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Anyone open a 1981 Fleer baseball wax box recently? Decided to rip it.
BaltimoreYankee
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I have one nice box that I may break for fun. There are a lot of cards since the box as it has 38 packs (2 extra) of 17 cards each. I am wondering about gum damage, though, as I'd hate to get that perfectly centered Nolan Ryan ruined by a big ol' stain of pungent pink Fleer gum.
Daniel
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I've never opened a Fleer wax box but I was curious about the layout of packs...how did they put the extra 2 packs in that box? I'm assuming 4 rows of 9 packs tall for the standard 36 packs.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
The box is a little wider than a normal wax box. The two extra packs were between the nine card stacks. The 83 Fleer boxes also had 38 packs. The 83 boxes are longer and the extra packs are at the end of the stacks
James
I was curious about that too. The box is BBCE sealed so I didn't know.
Anyone open a 1981 Fleer baseball wax box recently? Concerned about gum
As long as you don't eat it all at once you'll be fine.
That's good info, thank you James. Good luck with the box Daniel.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
I've only opened one 81 fleer box a few years ago. From what I remember they used a lot of powder on the gum and it didn't stick to the cards. The powder itself was a little annoying. I may be way off on that, like I said it was a few years ago.
even as kids we knew they were so cheaply made and pics weren't that great...i can still feel the texture of those cards and all of that powder......good luck....i recall fernando and soscia..anyone recall good ol joe charboneau?..talk about aaron hernandez hype
Don't ever open 81 Donruss!! That gum seem to melt and cause several cards within a pack to stick together!!
I opened some years ago, early 90's and I remember the gum sticking to the card every time. It may depend on how they were stored over the years. Cool, dry climate, maybe the gum didn't stick. Warm, humid, probably going to stick. Just a guess.
This was a fun box as a kid-- chasing the error cards. I too remember the gum being powdery; I suspect that may help with sticking in modern day (I literally have not opened a box since 1981). This sounds like a really fun rip. I myself have toyed with the idea of picking up a few boxes, ripping them with my kids, and putting a set together. I do have a BBC sealed box but that one is staying that way. Good luck!
I've ripped a box (a few years back) and lost a few cards in each pack to leached gum. No significant losses really. I've also ripped random packs and not lost any. So I do think it has a lot to do with storage over 36 years. Good luck. 81 was when my interest really peaked so it was fun regardless.
I opened many packs of 1981 Donruss as a kid. The gum stuck to the top card on about every other pack back then When you tried to pull it off you took half the card with it. Being from NC, I remember being so excited to get a Gaylord Perry with the Yankees or a Dale Murphy. I have both of these cards somewhere with the front missing.
I have ripped several boxes and "sold in lots" packs over the past several years. Aside from a couple of random packs having some gum issue the aforementioned powder saved the day. Really sharp cards in my experience. I was too young to collect in 81, but I thouroughly enjoy these rips. The quality of the photos and the sub optimal centering and tilt gives the product character IMO.
Well, I decided to go for it. I figure if I sold the box, it would net maybe $48 after eBay and paypal fees.
The box was BBCE sealed and very clean. Cracking open the seal, I was met with a decidedly musty aroma. So far, I have opened 12 packs - most of the cards are off center left to right. Best cards pulled: Seaver, Yaz, Brett, Fisk, Murray, Morgan, Perz, Garvey, Kirk Gibson (all off center) and a nicely centered Nolan Ryan. The Ryan would not grade a 10. Possibly a 9 but that's no more than a $10 card. Will continue ripping tomorrow.
Oh yeah, the gum is stuck pretty well to the first card in each pack but can be pulled off with limited damage to the card. Doesn't affect other cards. So far, no star gum cards. No random gum powder in any of the packs yet.
Good luck, Dan!
Post a few scans if you can.
Is this the year of the "Craig Nettles" error card? I vaguely remember as a kid that was a hot card.
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.
definitely the year of the Craig Nettles card. As a young kid I remember wanting to get that card. I had no idea what the error actually was. I don't even recall how I even became aware of it. I was not even in double digits yet.
No Nettles yet of either variety - it would be nice to get the error card.
The second wave of rips did offer two gum marred star cards - the Harold Baines rookie and Rod Carew. Other star cards are Rose, Molitor, Winfield, Yount, Stargell, Niekro, Fingers and a grossly off center Reggie Jackson. Most cards continue to be O/C left to right, with most of the border being on the left side. I also pulled a second year Henderson (OC) and a nicely centered Ozzie Smith from this group.
Two other general notes: Cards are nice and flat, without the Topps 'curl' you sometimes get. Also, the last card in each pack has a small machining notching mark on the back.
I'll open the remaining 13 pack later today.
Yeah, me too. 1981 Donruss gets my vote as the worst set from the 1980's. The cards feel paper thin, the gum practically melted onto the cards and the design is really boring. In fact, 1982 and 1983 Donruss were pretty boring too.
1981 and 1982 Fleer had their own issues. The photographs themselves are so blurry. I don't know who Fleer used for the photos those first 2 years, but it's almost like they found some 12 year old kid and told him to make the pictures as blurry as possible. I always wondered how and why the photos they went with were of such horrible quality (especially 1982 Fleer).
TheClockworkAngelCollection
1981 was a big year in my personal collecting journey. It was fantastic to have three different sets to choose from (and very "doable" to complete three sets; I can't keep up with the 247 issues a year these days). 1981 Fleer has always been endearing to me, warts and all.
1981 Donruss, as many mention above, was another issue. Donruss was a little more difficult for me to find in my neck of the woods. The collation was horrid. I remember opening packs and getting like five or six of the same player. This would happen pack after pack. I seem to recall one box I opened yielded maybe about 100 to 150 different cards. Given that, I shied away to some degree in looking for Donruss. Topps and Fleer were on the top and I really loved the Topps rack packs. Good times and memories.
Please do share scans!
Final group of packs yielded a really OC Fernando Valenzuela, McCovey, Bench, Palmer, Rice, Blyleven, etc. I must say, the collation of this box was great - very few dupes and good star and rookie representation. I'll post some scans in a bit.
Edited to add: I did get a Nettles but not the "Craig" variation.
Sounds like a fun rip! Don't forget to check for all the other variations: http://www.tradingcarddb.com/Errors.cfm/sid/84/1981-Fleer
Fleer was only one to do a McCovey card in 81??
Here are some scans from the box rip. Overall very sharp cards with a lot better centering to be desired. At least the Ryan card was centered well. Looking at the scans blown up, it appears Fleer may have borrowed OPC's cutting tools
I just had flashbacks Daniel.
I believe I bought a bunch of star cards many years ago - will be interesting to see what condition they're in?
Also, I have 2 83F boxes that I plan to open this fall - gonna do the set - I'm one of the "odd" ones who likes the design - while others have said it's boring I believe?
I don't remember rough cuts like that?
I had opened quite a few Fleer packs back in the day and don't remember seeing any rough edges either. Weird that the horizontal edges are sharp as can be.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/15971825/
Great video of a local man who took photos for Fleer Baseball Cards.
Great tie in to this thread!
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.