surface wear, slight fraying on somecorners, slightly out-of-register picture focus, a minor printing blemish orslight wax stain on reverse. Centering must be 70/30 to 75/25 or better on thefront and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

Excellent/NearMint (EX/NM): (6.0-6.5)Card may have visible surfacewear or a printing defect. A very light scratch. Corners may have slightlygraduated fraying. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. Card may haveminor wax stain on reverse, may have very slight nothing on edges. Centeringmust be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

Excellent(EX): (5.0-5.5)Corners are still fairly sharp with only moderate wear. Cardborders may be off center as much as 85/15. No creases. May have very minorgum, wax or product stains, front or back. Surfaces may show slight loss ofluster from rubbing across other cards. Dark bordered cards may have one or twosmall nicks.

VeryGood/Excellent (VG/EX): (4.0-4.5)Shows obvious handling, but stilllooks nice. Corners may be rounded or have minor creases. No major creases,tape marks or extraneous markings or writing. Surfaces does exhibit loss ofluster, but the printing is intact. May have paper wrinkles. May show majorgum, wax or other packaging stains. All four borders visible, though the ratiomay be as poor as 95/5. Exhibits honest wear.

VeryGood (VG): (3.0-3.5)A well-worn card, but exhibits no intentionaldamage or abuse. May be “Mis-cut or Off-Center” with no border visible. Mayhave major or multiple creases, however, creases are not so deep as to show theunderlying paper. This card is completely readable, has not been written on,and has no tape marks or holes. Corner rounding may extend well beyond theborder.

Good(GD) (2.0-2.5)Shows excessive wear, along with damage or abuse. Will show allthe wear characteristics of a Very Good card, along with such damage as thumbtack holes in or near margins, evidence of having been taped or pasted, perhapssmall tears around the edges or creases so heavily as to break the cardboard.Backs may show minor added pen or pencil writing or be missing small bits ofpaper. Still basically a complete card.

Poor(P): (1.0-1.5)A card that has been tortured to death. Corners or other areasmay be torn off. Card may have been trimmed, show holes from a paper punch orhave been used for BB gun practice. Front may have extraneous pen or pencilwriting, or other defacement. Major portions of front or back design may bemissing. Not a pretty sight.