1971 Topps Football Wax Case Find

gemint

I can't believe I never heard of this find. Granted, football isn't my main collecting focus. But as a Steeler fan, a near case of wax boxes from the Bradshaw/Greene RC series would certainly have caught my attention. Any guesses what it will close? No it isn't mine. The estimate is $60k but I will guess $75 with the juice.

https://sports.ha.com/itm/football-cards/unopened-packs-display-boxes/1971-topps-football-series-2-wax-box-with-24-unopened-packs-terry-bradshaw-rookie-year-/a/60005-58414.s?ic=homepage-myrecommendations-Sports-item-052114&tab=MyRecommendations-080216

From the description:

More Information: In a letter from Steve Hart:

"This letter has been written for the 1971 Topps Football Series 2 wax box. This box contains 24 unopened wax packs, all from the second series. This box came from my Tampa, Florida find in August 2012. There were 19 fresh unhandled boxes from a case (case initial(ly) held 24 boxes). Th 24 packs in this box are mint and un-improvable. They appear to have never seen the light of day since Topps produced them in 1971!

I have labeled the bottom of this box #0019, which then matches this letter. I have also signed and dated the box bottom label December 22, 2014."

Sincerely,
Steve Hart

nendee

I own 5 shares of that box

Mickey71

Wax pack box?? Title indicates vending case. What is it? And yes....that box is cool.

coinspacks

I remember hearing about the find back then but didn't know how or where to buy the boxes. I don't think it ever got to his site and we're sold off privately and quickly.

gemint

@Mickey71 said:
Wax pack box?? Title indicates vending case. What is it? And yes....that box is cool.

Thanks for pointing that out. It was an error in the title. I've corrected it.

gemint

@coinspacks said:
I remember hearing about the find back then but didn't know how or where to buy the boxes. I don't think it ever got to his site and we're sold off privately and quickly.

That would make sense. I wonder if a single buyer purchased all 19?

Nendee - Interesting. Where did you purchase those shares? It's not really my thing but interesting none-the-less.

Mickey71

@gemint said:

@Mickey71 said:
Wax pack box?? Title indicates vending case. What is it? And yes....that box is cool.

Thanks for pointing that out. It was an error in the title. I've corrected it.

Thanks Gemint. I would love to open those packs.

UFFDAH

Steve had a box a year or 2 ago that I bought with two other guys. Likely from this find as Steve knew the packs inside were super fresh. The box was busted and all the packs graded 9's and 8's for us. I still have some of the graded packs.

gemint

@UFFDAH said:
Steve had a box a year or 2 ago that I bought with two other guys. Likely from this find as Steve knew the packs inside were super fresh. The box was busted and all the packs graded 9's and 8's for us. I still have some of the graded packs.

Did you guys open any packs?

UFFDAH

Not sure if the other two still have theirs. They may have sold them. I am planning to open an 8, maybe two. But spare the 9's.

baz518

Knowing Steve, I'm sure he held a couple back from the find... probably still has one or two.

jmoran19

@gemint said:

@UFFDAH said:
Steve had a box a year or 2 ago that I bought with two other guys. Likely from this find as Steve knew the packs inside were super fresh. The box was busted and all the packs graded 9's and 8's for us. I still have some of the graded packs.

Did you guys open any packs?

I wasn’t a participant of this specific box but I had a box too and have opened roughly 1/2 of the box over the last 10 years. You get 8 cards, a pinup and a game card. Sent 3 packs in for grading, all are psa 8. 9 packs are still raw. Believe I’ve pulled every star except OJ.

John

UFFDAH

@jmoran19 - hey John, how did the Bradshaw look?

gemint

@jmoran19 said:

@gemint said:

@UFFDAH said:
Steve had a box a year or 2 ago that I bought with two other guys. Likely from this find as Steve knew the packs inside were super fresh. The box was busted and all the packs graded 9's and 8's for us. I still have some of the graded packs.

Did you guys open any packs?

I wasn’t a participant of this specific box but I had a box too and have opened roughly 1/2 of the box over the last 10 years. You get 8 cards, a pinup and a game card. Sent 3 packs in for grading, all are psa 8. 9 packs are still raw. Believe I’ve pulled every star except OJ.

John

Cool. How did you make out with the grades on the cards you pulled? The 1971 baseball rack pack I opened did not yield a single 9.

nendee

@gemint said:

@coinspacks said:
I remember hearing about the find back then but didn't know how or where to buy the boxes. I don't think it ever got to his site and we're sold off privately and quickly.

That would make sense. I wonder if a single buyer purchased all 19?

Nendee - Interesting. Where did you purchase those shares? It's not really my thing but interesting none-the-less.

Not my thing either, I sorta did it for the hell of it:

https://rallyrd.com/

blurryface

i might have seen this box before. i believe its the same box that was resting inside the briefcase in pulp fiction.

jmoran19

John, looking at my spreadsheet it looks like i got 3 psa 8.5's from the wax packs, no 9's. I did get 3 9's though from a first series cello pack i opened maybe 10 years.

jmoran19

Here are old crappy pics of the series 2 key cards I pulled. Nothing wrong with top left corner of the bradshaw but cant retake yet, in SD Box. John

Ahmanfan

Nice Joe!

gemint

Beautiful cards John! Thanks for sharing. Yours and my experience proves how absolutely tough it is to get 9's on '71s. Just the friction of the plastic/wax on the cards over 40-50 years degrades the cards even in pack fresh state. On my baseball rack, the plastic was actually stuck to the Claude Osteen. I had to peel it away. The Osteen was the last card in the 3rd pocket (furthest away from the header card). I did pull a PSA 8 Pete Rose out of the pack. Munson was miscut as is the one showing on one of my other racks that I haven't opened.

jmoran19

Thanks!!

I’ve seen (and mapped) your 1971 rak opening lol. We might have even discussed privately if I recall.

I opened a first series rak too, here are the Roses I pulled, also got 2 Davey Concepcion rookies too, the PSA 9 OC rose first got a psa 5 when I ask d for no qualifiers. John

gemint

I remember those John. For resale purposes, the 9OC is definitely the way to go on the Rose.

UFFDAH