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Cello Wrapper Question - 80,81 Topps Baseball
nendee
Posts: 550 ✭✭✭
So I have a ton of cellos from 81, 82 - all purchased from folks on eBay that I’m sure we buy from over the years (100% sellers, some may be on this board). I’m noticing that a lot of my 82 cellos have the same wrapper as the 81 cellos (.49, 1981 Topps).
Am I victim of someone re-wrapping? Or is this something that happened?
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Cello wrappers were frequently re-used going all the way back to 1973. My ‘81 and ‘82 cellos both have this wrapper also.
Thanks Paul, I tried to look back but I didn’t have enough cello material from those years (hope to correct that soon!)
My collecting blog: http://ctcard.wordpress.com
The wrappers were often reused when the price had not changed. Also, legitimate packs from the same year sometimes have different wrapper codes. So, for example 1974 cellos sometimes have wrapper codes ending in 2 (for 1972) and sometimes ending in 4. 1975 packs sometimes end in 4, sometimes in 5. My 1976 and 1977 cellos both have a -5 code, etc.
It's actually normal. Back in the day, I thought I was buying different yrs until I opened.
The last digit in the product code on back corresponds with the date of design. As Dave said, they changed wrappers to correspond with price changes and in the case of 1972-1975, card count changes, 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.
Are the cello wrappers differently sized to account for lower card count? For example, if I compare the 25-cent cello wrappers ending in -2,-4, and -5, is each one slightly smaller than the last?
Yes, 73 cello wrappers are slightly larger than 75 cello wrappers to accommodate the additional 9 cards per pack.
The cello boxes themselves are deeper in 1973 and 1974 vs 1975, 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.
While we are on the topic - can anything be said for “baggy” wraps vs “tight” wraps? Does the quality of the wrap vary by box? Or mixed?
My collecting blog: http://ctcard.wordpress.com
sorry I can't really help you on the Cello's; I'm a Rack Pack
Topps produced both tightly wrapped and loosely wrapped cello packs in the early 80s. Interestingly, the collation of the packs in 1980 depended on the kind of wrap: for loosely wrapped 1980 cellos, collation was cards from DEF sheets on the top half and cards from ABC sheets on the bottom half. For tightly wrapped 1980 cellos, the collation was reversed: ABC cards on top half and DEF cards on bottom half. For this reason, a legit 1980 cello pack with Henderson RC on top should be a tightly wrapped variation pack as Henderson is from the B sheet.
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.
Packs should be uniform throughout the case/box: either all tightly wrapped or all loosely wrapped cellos.
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.
grote15: incredible info. Really cool info on the cut sheets. Now I’m off hunting Henderson on top cello examples……..
My collecting blog: http://ctcard.wordpress.com
80 topps wax box just sold for 4K yesterday… I went as high as 2200… the fear of not getting a single RH was real
They were actually selling for 10K+ not long ago, which was crazy, imo. 4K is about right.
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.
turned into its own thread …
My collecting blog: http://ctcard.wordpress.com