Holy Grails of card collecting
BugOnTheRug
Posts: 1,611 ✭✭✭
While the T206 Wagner tends to be the universal 'holy grail' baseball card of collectors in general, it's something that on a personal level I can't really relate to - nice to have - but no other tie.
One of the things I wonder about from time to time relates to my vivid memories of opening 71 topps baseball as a kid. As you will occasionally see a GAI pack of 71's, I often wonder if a CASE of 71's, maybe even a few, still exist unopened, just like the cases the corner store ordered where I used to buy the packs for 10 cents each. Now, here is something I can really relate too.........but are there any out there anymore?
I knew of a guy who had a good paying job and bought 5 to 10 cases of cards each year - starting with 1980 Topps. He wasn't a dealer but an average Joe who was well coined, and would stack 'em away to open on a future rainy day. Now if I know someone like that in my little world, what's the likelyhood of the same from someone else in the U.S. regarding cards of the 50's, 60's, and early 70's?
While unopened vintage boxes are all the rage these days, I can't help but think that somewhere, someone is sitting on an absolute gold mine of a particular year and doesn't even know it. Or if he does know it, he's probably going to keep very, very quiet about it, or simply isn't interested and wouldn't understand all the hoopla it could create if made known.
So this question is for the pure statisticians among us: What is the probability that for any given year (spanning the 40's, 50's, 60's, and early 70's - regardless of series #) that an unopened, undamaged CASE(S) exists in someones possession, either known or forgotten?
While it'd be easy to say this is the stuff of science fiction, I've found that fact can be a lot stranger than fiction.
BOTR
One of the things I wonder about from time to time relates to my vivid memories of opening 71 topps baseball as a kid. As you will occasionally see a GAI pack of 71's, I often wonder if a CASE of 71's, maybe even a few, still exist unopened, just like the cases the corner store ordered where I used to buy the packs for 10 cents each. Now, here is something I can really relate too.........but are there any out there anymore?
I knew of a guy who had a good paying job and bought 5 to 10 cases of cards each year - starting with 1980 Topps. He wasn't a dealer but an average Joe who was well coined, and would stack 'em away to open on a future rainy day. Now if I know someone like that in my little world, what's the likelyhood of the same from someone else in the U.S. regarding cards of the 50's, 60's, and early 70's?
While unopened vintage boxes are all the rage these days, I can't help but think that somewhere, someone is sitting on an absolute gold mine of a particular year and doesn't even know it. Or if he does know it, he's probably going to keep very, very quiet about it, or simply isn't interested and wouldn't understand all the hoopla it could create if made known.
So this question is for the pure statisticians among us: What is the probability that for any given year (spanning the 40's, 50's, 60's, and early 70's - regardless of series #) that an unopened, undamaged CASE(S) exists in someones possession, either known or forgotten?
While it'd be easy to say this is the stuff of science fiction, I've found that fact can be a lot stranger than fiction.
BOTR
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Steve
Going from memory, here are some cases that have been broken since the early 90s:
1959 Fleer Ted Williams
1960 Topps rack pack (not the Xmas racks - Mr Mint)
1961/62 Fleer Basketball
Some other plentiful late 50's to mid 60's packs (59 Topps football cello).
Fritsch is sitting on a goldmine. A mountain of '72 Topps Football Hi number cards, '75 cellos, '72/73 basketball.
<< <i>
Fritsch is sitting on a goldmine. A mountain of '72 Topps Football Hi number cards, '75 cellos, '72/73 basketball. >>
if he is sitting on them then they are a pile of shi! and
that may explain why he cant seem to find anything
"legend" claims he has.wouldn't surprise me from those
adds they used to run if they ate all the cards
<< <i>There was someone on these boards that once claimed they knew a person that had a 1958 wax case in their basement.... >>
Wow! Do they have any plans to market the case or sell by the box or pack? Although its a helluva amount of packs it would be absorbed rather quickly...jay
Website: http://www.qualitycards.com
<< <i>
<< <i>There was someone on these boards that once claimed they knew a person that had a 1958 wax case in their basement.... >>
Wow! Do they have any plans to market the case or sell by the box or pack? Although its a helluva amount of packs it would be absorbed rather quickly...jay >>
'58 nickel packs are worth about $5 k. That means the case would be worth in excess of a million dollars.
Imagine what that case would do to the pop report.
<< <i>There was someone on these boards that once claimed they knew a person that had a 1958 wax case in their basement.... >>
i've got that '58 wax case.. it's actually in a storage building i have on my property.. i plan on busting a couple boxes sometime soon..
ok.. now i'm gonna go to bed and dream some more..
<< <i>'58 nickel packs are worth about $5 k. That means the case would be worth in excess of a million dollars.
Imagine what that case would do to the pop report. >>
Again - assuming it is true - there are two things:
A) I imagine it would only be from one of the series. It would seriously skew population for that one series - and cause a spiral downward in price for that series - and perhaps a bump up for all the other series.
Again, just conjecture on my part.
~ms