Mystery Vintage Pack bust: the ultimate thrill for an old card collector!

paleocards

I got back into collecting vintage Topps HOFers at the end of 1999 and over the past few years I’ve developed a wonderful business relationship with one particular card shop owner who has, in my opinion, the best inventory of raw, high-quality vintage I’ve seen. He knows what I like and he has a great eye for the cards I collect.

So what is this “Mystery Vintage Pack bust” I’m referring to in the title of this post? Well for me it’s equivalent to the thrill that modern collectors (gamblers?) have when they bust a multi-hundred $$ premium pack or tin that guarantees low-numbered game-used and autos. Too often, however, I read how these packs/tins fail to deliver, leaving collectors complaining bitterly about being suckered by the card companies. Well, I figured that I can have all the excitement of busting one of those premium boxes but be guaranteed that every card that I “pull” would find a proud and permanent place in my collection. Here’s how: I email my budget and want list to the Card Shop Owner (I still need ~600 HOFers from between 1955-1975) and he pulls cards from his inventory to fill the order. He charges my credit card (no tax, he’s in a different state) then sends the cards to me Priority Insured (again, no charge on the shipping & insurance – he’s a class act all the way). The coolest thing is that I don’t ask and he doesn’t tell me what’s in my “Mystery Pack,” but I know that lurking inside that package will be high-grade, Topps HOFers that I don’t have yet.

When I receive the delivery, I savor opening it with my 12-year-old son. We slowly slide each card out, one-by-one, uncovering the top border, then a little of the photo, until we can guess what Topps’ year the card represents and perhaps the player as well. It’s as much fun as I can imagine having in this hobby. (And risk-free too, if a card doesn’t meet my standards he’ll take it back and credit me the buy-price on a replacement or on my next order.)

So here are the scans from my last 19-card “Mystery Vintage Pack bust” presented in reverse chronological order. Enjoy!

1969 Topps #100 Hank Aaron


1969 Topps #375 Harmon Killebrew


1969 Topps #510 Rod Carew


1969 Topps #640 Fergie Jenkins


1967 Topps #166 Eddie Mathews


1964 Topps #29 Lou Brock


1964 Topps #120 Don Drysdale


1964 Topps #350 Willie McCovey


1961 Topps #200 Warren Spahn


1961 Topps #311 Whitey Ford WS


1961 Topps #472 Yogi Berra MVP


1961 Topps #517 Willie McCovey


1960 Topps #35 Whitey Ford


1960 Topps #475 Don Drysdale


1959 Topps #559 Ernie Banks AS


1958 Topps #2 Bob Lemon


1958 Topps #480 Eddie Mathews AS


1958 Topps #483 Luis Aparicio AS


1958 Topps #484 Frank Robinson AS

perkdog

Great idea! Im happy for you, seems like you have a great working relationship with this guy....Thanks for the pic's, really nice stuff.

MorrellMan

Those look like some mighty nice cards - you going to grade any of them?

magellan

best.pack.bust.ever

yawie99

That's awesome that you have that kind of a relationship with a dealer. A lot of those cards look like they could be in PSA 8 holders, too.

I also have to say that you're quite the scansmith, paleocards. Those images look great!

highend

i think the next question is, how do i get a piece of that action??!!

stevek

Very nice cards. And good centering on most - that Ernie Banks card is especially nice. They are not PSA 8's as someone suggested but possibly PSA 6's - one or two could be a 7 but unlikely. Curious as to what you paid for that 19 card package, but since you didn't state the price it seems like you may want to keep that private. Great arrangement between you and the dealer and does sound like a lot of fun.

ctsoxfan

Very nice looking cards, and nice scans of them. Much better than a $700 pack of 5 basketball cards, eh?

fullerfun4

Sounds like great fun and a terrific way to be with your son. Nice cards. I'm jealous of such a relationship withan honest dealer.

paleocards

Thanks for all of the kind words, guys. In answer to some of your questions and comments:

MorrellMan - I'm keeping my cards raw for now, since I have no imminent plans to sell them. I also can't stand the prospect of never being able to hold the actual cardboard in my hands again. However, I haven't ruled out giving a pile of money to PSA some day...

yawie99 - I take a lot of pride in my scans, I think it's a great way to virtually share my cards with other vintage collectors.

highend - I was expecting someone to ask that question, but not surprisingly I'm going to selfishly keep my dealer's identity to myself.

stevek - As you guessed, I'm also going to keep the financial details to myself, but I will admit that quality doesn't come cheap. I also found it interesting that you'd expect that most of these would grade-out as "6's" while yawie99 thought he saw some that would come back "8's". I think that it's very difficult to tell the difference between ExMT, NrMt and Nm-MT cards with the resolution of the scans I provided (beyond the obvious centering differences). To tell the difference between a 7 & 8 I think you'd need much larger and higher-res images. Personally, after examining these cards with a magnifying glass, I think that most of these would grade "7" or better (but I have yet to make my first PSA submission, so I may be guilty of newbie over-grading).

jerster

Holy freakin cards batman - very nice lot!!