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1952 Topps Unopened Packs
trillman
Posts: 9 ✭
Would Either of these packs possibly contain the Mantle? Asking for a family member who just found these when going through some old things in their house.
8
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Not sure but you should help them go through the rest of their ‘old things’!
HOF SIGNED FOOTBALL RCS
I did not know that in 1952…Topps had series…let alone 5th/6th series. Is that true about series in 1952?
Only one way to find out for sure!
Do it! Do it!
Mark
52 was released in 6 series. Mantle is in 6th series, so.... 🤔
So he could be in the one on the right but not the one on the left correct?
Good lord.
Kiss me twice.....let's party.
most gai graded 1952 packs are/were series 1...that high series pack is SUPER rare and valuable...probably could fetch $100K
i think the high series wrapper has a darker green section which can be seen from your photos. that left pack is probably series 1.
right now a series 1 pack is up for sale
its at $69K with 5 days left
https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball-cards/unopened-packs-display-boxes/1952-topps-baseball-1st-series-5-cent-unopened-wax-pack-gai-ex-mt-65/a/50063-80041.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
september 8th a similar high series pack will be up for auction
https://sports.ha.com/itm/basketball-cards/unopened-packs-display-boxes/1952-topps-baseball-5th-6th-series-five-cent-wax-pack-gai-ex-55/p/50066-68001.s?lotPosition=1&ic16=ViewItem-BrowseTabs-Auction-Open-SearchResults-120115
Thank you!
The off centered wrapper likely means the cards are all off centered and not worth as much. I'll give you $100k for both in cash today
I was joking about the off centering but not the offer.
They aren't mine to sell unfortunately. I was just trying to get some information on them to give to my family member. I wish they were mine.
Best of luck to your family. My Uncle told me 2 months ago of the only valuable family item which was literally given away by him during his anxiety/depression days to his coin guy in waterloo, Iowa. He said it was a coin from the colonial days worth approximately a million dollars 25 years ago and it was given to him by my grandfather. No idea how accurate the information is but my Uncle said he was ashamed of himself for over a decade afterwards and he never told his siblings. I'm lucky to be the last person to see my grandfather, well 10 minutes after he passed, but it was closure and appropriate given what was to happen later in life. Worth more than money to me.
Probably all the more reason to get your valuables graded so it's easier for family to know what they've got like these packs. You did your family well by seeking out information from this stellar community.
Those packs are potentially extremely valuable. You need to suggest to your friend that they strongly consider placing them in one of the major auction houses' sports card auctions that have substantial selections of unopened material. The high series pack, particularly, would be a highlight of any of those auctions. They should consider contacting one of the auction houses, but also potentially Steve Hart with Baseball Card Exchange. He will be able to help your friends facilitate a sale for the maximum amount possible.
kevin
Folks not saying it is but be aware this first post has hallmarks of being a scam / con.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
Would you say Heritage auctions would be the best?
And how am I scamming or conning if I literally said they aren't mine. I'm not trying to sell anything and have said they aren't mine to sell. I'm trying to find out the best idea of how much they are worth and if they decide to sell them where to sell them.
First, I would have PSA encapsulate the packs. Then, Heritage Auctions is a well known auction house w/offices worldwide…and auctions off high valued items such as fine art, coins and sports cards, too.
There are very few high series 1952 packs out there…most are 1st series packs. So…it is a very special pack! I would estimate its value could approach $250,000…and it’s hard to place a value on. I have no doubt your family is holding a six-figure 1952 “Mantle” series pack. Good luck…and please keep us updated. I will be following closely if auctioned off. For comparison purposes…Heritage Auction will be auctioning off a 1952 high series wax pack GAI-5.5 in an upcoming auction. Yours is in better condition being a GAI-7.
However…I would still crossover to PSA…and considering its value, DELIVER THE PACK IN PERSON…even if you have to fly to PSA. Do not RISK the razor-like gum ripping the wrapper in transit!!!! It would depreciate the value of your pack.
Could you provide a scan of the back of the “Mantle” pack showing the GAI serial number? GAI serial numbers beginning with 100xxxxx and 101xxxxx are very likely authentic while serial numbers beginning with 103xxxxx and 104xxxxx are very highly suspect. GAI serial numbers beginning with 102xxxxx are most probably authentic, but not as likely authentic as 100xxxxx and 101xxxxx.
The majority of GAI graded packs housed within the silver flip era (100XXX through 103XXX and first part of 104XXX) are authentic, including those bearing 103XXX cert numbers. You cannot judge a GAI pack simply based on the cert number from this era (aside from the bogus grocery cellos holdered during the 102XXX era) as I've also seen both good and bad packs spanning that entire run. Each pack, regardless of its holder, should be evaluated based on its own merits and attributes. Hopefully, the packs, if crossed to PSA, are also holdered without any damage, as the newer holders are tough on wax packs due to the well within the holder not being wide enough to accommodate the pack. This has been an ongoing issue many unopened collectors have been complaining about in recent months and one that PSA will hopefully resolve soon. The older holders (in my view, at least) were much better suited for wax pack holdering as the risk of gum pokes is essentially the same, anyway, with both holder designs.
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.
In other words, wait until PSA gets a better holder before sending it to them to authenticate.
If the owner can wait that is.
They may get much more for it that way.
Forum members on ignore
Erba - coolstanley-dallasactuary-SDsportsfan
daltex
Thx Grote15 for clarifying the GAI series #s...
Thanks for the info. I'll get them to send me a picture of the back of them and post them once I receive.
I just went through some old boxes of clothes and photo albums and came across a 1909 T206 Wagner that I believe will grade at least an 8.5 or higher. I also found the original hand written speech by Lincoln of the Gettysburg Address on the coffee table in my man cave. Do you all know if anyone grades these type of collectibles? Thanks in advance for all of your responses. I will be unable to reply as I'm heading to Bermuda with my girlfriend Jenny for some much needed R&R.
If you call (976) 867-5309, you can get the answer to your question and more.....
They also have this one.
Nice...earlier graded pack by GAI. It looks like the "Mantle RC" Series pack was purchased from Memory Lane.
Here is the link to the Memory Lane Auction in December 2009 when this "Mantle RC" Series pack was sold...I was asleep at the wheel for not picking it up for $15k! One collector had a good Christmas that year!
https://memorylaneinc.com/site/bids/bidplace?itemid=15927
https://memorylaneinc.com/site/bids/bidplace?itemid=19176
and
https://memorylaneinc.com/site/bids/bidplace?itemid=696
😎
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
sell it get what you can for it.
https://sports.ha.com/c/search/results.zx?dept=3923&mode=live&auction_name=50087&consignor_no=218&type=friend-consignorlive-notice
These packs I posted about went up on Heritage auction. Here is the link. I'm assuming that's allowed here?
If their house is not paid off take the money pay that off (as much as possible) then enjoy life!!! That is what I would do pay off what I owe keep the rest and enjoy life....and be very grateful!!!
Liberty Seated Half Dollars
Is anyone aware of a pack of 1952 Topps being opened in the last 30 years, since pack collecting entered the hobby, etc. that had a Mantle in it?
I think no such pack has been opened, but I could easily be wrong.
Thanks!
The only packs I've witnessed being opened have been 1st series packs but maybe someone else has seen a high series pack opening which would be amazing to watch.
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.
Just the guy who opened a full case of the stuff that Rosen bought. Can you imagine! Forever the most epic rip!
Can you imagine a live wax pack opening for that pack. It would be the greatest ever for the chance of a crisp 52' Mantle. Maybe Geoff from PSA can do it. He's worth about 500 million. And it would skyrocket his YouTube career!
What would be the odds of getting one? 5%?
Not sure but it is double printed is t it? Agree it would be fun to watch that pack opened for sure. But would also display amazingly with any or the psa8-10s that came from the Rosen find. That would also be cool!
The mantle is dp, but would probably come out quite OC
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
To my knowledge the 1985 "Rosen" find were High # series cards that they factory had left over before packaging. Prolly only like 10% of those cards have been graded as grading wasn't mainstream until like a decade later. Aside from centering it seemed he sold them as mint high series runs.
Wasn't the Rosen Find....a 1952 high series vending case?
**Whoops I kinda was either mislead or interpolated AI incorrectly. It seems as @handyman indicated all the packs were opened from the case. AI search results can change from hour to hour and day by day.. YIKES...
**
You are here: Home / Sports Card News / Vintage Sports Card News / 1952 Topps Case is Baseball Card History
1952 Topps Case is Baseball Card History
March 17, 2013 By Rich Mueller
Sixty years ago, some were sitting in warehouse while others were likely on their way back to New York, all of them unsold and unwanted. Case upon case of the final series of Topps’ inaugural entry into the bubble gum card market was dead inventory.
The company’s first cards had fared well in their competition with Bowman but by early fall, kids were headed back to school. There was no time for flipping. Many had already spent too much on those silly little cards according to mom and dad. Retailers and wholesalers had pallets of stock they couldn’t move. Sure, Mickey Mantle was in there but so what? Who really knew if he was all that great anyway? Besides, the new 1953 cards were on their way to drug stores and supermarkets all over the country.
And so, pallets full of unsold 1952 Topps cases were eventually loaded onto a garbage scow and dumped into the ocean. A tax write-off and a lesson learned by the company’s young executives. They had exhausted all avenues of breaking even. No one wanted them.
“Topps tried selling them to veEmpty 1952 Topps baseball card casendors for a penny a pack,” said Adam Martin of Dave & Adam’s Card World, one of the hobby’s largest retailers. “How crazy is that?”
And how crazy is this: Martin’s company is now offering what is believed to be the lone surviving empty case that held those boxes of 1952 Topps high numbers for $49,995.
Almost fifty grand.
For an empty box.
While it may sound preposterous, the whole story of how that case survived is hobby legend. It was once once full of boxes, and stuck in an attic for more than three decades before it was discovered, opened and the cards sold to Alan “Mr. Mint” Rosen. The seller’s father had worked for a company that distributed baseball cards and other candy products to stores. Somehow, the case was stuck away and forgotten.
There were hundreds of mint high numbers including 90 of the double-printed 1952 Topps Mantle cards in the case. Jackie Robinson and Eddie Mathews are two of the other extremely valuable cards that once resided in it.
The most valuable 1952 Topps cards in the hobby today came from that case. The case would have been worth more had the seller left it unopened but who did that? Instead, the gentleman opened every pack, put them on a giant silver tray and greeted Rosen and his group at the door. Jaws dropped. A huge (for the time) cash payment was made. The seller and Rosen were both elated.Topps Chewing Gum 1952 baseball case
After he sold the contents, Rosen hung on to the empty case as a momento from his greatest day as a hobby dealer. Last week, Dave and Adam’s purchased it from a Rosen friend who had acquired it.
“I’ve really been coveting this in the back of my mind for years,” Martin told Sports Collectors Daily. “I love the ’52 Topps set, as we all do. The significance of what Al bought, the back story of the dumping of the cases into the ocean 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 8.5and the place the set has in the hobby just makes this a really cool item to have.”
Martin, who traveled with Rosen on buying trips in the 1990s, says he’s already received a couple of inquiries including what he called an “interesting” trade offer. However, he doesn’t expect the case will be sold immediately at the asking price. After all, would any of us be able to successfully explain to friends or family that we just purchased a cardboard box for $50,000? It’s definitely for the 1952 Topps collector who thought he had it all.
While Rosen profited nicely from his purchase, the publicity from the find helped push the market for high quality, vintage baseball cards forward at the time and the arrival of grading and PSA’s Set Registry a few years later was like strapping a jet pack on the market. Those who went against the common criticism that the cards were overpriced and bought singles from the case find have seen their investment perform better than just about any stock you could have picked.
“PSA 8 Mantle cards sell for upwards of $100,000 now,” Martin said. “Nines are worth around $250,000. All three of the PSA 10s in the hobby are in private collections and all of them came from this case and would probably sell for $1 million each. If you found an unopened case today and bought it for $10 million and cracked it open, it would wind up being a steal.”