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1971 Topps Rack Pack with an actual 71 card as the top header card--opening a rack
philliesfan2
Posts: 20 ✭
I know there has been discussion about these packs in the past. While I am sure some of these could be faked or tampered with just like any racks, I think this vintagebreaks opening demonstrates there are definitely legitimate 1971 racks with cards as the header (as opposed to the standard Topps header). Lots of nice cards pulled. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JgGjOmIhIM
also check out the nice 1960 leafs pulled from the pack they opened that night also.
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The buy in was $250 per card. No thanks, I’d rather spend the $250 on 15 nice PSA 8 commons or a nice PSA 8 star.
I’ll never understand the gambler’s mentality, but I acknowledge it. However I have to laugh when he’s oohing and ahing about how unbelievable the first card, Rick Austin is. It looks like no better than a PSA 8 due to centering, but the last PSA 9 sold for $150. The only way to win in this break is to get a really nice major star.
Oohing and ahing about #52...last sale in PSA 9 is $190, previous two sales $90. Unlikely it gets a 9, but even if it does, it’s a loss!
The Orioles team card looks nice. It’s tough to get any 1971 9s these days but that would certainly be a win. Break even or less if an 8.
I watched the break live and tried to explain how hard they are on PSA 9's these days. I'm sure they don't want to just admit that pretty much everyone that bought in was going to lose money. I enjoy watching and buy in from time to time...it's entertainment. What I don't like is when they see a card and say "this is 9 quality"...etc. Can't tell from looking at it with bad lighting and no loupe. Learned this first hand as they pulled a nice 70 Topps Rose for me and sent it in only to come back a 7. I now tell them not to sub for me, that I will send them in on my own as I want to see them first. PaulMaul is right, that Orioles Team card appeared really nice and probably the best card in the pull. I do hope they get some 9's back but I'm betting that the majority are coming back 7's and 8's. And IMO there's no reason to send in an oc common even if it is going to come back 8oc or 9oc.
You’re absolutely right on all counts. And the crazy part is with these commons, even if it does get that incredibly difficult 9, virtually none of them are worth the buy in price! Then I hear people on Facebook talking about 10s. Better to wait for lightning to strike your card.
So many 9s and 10s from this set are old flips and have marginal centering. Look at the only PSA 10 Clemente! I’m not sure it’s even 60/40 L/R.
Yep, if they subbed them all 15-20 years ago, I'm betting they would get a lot of 9's and maybe some 10's. Not in today's world.
I like my 5 better than that 10
Yeah 1971s are tough and sure at $250 a spot you are gambling for a big hit. But my takeaway is that the 1971 Rack packs with player header cards are legitimate and can yield just as nice cards as the wax packs or the rack packs with the original header cards.
71 racks with player header cards are definitely legitimate unopened product in that the cards inside follow standard collation patterns off the sheet. That said, they are also more easily faked as it is much easier to obtain a player card than a 71 Topps header card. The jury is still out as to how these were marketed for retail sale as there are no product codes or Topps trademarks on the outside of the packaging.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
$250 a slot? That works out to roughly $12,000 for the pack. Wonder how much Vintage Breaks bought it for. Exciting nonetheless.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
At one time I owned 5 or 6 first series racks with player header cards. Opened one of them. The highlights were the #1 World Champs cards, one got a 9 the other an 8. Sold the 9 to Don Spence. The rack had a couple of other 9's plus a few 8's. I sold the other racks after doubling my money, obviously, I wish I had kept them all. Two customers opened them and emailed their findings. One customer had a Reggie Jackson get an 8, he was hoping for a 9. Another had a Rose that got an 8.
While my source was legit. I can see where they could be faked. Have one left from the first series, and a fourth series rack with the standard Topps header. I did buy a rack at the National in 89, and pulled two Ernie Banks, and two Frank Robinson's. If you're going to have some cards repeat, that was a nice little run.
I ripped one of my ‘71 racks with the topps header card. Though I pulled a Rose that got an 8, I didn’t get one 9 in the pack. At $250 per, you’re almost guaranteed a losing hand. By the way, if anyone wants to pay me $12k, I’ll happily sell my remaining packs. Even the pack with Munson showing or Blyleven showing. 😀
contact VintageBreaks and sell it to them. They won't pay the 12 of course, but maybe near 10k to break it. This rack pack only took them like 15-20 days to sell out.
If they are willing to pay anywhere even near10K for a 71 rack, I'd gladly sell mine, too.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Racks with the actual card as a header card are legitimate. I’ve opened several and scored some solid 8s in my submissions.
What is harder to believe is that there are people who would actually pay $250/slot in this break! 1971 racks with stars showing have been selling at about $60/card (54 cards in the rack).
Over $12k for a 1971 rack???? Either the market has just changed dramatically or the old adage about a certain kind of person being “soon parted” from their money has again been proven to be true.
Dave
I'd contact them and claim your prizes guys. It cannot be that far fetched if they sold out that quick at such a high price. Find out what they would pay and let us know.
I would agree the price seems high also, but I wouldn't expect to get a card for 1/54th of a pack price unless I bought the whole pack. Hard to determine a price that is fair, but the amount of cards in the rack added an attraction to the 1st series possibilities. When they opened the 55 bowman, $500 per spot seemed high also, but if anyone knew the Mantle was inside it, it would have been much harder to name a price.
More like 2-3 months to sell out, we were discussing this pack in Nov on the Facebook page
Current obsession, all things Topps 1969 - 1972
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Mikey, John and Layton are really nice guys. In a hobby littered with crooks these guys have been consistently honest and great to deal with since they started their breaks. However, It definitely comes at a price! The one I always marvel at is the 1978 and 1979 basketball packs. The spots sell for $5 each yet you can buy a pack from BBCE for like $16. I have no idea why people keep buying spots for these.
The other thing is people are paying them to take the enjoyment of opening the pack away from them. I don't quite get it. If I'm going to pay big dollars for pack fresh cards, I want to break the pack myself.
+1,000
Current obsession, all things Topps 1969 - 1972
Around 2001 I bought 2 1971 raks just like this one. Below is a picture of the rak i opened. Most of the cards from the far left section were off center like the top card and produced a Pete Rose as well, Rose graded PSA 9 OC.
The other two sections were centered pretty good and over 2/3 of them graded PSA 8 (before 1/2 grades), including another Pete Rose.
The rak i left unopened and still have has a couple of HOF 500 HR club members showing on the back. John
Current obsession, all things Topps 1969 - 1972
Well the 5th series had Banks, Killebrew, and Mays so without a photo I'd guess that it's a 5th series pack. That's awesome, would be cool to see.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
Will post a pic later, forgot to mention it was a first series rak just like the one Vintage Breaks opened and I posted. McCovey and Reggie are on the back
Current obsession, all things Topps 1969 - 1972
I really need to get some 70's racks and cellos in my collection!
I bought a 88T cello recently with Mattingly on top and when I got it in hand I realized it was suspiciously missing the gum. Now how did that get out of there!!!
Kris
My 1971 Topps adventure - Davis Men in Black
Oh, dear lord, now they're faking '88 Topps cellos?
Andy
Factory error. I've seen that with wax packs, too. Topps quality control was often lacking during this era. Miswraps are not uncommon, either.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
The trick is to find them. They have basically dried up.
There hasn’t been a 1970 rack offered on eBay in at least 3–4 years. The last 1971 racks that I recall being offered were late 2017 by an auction house. 1972 racks have been scarce for even longer.
1973 and 1974 racks used to be seen On eBay pretty regularly, maybe 4-5 times a year excluding the one or two that sat there year-round with stratospheric prices. Not any more.
1975, 1976 and 1977 racks are few and far between too these days
On the cello side, now that the vintage breakers have come along the 1970 Fritsch cellos are gone from eBay. 1971 and 1972 were always rare (Leland’s has a lot of 5 series 1 1972 unauthenticated cellos in their auction ending Friday 2/1 and they are already nearing $5k). 1973 and 1974 cellos are also seen just a few times a year. The Fritsch “stash” does have quite a few 1975 cellos and those are about the only ones from that era that are regularly available. 1976 and 1977 cellos are also no longer often seen available.
So that basically leaves you with 1978 and 1979.
Dave
recent sales of 1971 racks
https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=53006
https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1971-topps-baseball-first-series-unopened-rack-pack-with-card-1-on-top/a/50007-81236.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1971-topps-baseball-unopened-rack-pack-with-blyleven-rookie/a/50007-81237.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1971-topps-baseball-unopened-rack-pack/a/50007-81235.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
I would say the market prices of most vintage wax, cello and rack have taken a huge turn upward over the last year, in part due to group rips and places like vintage breaks. Stuff is getting opened rapidly and "they aint making any more of it"
With most all vintage unopened usually its a losing proposition if you buy the entire pack and open it yourself unless you get really lucky. But what a lot of people like about vintage breaks is the opportunity to buy just a spot or two at a fraction of the cost of buying the entire pack and you have the chance to score a nice card and possibly get more than your money's worth. But its certainly nothing more than a gamble. Just like going to a casino or buying a lottery ticket. But its a fun gamble and one that many collectors are willing to take. I think people also like the social aspect of it so they can share the opening with fellow collectors. Of course it rarely makes financial sense, but most people consider cards a hobby.
Thanks for the info. It seems like you would have to pony up a pretty good sum to acquire these packs if/when they do come up. I picked up a 74 Topps Cello with Aaron #1 on top earlier this year and had it graded. I paid what I thought was a strong price and listed it on Ebay for a price I never expected to get....nearly $2k. Didn't last for 2 days. I had mixed feelings about it when it sold but even with the price I got, I have more and more regret all the time.
I think you have to have an account with Heritage to see the prices, but here they are. These were just in November 2018
first rack listed---$9,000 with the juice (yes, you read that right)
second rack---$6,600 with the juice
third rack--$5,520 with the juice.
These sold for more than the $3,000 price in the REA auction as that was with player header card. So it looks like the racks with the actual topps header are selling for a premium to the player header card (as well they should for the purist pack collectors).
Those prices don't look too insane any more if people are willing to buy spots at $250 per rack.
Anyone seen a full 1971 Topps Rack unopened box or a full 1970 or 1972 rack box? Would love to see some pics.
These are not quite 1970 and 1972, but close (1972-1975)
Dave
And these are the “skeletal” remains of 1970, 1971 and 1972 cellos from my childhood.
😉
Dave
1970 cellos came in a box like this.
Dave
And while BBCE was still wrapping packs I was able to get this series 3 pack.
Dave
wow great pics... thanks for posting. That's pure gold.....those 73 racks are awesome and 10 boxes of 72 wax, sweet.
nothing better than some unopened porn. Used to be a lot more threads of people showing off their hoards of
unopened.
Might be time for a 2019 updated thread for folks to show off their unopened material. Never gets boring to look at it.
Even some of the 1980s unopened product have seen a modest uptick in prices it seems as they are still cheap to buy and bust. PSA 10s of HOF rookie cards are still in demand. Look at prices of recent HOF inductees.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/823681/some-older-unopened-material/p1
Still a favorite of mine
Awesome rack boxes, there, David!
I second the notion that pre-1978 unopened product has become increasingly tough to find.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
I can’t count on two hands and feet or yours combined the amount of bad advice I got when 1st striking out on my 1978 Topps set rip/submit quest from those who told me I was throwing my money away on modern garbage.
Just the real threat of ‘78’s being on the threshold of true vintage is a personal collecting milestone / victory.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
And, BTW ....1980 Topps Baseball unopened boxes / cases are probably tougher than ‘78 and ‘79 right now.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
A 1977 Topps Baseball Wax Box BBCE FASC just sold for $3,940 shipped tonight on Fee Bay tonight.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
Lower than expected but that particular box had a fair degree of wear.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Rose’s I pulled from the 1971 rak I posted earlier
Current obsession, all things Topps 1969 - 1972
Nice that must have been extremely fun to open. That 9OC is inky black in the borders.
Here's the Rose I pulled from a 1971 rack several years ago. As you can see, it has a fair amount of chipping. I actually have a nicer 8 that's part of my set but I can't let go of this one due to the sentimental value of pulling it from a pack myself.
Nice card. Other than the edges it’s just about dead centered and sharply focused. I would hope a card identical to this one would receive a similar grade if submitted today.
Dave
Great looking card. Looks even better because it is centered. It's a notoriously tough card to find centered.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball