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OPC Ryan rookie sold
craig44
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the PSA 7 OPC Ryan rookie sold on the bay last night. 8.9K about 3 times what a PSA 7 Topps rookie sells for. I wonder if that multiplier would go across board for key OPC rookies or is a one off for a big card like the Ryan?
This sale, to me at least, says that those looking for rare key rookies have turned to OPC.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
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Time will tell. OPCs go all over the place. I do not think there is a rule of thumb. It is so sparsely sold that it depends on how many player collectors move to OPC after they finish Topps. If Ryan goes for 3x with as popular as he is - I would think most would go for less.
@brad31 good point. I think that the key rookies will hold strong and outsell the topps versions. maybe not so much 2nd, 3rd, 4th year cards etc.
I still need to get a nice copy of the 74 winfield.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
As I have talked about in the past. The consistency of the OPC cards makes no sense to me. For one OPC people can't pay enough, for others they pay about what the topps card goes for.
From 1981 up OPC crushes the competition across the board. Even with non-rookies.
From 1980 and down things get dicier. The OPC ryan crushes it. But rookie cards like Eddie murray, Mark Fidrych, Ken griffey, Frank Tanana, Bob Boone, Mike Schmidt, Dwight Evans, Yount, Rice, Carter, etc sell for about the same or in a few cases less. This makes zero sense to me. And of course, I usually get no one likes OPC, or demand means more than supply. Or whatever.
When you look at the pop reports it's not even close.
Murray topps psa 9 692 -- psa 10 17
Murray opc psa 9 94 -- psa 10 5
Fidrych topps psa 9 131 -- psa 10 16
fidrych opc psa 9 33 --- psa 10 4
Boone topps psa 9 76 --- psa 10 4
Boone opc psa 9 15 --- psa 10 3
I mean the differences are just totally staggering.
I think the 80s premium is higher because the Topps cards are so over printed that they are barely worth anything unless they are a 10. OPC gives people a chance to get a rookie card of their favorite player that is printed far less. People are happy with the values of 60s and 70s rookie cards - they have real value - so they do not feel the need to look outside of Topps.
Isn’t high end OPCs almost impossible from the 60s? And OPC did not exist in the 50s….correct?
nice take. But take a look at the number of 1973 - 1980's graded
1975 topps 344,000 have been graded
1975 opc 9.500 have been graded
1976 topps 183,000 have been graded
1976 opc 4,400 have been graded
1980 topps 144,000 have been graded
1980 opc 5,400 have been graded
1973 topps 222,000 have been graded
1973 opc 11,000 have been graded
its about 95 - 5.
OPC printed the same size set (660 cards) as Topps in 1973, 1975, and 1976,
Using @olb31's data, and assuming that collectors have submitted OPC and Topps at the same rate, it appears that the OPC print run for these 3 years was only 2.5% to 5% that of Topps. OPC is VERY scarce.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
Pops are much lower for OPC baseball sets in large part because OPC is not nearly as popular among collectors as Topps.
The key stars and rookies are the exception when it comes to value as there are many collectors who focus on individual players like Ryan and Brett for the set registry.
I enjoy collecting the sets but very few people bother as illustrated by the very low number of OPC sets on the registry.
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 haven't updated it in about 4 years, but I have the #1 set registry for 1978. The thing that is frustrating is that you can't find the cards you need. My set is complete but I need to update a few and I can't find any. Labor of love. It was much more fun when it was about $5 to grade to the commons.
Back then at least it was feasible to self-submit commons.
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'm still looking for a 1973 Topps #615 Schmidt RC/Cey.
Every week there are plenty of Topps to choose from, but they are all going for more than what I paid for my OPC of same grade. And I really don't think I got a smokin' deal on my OPC, but it's hard for me to pay more for a much more common Topps version of the same quality, but it looks like that I might have to. With so many available every week, it's surprising the card seems to actually be ticking up in value, but people keep bidding them up.
Also interesting is the Registry gives the Schmidt RC/Cey Topps a weight of 10 and the OPC a weight of 7.
"Within a set, not all cards and tickets have the same value. Sets in the PSA Set Registry are weighted on a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being the rarest item and 1 being the most common. While it may be in true in some instances that an item may be many times over 10 as rare as the most common item in the set, the Registry keeps the scale simple so that all levels of collectors can compete. Each item within the set is assigned a weight based on the value of the item in NM-MT condition."
And in the case of the 1968 Ryans, the Registry has his Topps card weight of 8 and the OPC weight of 6.
So the weights don't really make sense.
Sounds like they came up with those in 1991, when they opened. Not really knowing how the pops were going to turn out.
1973 topps schmidt
total graded 10,500
psa 8 1589
psa 8.5 92
psa 9 251
psa 10 6
1973 opc schmidt
total graded 450
psa 8 80
psa 8.5 6
psa 9 46
psa 10 6
Looks like they grade the psa 10's topps really tough (probably on purpose) Hard to believe based on these pops that both could have 6 psa 10's, but no other category is even close.
i think another factor leading to many fewer OPC's being submitted may be the overall lack of quality control. I have seen so many way off center, bordering on MC OPC's that wouldnt be worth subbing. also, some rough cuts are so severe that it actually rounds the corners. I have noticed that especially on 78's
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
it is crazy to see the disparity when you list the numbers like that. it sure seems OPC is extremely scarce compared to topps.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
My point was around demand not scarcity. I was not saying the scarcity of 60s and 70s OPC was different than 80s. I just think there are not many people looking for an even more expensive Nolan Ryan rookie vs a more expensive Wade Boggs rookie. People want their rookie card of their favorite player to have value and 80s OPC helps make that happen.
The problem with OPC is the demand with the average collector. It matches the print run. People want vintage, Topps is where it's at. The advanced collector, sure, they'll want to add the OPC cards to their player or team set and pay for it. The average collector wants what's popular and available, that's Topps. Another factor in play that seems to already have been brought up is the availability of rookie cards of HOF's. Rickey, Ripken, McGwire, Clemens....they don't exist and makes collecting OPC less appealing in something like an 80s HOF run. Then there is the availability of unopened product.
To me the biggest issue is people mostly want to collect what they remember buying as a kid. For Americans that’s Topps. There is also the added negative that OPC cards don’t exist in the kind of condition Topps collectors are used to. That is a turn-off for high grade collectors.
Agree with all of this. Also, the 1981 set does not have Fernando. OPC went very heavy on Expos and Blue Jays cards (understandably), and as a result, many individual and multi-player RCs were left out.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
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I collected topps growing up, but when I look to purchase a HOF card from the 70's and 80's I always want OPC because I prefer whats more rare.
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Is there anything to the fact that Canadian collectors don't use PSA as a grading option as much as American collectors?
I have spent a lot of time in Brantford, Ontario the past few years visiting family and made a point to visit the card shops in Brantford and its neighboring cities (Hamilton, Kitchener and Waterloo) as well as a few in Toronto looking for OPC baseball cards.
I noticed that a lot of cards in the shops were in slabs from Canadian grading companies that have zero presence in the States like KSA or MNT Grading. It's probably a safe bet to assume that there are OPC cards in those holders instead of PSA.
Yep, average collector here..... could care less about OPC.
The reason most 1970’s opc card collectors keep it raw and not graded.
@4Boston Agreed. Centering is a big culprit that keeps many/most OPC raw. Another is wrinkles in the card stock. Your Schmidt above looks like there might be a wrinkle on the top right on the back. OPC card stock was so soft, making it easy for wrinkles.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
these flaws should make the cards more valuable - i know as a collector it makes the challenge larger. Note I started collecting in 1975, i never once opened an OPC pack until 2012. I enjoy collecting them mainly due to scarcity.
I collect them because they are different and cool - but I love the sets with the different backs. I absolutely love ‘71 OPC with the superior back design to Topps. Heritage even did a nod to them when they made the 71s as one of the variants.
I started collecting in 1987. never opened an opc pack, but love them for the scarcity and the different stock they used. I think it makes the colors more vivid than regular topps cards. I like Tiffany cards for the same reasons.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Sometimes it’s still registry related.
The Nolan Ryan Registry is very popular.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
another Ryan 68 OPC graded a PSA 5.5 ended tonight on Probstein with a hammer price of $4500! I would imagine the consignor would pretty happy with that. Hopefully collectors see that the superstar rookies in OPC should and do command a signifigant premium over its Topps counterpart with regards to 60s and 70s OPC.
Congrats on the very nice sale Craig.
I also love OPC. I generally like anything and everything that is scarcer.
I am trying to get 1971 OPC NY Yankees in PSA 8. Unfortunately, most sellers and the few they are want a premium over Topps.
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@Mikeygiggs_336699 wow, that is a very strong price. I checked and the only topps 5.5 sold in the last few months went for 1k. that is a big multiplier for the opc version!
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I have not sold my copy, probably never will, but I also am a big OPC fan.
good luck finding your 1971 version!
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
there is a munson on ebay. i think the dude would take $1,200.