1954 Unopened Wax Box
mintonlypls
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Authenticated at the show by BBCE and posted on BBCE Facebook page. The wax box is made in Canada. Two questions:
Would “Made in Canada” be on the back of the cards? If so…would these be included in the PSA Pop reports?
mint_only_pls
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it states on the fb page that this is now the oldest box ever authenticated by bbce. I assume this means that this is also the first 1954 box they have ever done. if that is the case, what expertise do they have to authenticate it? What do they have as an exemplar?
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Was at the booth when the story was told to Steve - pretty interesting to say the least how it survived all these years.
Keith …
Any news on where was box found or had someone had it for all these years unknowingly?
I’m still confused if cards state “Made in Canada” on the back of each card…since top of wax box states “Made in Canada “.
here's the box...
Unopened box or box of 36 unopened packs?
I would gladly lick that box. I got nothing else. Highest compliment I know to give.
I googled my question if produced in Canada does it state “Made in “Canada” on the back of the card. It states the difference between O-Pee-Chee and Topps
cards is the reverse of each card states “Made in Canada” . The top of the wax box says Made in London, Canada by the O-Pee-Chee Company, LTD So…in that respect, it is a variation
The condition of that box is remarkable. Looks brand new..
Nic
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Maybe it’s the gray backs?
Amazing box! I believe it was initially holdered by GAI and was cut out of their holder before being authenticated by BBCE.
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.
Steve has handled a lot of unopened product and packs from the 1950s over the past 30+ years (it was not uncommon to find a fairly decent assortment of 1950s wax on the BBCE site 15-20 years ago), including these 1954 wax packs which were printed in Canada but contain 4 Topps cards per pack. My understanding is that the wrappers and the box were different from Topps to signify that the cards were printed in Canada but that the cards within the packs had no markings or copyright designation to signify they were printed in Canada aside from the fact they may have featured gray backs (there is some debate about that last part, but the gray back variations are typically referred to as being printed only in Canada in 1954).
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 happened to be standing at the BBCE booth when a story was being told by a gentlemen to Steve today - assume it was in regards to the box. Supposedly the person who brought it in stole the box from a grocery store when he was a young boy, and when the mom found out she took the box from him and out them away up in the attic. She forgot they were there and only when she passed away did they discover them when cleaning out her house - if they were not taken by the man when he was young they would never have survived this long,
And this guy has no problem presumably now profiting from his stolen material? At the very least should donate proceeds to charity. But probably not among the top 5 crimes at the National …
So when is the UFFDAH rip?
I wonder how many OPC boxes (empty or otherwise) Steve has handled? 100? 50? 10? is this the first one? The way the fb post sounded, this is the first actual box (empty or otherwise) he has ever seen. That being the case, I dont see how he can confidently render an expert opinion on it. If you have not seen/handled many multiples of an item, you are not an authority on that item. to me, it smells like the Pokemon fiasco.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
What makes you think this is O-Pee-Chee? Did O-Pee-Chee even issue cards in 1954?
I wonder what it would fetch in auction? $200k?
Packs usually are $15k so probably $500k for the box?
It's not an OPC box.
I know you enjoy impugning Steve's credibility and love to keep harping on the Pokemon case but his proven track record of reliability as an authenticator of unopened sports card packs over the past 30+ years (including a ton of 50s wax product spanning that time) is rightfully respected by those who actually collect vintage unopened product.
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.
It’s an interesting question as to how these packs (or this box) should be valued relative to normal 1954 Topps packs.
The factual differences are: one less card and a different wrapper. So I don’t think there’s any question these packs are less desirable than the normal Topps version. But since the cards are the same, it brings them closer. Still, it seems like the Canadian packs are more common. The Canadian wrappers are definitely more common.
The same type of packs I believe exist for 1963 and 1964. Does anyone know how those are usually valued?
It would be interesting to see what is on the cards.
For the 1954 Topps hockey, the cards are "Printed in U.S.A.".
I have read various sources, which differ as to distribution. I think Bobby Burrell's Vintage Hockey Collector is probably the best source, and he indicates the cards may have only been distributed in Canada. When they resumed in 1957 and through 1960, the cards, again, were marked as "Printed in U.S.A.", but the cards were now bilingual. In 1961, the cards began being printed in Canada by OPC using the Topps brand. My guess is the 1966 Test USA set was the precursor to the 1968 through 1981 set up of OPC printing and using their own trade name in Canada with Topps printing and distributing smaller sets in the US presumably before OPC released theirs.
On the 1954 wax box…it states made in London, Canada BY the O-Pee-Chee Company, Ltd. So…doesn’t it make it an O-Pee-Chee Company box?
Back in the day…it was a petty crime of $1.80 (36x 0.05), but today it has become grand theft worth a half to one million dollars!
It does not seem right…and sit well with me!
Amazing!!! Will bring big bucks that is for sure. It should be in a museum.
There is no 1954 OPC baseball set, only Topps.
While the cards were printed in Canada, they are not recognizable as OPC cards in the same sense that cards printed in Canada at the OPC factory in later years were.
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.
There is similar confusion with the pre-1968 Hockey sets. They were only released in Canada, but the cards have a Topps copyright and say “Printed in Canada.”
This is a similar pack from 1963. The PSA flip doesn’t mention anything about Canada, but the wrapper does.
Very, very confusing.
it is a box of topps cards produced by opc. I suppose it is semantics as to what you call the box. As far as "enjoying impugning steves credibility and loving to keep harping on the pokemon case", well, maybe. I dont like how that went down. How Steve makes sure he says "we all got duped" and was claiming to be an expert and "authenticated" something he was far far out of his depth on. I feel this is possibly a similar circumstance. If this truly is the oldest box he has ever authenticated, what is he basing his expertise on? How many individual OPC produced 54 topps packs has he seen? I assume he has never seen a box produced by OPC for topps from 1954 or he would not be able to say this is the oldest one he has ever "authenticated"
In my opinion, one needs to have experience with something before they can be considered an authority on it. How does he know the actual box is authentic? has he handled 50 of them over the years? 25? 10? I would rather doubt it. How can he be confident of its age and authenticity? The owners story is a nice touch, but that is all it is, a story. that cannot be used as any sort of provenance.
I am sure steve is a nice and honest guy. I have purchased from him in the past. I just refuse to drink the cool aid. I do not believe there are enough true 54 topps/opc boxes extant for anyone to study in order to become an expert on them. And we know that steve will "authenticate" boxes/cases even in the case where he is not an expert on a particular item. In this case, I think steve (or anyone else) is out of his depth and is working on reputation and not actual expertise.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I doubt there have been any other full boxes, but the packs have been around. eBay seller feedthecat has had a quantity of the wrappers and I have seen the packs a number of times over the years.
I am not really buying the "stolen box story" . First of all, kids don't steal boxes, they steal packs. Packs are easy, you grab a pack and put it in your pocket. Where is a kid gonna hide a box? Also, once the mom found out, she decided to put away in the attic?? How about, teaching your kid not to steal and making him return it back to the store.
While I do agree with most of what you're saying here,I do think that you're getting too caught up with his wording. His exact statement was This is now the oldest box to have been wrapped by BBCE. meaning he wrapped the entire full box.
He doesn't say anywhere that this is first time handling the actual box itself,just his first time wrapping one with all of its packs inside.
He could have had numerous partial boxes come through his shop where the box only had an X amount of packs in it,obviously not enough to wrap one.
He also could have handled numerous empty 1954 Topps boxes throughout the years that eventually sold to collectors as empty boxes.
It could be either one of those scenarios OR neither at all, we just don't know.
I get and agree that with his recent track record his judgement should and will be questioned at times. He deserves that for
giving his opinion on an item that he wasn't famailar with.
its also ok to believe that with his proven track record,when it comes to actual sports products, that was built over a number of years,there's also a ton of stuff that goes on behind the scenes that we'll never learn about. For all we know this '54 Topps box could be his 10th time examining the actual box itself while it just so happens to be his 1st full box that he wrapped ever.
Eric
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I group with a kid who was a professional thief. I saw him steal 2 boxes of cards right off the store counter in New York City. After a few blocks of out running the store owner, he was home free. I agree with you about this story being slightly shady because, the kid I knew immediately opened the packs up so there was no time for his mom to find out.
Looks like Nat is the owner?
Craig44- Steve made a mistake and has owned up to that on the Pokemon crap. PSA makes mistakes all the time authenticating cards. We all make mistakes and the fact you give him zero grace is sad. He has the ability to authenticate a pack because he is the leading authority (just like PSA for cards) to determine if the packs are legitimate. We as unopened collectors value his opinion and friendship. I realize that someone who collects $32 cards you would not understand this. No offense, but this is a bigger game than what you play in. If Steve was not in this business, I really don't know who would step up to authenticate these items. Steve authenticates the condition and rules out foul play the best he can. Many trust him and he is great for the hobby.
As for the value of this box, I would be glad to pay the $1,000,000 for the box. This is an unreal find.
It is certainly an unreal find. Everyone is motivated by different factors. If I was an American who collected 1954s as a kid and could afford it, I can see spending $1,000,000 on a normal Topps box. Personally, its Canadian origins make it less appealing to me regardless of the fact that the cards are identical. But Nat is the one with the cash so his opinion is what matters here.
Agreed. It's a bogus story. And if that is a lie, what else might be a lie? If BBCE Exchange ends up getting duped again, it's going to kill their business and call into question the entire unopened pack grading industry.
There is zero chance this box is “fake” as in made up from whatever was lying around. It would be a valid concern that it could be picked through and resealed, but if Steve can’t spot that he wouldn’t be in the position he is in. Spotting resealed packs does not require having seen the exact same box in the past.
Oh stop, the box will never be opened and Steve was able to view the individual packs so I don’t think there’s a problem. The Pokémon boxes were in a sealed case correct? So he didn’t see the boxes. His error was on the seal of the case I believe. I would believe this to be legit.
Do we know what the sale price was?
Agreed with above. I would have no issue with this box because Steve would have verified all packs before being wrapped and he has certainly had experience authenticating 1954 wax packs previously.
I never worked in a grocery store as a kid, but a bunch of my friends did. I can tell you from direct knowledge that plenty of kids stole plenty of boxes of cards. It was so common they didn't bother with packs. Of course this was 1989 with UD and not 1954 though (I'm old but not that old).
36 x 4 = 144 packs. How much do you think they could auction off a one card slot for? $10K? It would be the group break of the century. Randoming off the box and wrappers too. You could sell great sponsorships - have a PSA rep do real time on site grading.
Kiss me twice.....let's party.
That would be epic!
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Since ‘54 has gum - only 4 cards a pack - one has gum stain, one has wax stain so at best two nice cards per pack. I know the value is on the box itself as an item - but a significant part of the value has to be on the chance you decide to get crazy and open it. The dream of pristine Aarons and Kalines and Bankses. Very cool item that would lose monumental value if ever opened due to the gum.
I must have missed the part where steve owned up to that "crap" from what I remember, the quote from steve on the flubbed "authentication" was, "we all got duped, agreed?" He pretty much spread the fault around to everyone for his error in authenticating that case. His reaction was a horrible look.
I am not saying I think steve cannot authenticate packs. I am saying, I dont believe he (or anyone else) has seen enough 54 boxes to be able to be considered an authority on them. How many 86 fleer packs do you think Steve looked at before he became an expert on them? I dont think there are enough known authentic 54 boxes extant for anyone to be an expert on them. we all know that steve will work above his paygrade to "authenticate" product he is not an authority on by working on his reputation.
as for me collecting $32 cards, how pompous of you to assume you know what anyone elses budget is. you dont know me or have any idea what kind of collection I may or may not have. you must have lots of friends talking down to people like that. Horrible optics man, just horrible optics. You sure must have been raised right, talking to people like that...
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
What a great vocabulary you have. very imaginative.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Who would you want to authenticate it that would make you comfortable in it's legitimacy? Serious question...If money wasn't an issue, nobody in their right mind would buy something like this that hasn't been authenticated....who would you feel comfortable spending 6-7 figures with based on their opinion?
I would not feel comfortable with anyone authenticating this. that is my whole point. this item is sufficiently rare that I dont believe there is an expert on it. There are just not enough exemplars out there to study in order for anyone to, with any confidence, authenticate this item.
I would not purchase this item for 6-7 figures. I am not confident it is authentic. remember, anything can be faked. listen to steve talk through his process with the pokemon case. he said he used the same process and same due diligence with that as he does with any sports product. we all know how that one turned out.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
You're focusing way too much on the concept of the box. For those of us who collect these things and have done homework, the reality is he is authenticating the packs.
If I put together a Frankenstein box of 1985 Topps and provided an empty box, if he authenticates the packs, then he wraps them in a box and the label says 1985 Topps Unopened Box or something to that effect. The same applies here. The label does not say from a sealed case, or untampered box becuase he cannot attest to that. What he can attest to is this is a complete box of 1954 Topps, which means it contains a full box of untampered packs in an original box. Eventhough the thought is that this isn't a Frankenstein box, it could be a Frankenstein box and his policy for notating the box is consistent with this.
@craig44
With all due respect, I think you are off base by requiring that Steve has studied other “boxes” like this in order to competently authenticate this one. Authenticating the box is basically authenticating the packs, and there have been plenty of these packs around. Assuming you believe that Steve has the expertise to authenticate these packs, what can you envision going wrong in authenticating the box?