Legit wrapper codes for '70's cellos
PaulMaul
Posts: 4,900 ✭✭✭✭✭
One good way to spot fake cello packs seems to be identifying a bogus year/code combination. This appears to be somewhat tough, though, since certain years seem to use different wrappers. Have any of you unopened material mavens come up with a definitive list of which cello wrapper codes go with which years? For example, the '74 cello I own has the -4 code on the wrapper, whereas the one Tim currently has on ebay has the -2 wrapper code that was used on the '73 cellos. It's certainly plausible that both of these were used.
Are there other years using more than one code?
Are there other years using more than one code?
0
Comments
Sophisticated cello counterfeiters are well aware of this and because raw '73 baseball wrappers are extremely scarce they will search out clean 1974 baseball cellos with a wrapper ending in (2) so that they can use the wrapper to fabricate a 1973 baseball cello with a star showing!
Here's an example for you football cello collectors: Late in the 1972 football season Topps considered a cost saving measure on their cellos by eliminating the cardboard box each cello came in and instead printed graphics on the cello wrapper itself. So late in the '72 football season Topps created a "test" football cello pack housed only in a cello wrapper and the wrapper serial# ended with a (2). Topps really liked the new "test" cellos and decided to eliminate the box for good and house all their cellos only in cellophane from that point on. So late in '72 they decided to print all the wrappers they would need for next year's 1973 football cellos. And as with '73 baseball cellos this is why '73 football cellos also have a wrapper ending in a (2). Topps in their enthusiasm apparently produced far too many wrappers late in '72 and for this reason not only can you find 1974 fb cellos with a wrapper ending in (2) but occasionally you can find a '75 fb cello with one as well. In fact I've even seen a few '76 fb cellos with this same wrapper.
Moreover, in 1974 Topps also had some left over football cello wrappers ending with a (4) so as usual they used the left over '74 wrappers the next year on the '75 football cello packs. Thus when it comes to 1975 Topps football cello packs you can find legitimate packs that have a cello wrapper ending in either a (2), (4), or (5).
And again sophisticated vintage cello counterfeiters are well aware of this and therefore the 1975 Topps football cello pack ending with a (2), being cheaper to obtain than a '74 or '76 fb cello ending with a (2), has become the "pack of choice" for those wanting the correct wrapper to fabricate either a very rare 1972 Topps "test" cello pack or '73 fb cello pack with a star player showing!
Yes, in 1974, as Summer explained. Also, in 1975 Topps used wrappers ending in "4" from leftover 74 cellos and "5", which they continued to use through 1977. In 1978, the card count was changed from 18 to 21 and the wrapper was also changed to the one ending in "8".
Edit to add: For baseball, here's a list of wrappers and the last digit in their respective product codes:
1973: "2"
1974: "2" and "4"
1975: "4" and "5"
1976: "5"
1977: "5"
1978: "8"
1979: "8"
1980: "0"
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>Actually when one combines a little pack knowledge and logic its not that tough afterall. For example: Tim's '74 cello pack has a serial# ending with a (2) meaning the wrapper was printed late in 1972 by Topps for use on the 1973 baseball cellos the following spring in '73. Then at the end of the '73 baseball season Topps still had a fair amount of these same wrappers left over so they used the left over wrappers the next year on the 1974 baseball cello packs since the .25 cent price per cello was still the same on the '74s. Thus you will occasionally find a 1974 Topps baseball cello pack that will have a serial# ending with a (2).
Sophisticated cello counterfeiters are well aware of this and because raw '73 baseball wrappers are extremely scarce they will search out clean 1974 baseball cellos with a wrapper ending in (2) so that they can use the wrapper to fabricate a 1973 baseball cello with a star showing!
Here's an example for you football cello collectors: Late in the 1972 football season Topps considered a cost saving measure on their cellos by eliminating the cardboard box each cello came in and instead printed graphics on the cello wrapper itself. So late in the '72 football season Topps created a "test" football cello pack housed only in a cello wrapper and the wrapper serial# ended with a (2). Topps really liked the new "test" cellos and decided to eliminate the box for good and house all their cellos only in cellophane from that point on. So late in '72 they decided to print all the wrappers they would need for next year's 1973 football cellos. And as with '73 baseball cellos this is why '73 football cellos also have a wrapper ending in a 2. Topps in their enthusiasm apparently produced far too many wrappers late in '72 and for this reason not only can you find 1974 fb cellos with a wrapper ending in (2) but occasionally you can find a '75 fb cello with one as well.
And again sophisticated vintage football cello counterfeiters are well aware of this and therefore the 1975 Topps football cello pack ending with a (2), being cheaper to obtain than a '74 or '76 fb cello ending with a (2), has become the "pack of choice" for those wanting the correct wrapper to fabricate either a very rare 1972 Topps "test" cello pack or '73 fb cello pack with a star player showing! >>
If any of this things do okur, then you have to learn the full proof EASY way to detect those counterfeit packs and that is knowing the corresponding size to each for example
if someone opens a 1974 pack with serial # ending in 2 with the intention to recreate a 1973 pack he could only fit (22) 1973 cards into it, because 74 packs came with only
22 cards no matter the serial # which would make the pack to narrow for a 1973 because the 73 pack came with 27 cards the thickest pack with the 25 cent logo same thing
with 1975 packs with the serial # ending in 4, 1975 packs came with 18 cards only, and the real 1974 pack came with 22 cards so again the fake pack would be to narrow
and in top of that the 1974 piece of gum was larger than the 1975 piece of gum,,,same thing with football cellos 1972 came with 27 cards and got smaller in 73 & 74 so
if you see a 1972 cello that is to narrow with the serial # 2 is a fake!! maybe one of this days i'll talk someone into making a video so you can all see how easy it is to tell
now between 75 & 77 diferent story.
if someone opens a 1974 pack with serial # ending in 2 with the intention to recreate a 1973 pack he could only fit (22) 1973 cards into it, because 73 packs came with only
22 cards no matter the serial # which would make the pack to narrow for a 1973 because the 73 pack came with 27 cards the thickest pack with the 25 cent logo same thing
with 1975 packs with the serial # ending in 4, 1975 packs came with 18 cards only, and the real 1974 pack came with 22 cards so again the fake pack would be to narrow
and in top of that the 1974 piece of gum was larger than the 1975 piece of gum,,,same thing with football cellos 1972 came with 27 cards and got smaller in 73 & 74 so
if you see a 1972 cello that is to narrow with the serial # 2 is a fake!! maybe one of this days i'll talk someone into making a video so you can all see how easy it is to tell
now between 75 & 77 diferent story.>>
Excellent points Jose as there are many vintage cello collectors out there who are unaware of the correct number of cards contained in cellos from different years and it is this lack of knowledge that the fabricators rely on.
As an unopened collector who opens a lot of packs, I have learned quite a bit over the years as to what to look for to determine if a pack is real or not. Not only is quite exciting to open vintage packs, but if you pull a few mint cards you can pay for the pack as well (though it is always a gamble). 73 jumbo cellos are much better candidates for opening than typical 70s cello packs as the cards in general are much sharper and because of the size of the pack (27 cards as opposed to 18 or 21) the corners are better protected from the tighter cello wrap.
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.