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Topps sportzcubz grading question
craig44
Posts: 10,523 ✭✭✭✭✭
I have a 1998 topps sportzcubz prototype that I would like to get graded mostly for preservation reasons. The problem is that they are about 3" square and will not fit in a standard size toploader or cardsaver. These are very scarce unreleased prototypes and I am unsure whether psa would grade it? I have contacted beckett and it is a no go with them because of the unreleased status. Any ideas?
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
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I got N9'd when trying to sub mine with PSA and including links to the Beckett checklist.
Bummer, how do you store yours?
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
CS4 for now.
ETA: I haven't tried yet, but may send it in for Auth only slabbing at some point. I'm not sure that a grade really matters on these.
I agree about the grade. These are rare enough that numerical grade isn't that important for me. They are just such an odd shape that I would like it encapsulated.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I'm pretty sure I saw a Beckett graded example of one of these for sale on eBay... does anyone else remember seeing that? Can't remember which player it was.
ETA: Should have searched first...
i really wish PSA would grade these puppies
Me too, I have two of the five Mark Grace's. I say five because that's the rumored total pop. I know two sets sold in 2014, and three more sold in 2016-- by a son of a former Topps employee. I assume the three from 2016 were independent of the other two... if so that would account for the five.
Those sure look familiar!
I am not sure why you are having trouble with Beckett. I had my complete set graded by BGS. The Bernie is mine. I had the other 24 in the set graded myself. Got mostly 9s and 8.5s with a few 9.5s. Jeter got a 9.5.
Could you be more specific...... Which Sportzcubz do you have? When did you try to get it graded? I got my set graded back earlier in the Spring or Summer.
PSA will not grade as of yet. Did you call BGS and ask if they would grade a Prototype? That may have been your problem. I just sent mine in and they graded them.
I am not sure why PSA won't grade them. They have always told me that they would grade any card in the SCD catalog. These are in the SCD, but I still got turned down by PSA. That's why I went with BGS.
Shane
One of the rarest complete sets in the hobby.
Shane
FWIW, it is definitely not the size and shape that prevents those from being graded. I have no idea why they wouldn't be in PSA holders, as there are countless more different sets that are more obscure than those.
Also, though this is a more mainstream item than your Sportzcubz, here is an example of a set that is slabbed and has a relatively similar shape and cut pattern (not my card):
I don't think that the sets in 2014 were independent of the other 3. I am certain that those sets that were sold in 2014 were sold by the same son of the Topps employee. He sold one of those sets in 2014 to a guy in Texas. I know, because I bought the near set from the guy in Texas (he kept 3 of the cards....Griffey, Bonds, and Alomar). I bought the near set from the guy in Texas AFTER I dealt directly with the son of the Topps employee.
Here is how it all went down....
In May of 2016, I bought my first set from the son of the Topps employee for the sole purpose of keeping the McGwire for my Cardinals collection. I sold off the rest individually. He contacted me again in October of 2016 wanting to sell another complete set and another near set (22/25). I purchased them, along with some other nice Topps items like wax pack wrapper proofs, uncut sheets, etc.
Ironically, the very next week in October, I saw where a guy was selling 3 Sportzcubz on Ebay. I thought, "That's just great"...after I thought I had pretty much cornered the market so to speak, here are 3 more cards. So, I contacted him in Texas to see what he had. He had a complete set, but he wanted to keep a few. He agreed to pull the 3 he listed on Ebay and he sold me all but the Griffey, Bonds, and Alomar. He confirmed to me that he bought them from the son of the Topps employee (who had passed away a few years ago).
So, to sum it all up, of the 5 sets or partial sets known to exist, I have owned 2 complete sets and 2 more near sets. I still own the complete set in BGS slabs and I still own 2 partial sets. As I stated earlier, I broke the first set and sold individually (keeping the McGwire). As for the 5th set......I don't have any information on it....or whether there are any more out there.
Shane
Frank hardy, thanks so much for the info on these. They are a bit of a mystery. I only have one, but was curious as to how they came to be. I am somewhat surprised that they don't carry even higher prices as they really are crown jewels for player collectors. Sometimes though, I think an item can be too rare for its own good. With only 5 or so of each player, there definitely are not enough to go around. I wonder how they were planning to market these?
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I do not know how they were going to be marketed. I think they were intended to be put together like a cube or a 3d puzzle. They just never got out of the prototype stage.
Care to share who you have and how you got yours?
Shane
I have the Clemens. Boring acquisition story though, ebay
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
stumbled across my Guerreros last night and wondered how these were performing. found a legit Junior sale for $1,100 (non-prototype?), and current listings of O'Neill ($180, raw) and Jeter ($10k, 9.5, BO/BIN). tried to see if there were any offers on the DJ, but watchcount is down
to those who purchased from frankhardy, still have yours?
Still have my Larkin, still hanging out in a CS4. HBD Barry!
nebber got mine
Here are my two, wish I would have bought more
sgc will grade
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Panama