1990 Topps Baseball Experts - Which configuration is 1-362-70-02-0?
ndleo
Posts: 4,136 ✭✭✭✭✭
I've had this box on my shelf for a while. I thought it was a Cello box but it looked too thick to be a cello. I noticed it says 36ct on the side, but it's not shaped like a wax box (it's more square shaped).
I thought it was wrapped by the hobby store I bought it from many years ago, but I've seen similar boxes with the same wrap, so I'm thinking it was wrapped at the factory.
Does anyone know if the packs inside are regular wax packs?
Mike
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That's the box with the alternative "wax" wrapper that is cellophane with a crimped seal down the back. This is the first pic I could find from eBay.
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They did that secondary type of wrapper in 1989, 1990, and 1991. I have "wax" boxes of all 3 years, but like yours, they're still wrapped in the factory cellophane, so don't have any better pics that what I pulled from eBay.
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Count - Thank you so much. The dealers I went to thought it was a cello box, the other kind of cello. Once I pointed out the 36ct on the side, they retracted their opinion. I guess they were right all along and didn't know it!
I don't remember seeing these at retail in 1990, but then again there was so much product out there that I may have missed it.
The alternative packaging doesn't appear to be super rare, but clearly produced in less quantity than the familiar wax wrappers. I'm not sure how or where they were distributed. I've heard that the boxes with the alternative wrappers would be randomly inserted into cases along with the normal wax boxes, but I don't know if I buy that, as you can see there is a size difference between the 2 boxes.
There is actually a 3rd wrapper for the 1991 Topps issue "wax" boxes, which is a cellophane wrapper with the same familiar folds as a wax/cello wrapper vs the crimped cellophane. Similar to the 1991 Stadium Club wrappers. Those boxes, I could see being slipped into cases randomly, as the boxes are the same size in that instance.
I guess Score in 88 and Upper Deck in 89, with their non-wax, crimped seal wrappers, had Topps experimenting with their packaging to get with the times and move away from having wax stained cards in every pack.
This is an example of the regular 1991 Topps wax wrapper on the left, and then the 3rd wrapper variation for the 1991 Topps on the right. It's a cello based wrapper with the familiar folds. The wax boxes for both wrapper styles appear to be identical to each other, with the same code printed on it.
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Are the cards cleaner coming out of the cello wax pack?
There are no wax stained cards, for sure, in the alternative packaging. I haven't opened any of the 91 cello wrapped wax packs or the 89, 90, and 91 cello crimped pack variations in a looooong time, so can't recall how corners looked with the various packaging.
To me, the cello wrapped wax packs appears wrapped a bit more tightly, so that might be a negative on the corners. The crimped back cello packs are much looser fitting, hence the need for a bigger box. That extra freedom to move may be detrimental to corners, too, I don't know. I have this stuff in my collection, but it's just been so long since I ripped any.
I think I've seen YouTube breaks of some of the alternative packaging, and while I have never made it through viewing of the entire videos, I do seem to recall that they commented on how nice the cards looked coming out of the alternative packaging.
If you decide to open your 1990 box, I'd like to read your comments.
I found some better eBay pics of the 1990 packaging that would be inside the bigger wax box that you own.
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