1981 Topps Baseball vending case busting

CubsKiller99

I bought a 1981 Topps vending case the other day and started cracking into the boxes last night.

The cards have all the expected centering issues but overall really as good as could be expected.
And the collation appears to be really good after busting 6 boxes of the 24.

For grins here are some of the key card counts so far with about 4 being perfect collation:

180 Rose - 7
240 Ryan - 4
261 Henderson - 5
302 Valenzuela - 3
479 Raines - 6
540 Schmidt - 9

I'm gonna take a break for a few days and then get back to the rest.

My question for 1981 experts since I'm new to 1981: what other cards
besides the obvious hall of famers, rookies and league leader cards should
I be looking for? I don't want to miss anything good.

nam812

<< <i>..........what other cards
besides the obvious hall of famers, rookies and league leader cards should
I be looking for? I don't want to miss anything good. >>



Surely it wont be any fun for you if we do all the work. Have at it.

PSA's free pop report for 1981 Topps

PSA's free set registry report for 1981 Topps sets

Also, you're a little low on ketchup.

ldferg

Glenn Adams
Benny Ayala
Fred Lynn
Led Mazilli

Are a few. There are several others. Let the 81 guys chime in.

Smokie

In my opinion the #18 card GLENN ADAMS is the only card that does not have a PSA 9 or 10, The # 58 JOEL YOUNGBLOOD 1 of 1, #101 BENNY AYALA 2 of 2, # 52 HECTOR CRUZ 2 of 2, # 232 MICKEY KLUTTS 2 of 2, # 559 WILLIE MONTANEZ 2 of 2 there are several 3 of 3. If you happen to get an 18 Glenn Adams in a 9 or 10 I'd be very interested if your selling any. Please fell free to e-mail me. Good luck with your vending case.

RookieWax

how about some pics of the stars?

CubsKiller99

<< <i>how about some pics of the stars? >>



Will upload some soon.

CubsKiller99

<< <i>

<< <i>..........what other cards
besides the obvious hall of famers, rookies and league leader cards should
I be looking for? I don't want to miss anything good. >>



Surely it wont be any fun for you if we do all the work. Have at it.

PSA's free pop report for 1981 Topps

PSA's free set registry report for 1981 Topps sets

Also, you're a little low on ketchup. >>



The pop report was the first thing I looked at. So many condition-sensitive cards.

ldferg

How are your Fernando's looking?

ThoseBackPages

please post pics of the sealed case, and then pics as you cracked the boxes

olb31

kirk gibson rookie!!

jessherron

I would also have an Interest in the Glenn Adams or benny ayala

Mdube16

Just throw them in the pool

chouser

agreed. pool party for 99.9% of them. they float, for a while,

mark34

Johnny Bench is tough to find in PSA 9.

lfa2mfg

John Ellis
Frank Pastore

those two are super tough.....would love to buy well centered copies of those!

jeffcbay

Isn't Reggie Jackson one of the tougher HOFers in this set?

CubsKiller99

Thanks everyone for your insights.

It's proving to be more daunting than I thought. Looking at the population
report there so many low-pop 9s and missing 10s --it's a wonder that anyone
tries to complete this set.

Which leads me to my next topic. I'm not a set collector so all the non rookies
stars, HOF, etc. -- are not something that I really want to for my personal PC.
And grading fees have been eating me alive lately so I'm not going to get them
graded for later resale....

...so I'm perfectly willing to share the low-pop commons with people after I've
busted the entire case.

Again -- I'll go through all 24 boxes and then set aside the commons and
we'll take it from there.

To answer a few questions:

Valenzuela rookies have been terrible -- almost no top border for most of them.
Raines rookies better. In general lots of badly-centered cards as expected but
also some real gems. The case was virgin and unsearched.

I will hopefully get some pics posted tonight.

ToppsFan

<< <i>Thanks everyone for your insights.

It's proving to be more daunting than I thought. Looking at the population
report there so many low-pop 9s and missing 10s --it's a wonder that anyone
tries to complete this set.

Which leads me to my next topic. I'm not a set collector so all the non rookies
stars, HOF, etc. -- are not something that I really want to for my personal PC.
And grading fees have been eating me alive lately so I'm not going to get them
graded for later resale....

...so I'm perfectly willing to share the low-pop commons with people after I've
busted the entire case.

Again -- I'll go through all 24 boxes and then set aside the commons and
we'll take it from there.

To answer a few questions:

Valenzuela rookies have been terrible -- almost no top border for most of them.
Raines rookies better. In general lots of badly-centered cards as expected but
also some real gems. The case was virgin and unsearched.

I will hopefully get some pics posted tonight. >>



Now imagine trying to complete a set pre 80s in 10s! Vending normally doesn't produce many 10s in spite of the volume as cards will often times suffer from corner damage. 80s cardboard stock did make this less of an issue as the years progressed but I believe that didn't really kickup until 85/86. You can look at the pop report for percent of 10s vs 9s and see what I'm talking about.

TF

ldferg

Are you planning to put any sets together?

jmmiller777

I would be interested in a nice Ozzie Smith and any Willie McCovey's you are willing to part with.
Are you seeing a lot of crooked or "out of square" cards?

chouser

<< <i>

<< <i>Thanks everyone for your insights.

It's proving to be more daunting than I thought. Looking at the population
report there so many low-pop 9s and missing 10s --it's a wonder that anyone
tries to complete this set.

Which leads me to my next topic. I'm not a set collector so all the non rookies
stars, HOF, etc. -- are not something that I really want to for my personal PC.
And grading fees have been eating me alive lately so I'm not going to get them
graded for later resale....

...so I'm perfectly willing to share the low-pop commons with people after I've
busted the entire case.

Again -- I'll go through all 24 boxes and then set aside the commons and
we'll take it from there.

To answer a few questions:

Valenzuela rookies have been terrible -- almost no top border for most of them.
Raines rookies better. In general lots of badly-centered cards as expected but
also some real gems. The case was virgin and unsearched.

I will hopefully get some pics posted tonight. >>



Now imagine trying to complete a set pre 80s in 10s! Vending normally doesn't produce many 10s in spite of the volume as cards will often times suffer from corner damage. 80s cardboard stock did make this less of an issue as the years progressed but I believe that didn't really kickup until 85/86. You can look at the pop report for percent of 10s vs 9s and see what I'm talking about.

TF >>



78's and 79's especially tough huh

CubsKiller99

<< <i>Are you seeing a lot of crooked or "out of square" cards? >>



Centering is the most common problem. And being vending there are
numerous corner issues.

Some cards, most notably Henderson, do have a consistent crooked cut.

I think I can get a lot of star cards in PSA 9, but 10 is not gonna be easy.

CubsKiller99

For all of you guys that PM'd me about the commons -- when I'm done busting the case
I'll definitely be interested in reasnable sale/trade of those, even the low pops. Then you
can decide to keep raw or grade yourself.

So stay tuned, it might be a few more weeks before I can complete the busting
as other outdoor projects are in the works.

Thanks,
Dave

CubsKiller99

Half the case busted, keepers are in penny sleeves. About 5500
commons to box up now.


1981 Topps Baseball vending case

5500 commons

chouser

I'll paypal you 50 bucks if all 5500 go in the pool and you post a picture of it for the fellas here.