Wax Pack Run...
mintonlypls
Posts: 2,427 ✭✭✭✭✭
I am thinking of doing a wax pack run and considering the 50s or 60s or 70s.
50s seem too difficult and expensive w/56 and 58 packs being nearly impossible to obtain.
60s are challenging but doable...yet still pricey but not as much as 50s.
70s seem too easy but are least expensive.
I am leaning towards the 60s since I bought packs from 1964 to 1969 as a kid.
Do packs appreciate more or less than individual cards?
Thx in advance for any comments!
Monte
mint_only_pls
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Which packs are most difficult to obtain from the 60s?
Also...I have noticed a number of 63 packs w/printing from Canada. Are these 63 Canadian packs...O-Pee Chee cards?
I have done Topps , 1951 to 2018. You are right that 56 and 58 five cent packs are the toughest and likely most expensive. I have settled for one centers so far. Anthony ( Griffins) has the 58 , not sure about 56. He has posted his unopened packs here before, which are in a great display and go beyond Topps. I keep mine with the corresponding set.
I have not followed recent values, but the 52s have gone up some since Murphy was selling them for $ 1500
Bowman Baseball -1948-1955
Fleer Baseball-1923, 1959-2007
Al
O-Pee-Chee did not make a baseball set or a hockey set in 1963. They did print a CFL set; maybe you saw a pack of those?
The last two '52 Topps 5 cent sales that I could find were for about $11,000 each.
Arthur
1971 is tough in my opinion.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
The '71 is the one pack in the 70s run in which a collector would have to spend $1000+ to have it in their collection. All the others can be had for <$1000.
My vote, do 70's first. Then move on to 60's. A regular size '75 box is up for auction now and current hammer is stratospheric (about $15K with juice). Good news for some of those hoarders on this forum.
Collecting Unopened from '72-'83; mostly BBCE certified boxes/cases/racks.
Prefer to buy in bulk.
In both 1963 and 1964 Topps produced 4-card packs containing domestic cards but using an OPC wrapper. Not sure why.
I did a 70’s run and had all of them except the 1971 which is tough to find. When they did come up they were about $2100-2300 a pack. Outside of that 1973 was a tough one and 75 regular. From 1976-1979 they are relatively easy to find. Good luck with your search.
KC
Crazy. Wasn’t it only five or six years ago that Steve broke a 1975 regular box at around $130 a pack? At this price it would be over $400 per pack.
Depending> @PaulMaul said:
Guess thecrisser stands corrected about that market softening.
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.
Great photos, thanks for sharing. OPC's first post-war baseball set was 1965. Perhaps these 4-card packs were distributed in Canada to gauge interest in baseball?
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
@waxman2745 — I’ve never really understood early OPC releases. I’ve seen a 1954 OPC baseball wrapper. Does anyone know for which years pre-1965 OPC baseball wrappers exist, presumably containing US cards?
If the cards are printed in Canada (as stated on the back of the wrapper...printing was done in Canada)...wouldn't the cards be OPC? I'm confused...
Only 70% of them.
Ha nice one Tim! And I don't hate telling him so and you and I both told him so!!
Join the Rookie stars on top PSA registry today:
1980-1989 Cello Packs - Rookies
I only moved to unopen about 18 months ago. As a relative newbie, I haven't even sniffed a '75 regular wax box. I've made a consider dent in 77-83 with some '75 mini boxes, but this recent auction was the first '75 regualr wax box I've seen available.
FWIW, i dont' follow auctions religiously, so maybe other boxes have escaped my view, but I was ready to drop anchor on that puppy........until it hit $12,000. Holy Schnikes Batman! I'm thrilled to see this demand, as are others who actually own this material.
Collecting Unopened from '72-'83; mostly BBCE certified boxes/cases/racks.
Prefer to buy in bulk.
Thx for all the comments...guys! I started my 60s Topps baseball wax pack run w/this purchase...1962 wax pack PSA-7.
I"ve got the '56 nickel. Just missing '61 penny for the complete run. It was put together '02-'09 when you could just about find every Topps pack on Steve Hart's site, and fill in any holes off ebay in a few weeks. That really changed about '12, and things have dried up even more since.
From my experience:
Of '70's packs, '71 was the toughest and most expensive, followed by '75 regular size. Everything else was easy.
60's- of the regular nickel packs, '61 was the toughest, '69 a very distant 2nd.
50's- nickel packs, '56 is by far the toughest, almost impossible at this point. I think the last one sold for about $60k. '58 behind that, selling for close to $28k last year. I'm going off memory so I could be off by a thousand or so, but both packs are incredibly tough. '52 comes up relatively often, but it's expensive. '59 is pretty tough as well. A '53 pack just sold for $20k, last year one sold for $15k. So the '50's are going to take a lot of patience and a kidney or 3 to put together at this point. Starting at 1960 would be attainable and not nearly as expensive, although not certainly not cheap.
I think your idea of starting a run from '64 when you were buying packs as a kid is an excellent idea, and perhaps a wrapper for older years.
Empty wax boxes for the years I bought packs as a kid ('70-'75) really made for a nice companion piece as well, and were very inexpensive.
thread on this subject from March https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/11947671#Comment_11947671
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
Thx Anthony for the info about 1960 packs! When you said that 1961 is the most difficult...I decided to pounce on this one. It does have a tear along the bottom...but I can live with that.
Nice pickup Monte. Here are some photos for inspiration, and like the other poster said try to grab some boxes as well. I am doing a display in the basement with packs, boxes, and singles so I can enjoy them and share with others when they come over to the man cave.
Unopened packs are where I get off the PSA train. I have a 1972- pack run all in very nice, fresh shape, many with loose gum. I just can’t see sending them back and forth across the country multiple times only to get them back with edge tears. I know they are all legit and in nice shape, that’s really all that matters to me.
Though I obviously understand that with older packs the legitimacy is a big issue which the PSA grading addresses. I just wish such packs were available ungraded from BBCE because it’s much, much safer to ship raw packs than graded ones.
Wrappers tears in transit can be very frustrating. Submitting wax packs, too, as PSA will often return unholdered a pack with loose gum due to this issue. The newer holders help, but it is still an issue. The 61 pack above would likely grade a 5 if resubmitted today due to bottom edge tear caused by gum.
I like both graded a raw packs. The graded ones are safely tucked away and won't be traveling anytime soon.
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.
Good to see another unopened collector. Wish you great success in your endeavor.
Hey Monte,
It didn't take you long to get started with your unopened collection. Congrats on the recent pickups! Look forward to seeing your progress. I'm doing a wax pack run in the 70s, and it is a lot of fun. Some great pack designs...enjoy!
Jeremy
Thx everyone for your well wishes on completing my pack run. It is much appreciated! I like the different pack designs from year to year...this is artwork to me.
I don't remember the 1975 regular box break. I picked up my lone '75 regular pack a year and a half ago from Steve for $200. When I saw it listed on the site, I jumped because you never see them pop up.
I still need '70 and '71. Someone was trying to sell a '71 pack on here (PSA 6 IIRC) about 3 or 4 years ago for about $500. I wish I had jumped on that.
I just checked the invoice. The good old days
May 26, 2012:
Invoice Details
Item Price Quantity Total
555 - 1975 Topps Baseball Unopened Wax Pack $120.00 1 $120.00
6549 - 1973 Topps Baseball Unopened Wax Pack $130.00 1 $130.00
Order Comments
Total
Item Total: $250.00
Yes, lol..interesting how the value of the 75 wax pack has risen more sharply and outpaced the 73, too.
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.
Congrats on the '61 pack! What's next?
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
Anthony...
I have my eye on the 1967 pack series #1 psa-8 on the PWCC auction. What would be a fair price for this pack? Also...looking at the 1966 pack psa-8 series #1 on eBay...but the seller is asking $2925. Is that too unreasonable? Series #1 in 1966 has amazing star power: Mantle, Mays, Rose, Yaz, Hunter, Perez, Niekro.
Monte
Keith...
I really like your 70s run! The different artistic designs from year to year drew me to pursue a wax pack run and I chose the 60s because it takes me back to my childhood when I started to collect baseball cards. I am sure there will be a pack or two that also will be elusive for me...but I like a challenge. I am not sure I will purchase wax boxes...since I do not plan to display in house.
I think the hardest packs will be finding a 1963 and 1964 which are not Canadian versions.
Monte - thank you. Also, did you just pick up a new 57 Mantle PSA 8.5 recently and add it to your CF page?
KC
Keith...I did not. I rescanned my 57 Mick at night with lights out and lid up to achieve a black border around the holder. Actually...I did that with half of my collection. It makes for a beautiful background and the cards stand out more.
I thought you already had that card and was looking at some CF pages and saw 57 Mantle 8.5 and new next to it. You use the same scanning method I use as well - lid up and lights out! That 57 Mantle is a unicorn and I might bring some 88 Fleer baseball to the National to use as trade bait for it
KC
Keith...
You need new trade bait because I have 17 boxes of '88 Fleer wax and 1 '88 Fleer cello box.
89 Topps?
If you need trade bait let me know. I have some PSA 8 and 8.5 $100 bills I will trade for it.
KC
Wow that 67 pack did very very well - just a few dollars ahead of what I expected
https://www.ebay.com/itm/352346639888?_trksid=p2471758.m4704
My snipe was beat at $3333.33! For good luck...I already placed it in my collection on CF page. I have to remove it now...
That price is shocking. There will be another opportunity for you.
wow, I got no takers on a GAI 7 '67 pack 2-3 years ago at $600, and it didn't have any tears. '60's and '50's packs are finally ramping up.
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
For some reason people don't like gai packs the same as psa packs.
Isn't it just the label?
Is it still available? LOL
In addition to the registry, I think there's also a significant premium for PSA wax packs now due to the difficulty in getting wax packs holdered by PSA due to the issues with loose or broken gum.
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've also noticed unopened prices in general have been rising steadily of late, especially for tougher years and issues.
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.
1966 Topps wax pack psa-8 series #1 sold for $2925...that was a good pack! I should have pulled the trigger.
the 1988 topps pack sold for $200
Wow. PSA 10 but still, that price seems high for an 88. TRIAPD.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball