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1970 TOPPS BASEBALL "GROCERY CELLO" PACK? LEGIT OR NOT?

mantlefan187mantlefan187 Posts: 1
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
HI I AM NEW TO THIS MESSAGE BOARD AND AM ALSO FAIRLY NEW AT COLLECTING VINTAGE BASEBALL UNOPENED PACKS AS WELL AND I RECENTLY PURCHASED THIS 1970 TOPPS CELLO PACK OF OF EBAY ASSUMING IT WAS LEGIT SINCE IT WAS GRADED BY GAI WITH THE OLD SERIAL #10249301 WHICH I HAVE HEARD WERE FROM WHEN GAI FIRST STARTED AND WAS GRADING PACKS AS AUTHENTIC AS COMPARED TO HOW THE GRADE NOW AND MISS PACKS THAT HAVE BEEN TAMPERED WITH OR ARE NOT LEGIT. AFTER I DID SOME RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT TOPPS DID NOT PRODUCE 12 CARD GROCERY PACKS OR GROCERY PACKS IN GENERAL AND I WAS WONDERING IF SOMEONE HERE WHO IS MORE EXPERIENCED IN THIS COULD GIVE ME SOME INFO ON WHETHER THESE WERE TRULY FAKE OR LEGIT? THANKS!image I HAVE ATTACHED SCANNED PHOTOS OF THE 1970 TOPPS GROCERY CELLO PACK THAT I JUST PURCHASED!

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  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,816 ✭✭✭✭✭
    All grocery cellos from these years 1970-1972 are bogus. Tops produced only one kind of cello pack in 1970 and it contained 33 cards (no gum) and was housed in a green and yello cardbaord box. GAI holdered a bunch during the Rutter era (serial #s beginning with 102...) before realizing they were fake. They haven't holdered any since and PSA of course will never holder them, either.


    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.
  • bkingbking Posts: 3,095 ✭✭


    << <i>HI I AM NEW TO THIS MESSAGE BOARD AND AM ALSO FAIRLY NEW AT COLLECTING VINTAGE BASEBALL UNOPENED PACKS AS WELL AND I RECENTLY PURCHASED THIS 1970 TOPPS CELLO PACK OF OF EBAY ASSUMING IT WAS LEGIT SINCE IT WAS GRADED BY GAI WITH THE OLD SERIAL #10249301 WHICH I HAVE HEARD WERE FROM WHEN GAI FIRST STARTED AND WAS GRADING PACKS AS AUTHENTIC AS COMPARED TO HOW THE GRADE NOW AND MISS PACKS THAT HAVE BEEN TAMPERED WITH OR ARE NOT LEGIT. AFTER I DID SOME RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT TOPPS DID NOT PRODUCE 12 CARD GROCERY PACKS OR GROCERY PACKS IN GENERAL AND I WAS WONDERING IF SOMEONE HERE WHO IS MORE EXPERIENCED IN THIS COULD GIVE ME SOME INFO ON WHETHER THESE WERE TRULY FAKE OR LEGIT? THANKS!image I HAVE ATTACHED SCANNED PHOTOS OF THE 1970 TOPPS GROCERY CELLO PACK THAT I JUST PURCHASED! >>



    Sorry to hear that you are the one who won that auction. Personally, I think the seller knew full well what he had there.
    ----------------------
    Working on the following: 1970 Baseball PSA, 1970-1976 Raw, World Series Subsets PSA, 1969 Expansion Teams PSA, Fleer World Series Sets, Texas Rangers Topps Run 1972-1989
    ----------------------

    Successful deals to date: thedudeabides,gameusedhoop,golfcollector,tigerdean,treetop,bkritz, CapeMOGuy,WeekendHacker,jeff8877,backbidder,Salinas,milbroco,bbuckner22,VitoCo1972,ddfamf,gemint,K,fatty macs,waltersobchak,dboneesq
  • 70ToppsFanatic70ToppsFanatic Posts: 2,107 ✭✭✭✭
    I will Post pics later showing what the real ones looked like


    Dave
  • cpamikecpamike Posts: 5,566 ✭✭✭
    image to the boards!!!

    Looking forward to your posts.

    Grote is absolutely right about those 70's cello packs unfortunately. There is a wealth of knowledge here so don't be shy about asking.
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep."

    "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

    Collecting:
    Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
  • 70ToppsFanatic70ToppsFanatic Posts: 2,107 ✭✭✭✭
    The following photos show Topps BB cellos from 1970 (Green), 1971 (Blue) and a football one from 1971 (yellow, not 100% sure on the yeat for this one)

    The 1970 box housed a cello pack that contained 33 cards. The team names on the white "window border" of the boxes were my childhood additions
    to sort my cards by. The 1971 box housed a cello pack that contained 30 cards + 1 stick of gum.

    These cellos are somewhat difficult to find in unopened these days. The grocery cellos are 3rd-party produced items that were put together much later.
    They do contain real topps cards, but they are NOT Topps-produced packages.

    image


    Dave
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,816 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Here's an authentic 1970 jumbo cello with Reggie Jackson's 2nd year card on back that I bought from Steve several years back.

    image

    image


    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.
  • 70ToppsFanatic70ToppsFanatic Posts: 2,107 ✭✭✭✭
    Now THAT'S a rare one indeed Tim. Most of the unopened 1970 jumbo cellos that still exist are series 3. Yours
    is series 2, and with Reggie on the back no less.

    Thanks for sharing!


    Dave
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,816 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Here's another pack that was holdered in its original cardboard outer box:

    image

    image


    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.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,816 ✭✭✭✭✭
    And on cue, there's a series 3, LOL...this one came from Larry S. who some of you might recall as Jersey Five once upon a time..

    Thanks for the kind words, Dave!


    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.
  • aconteaconte Posts: 2,054 ✭✭✭
    Nice pack with Jackson on the back. Wow!

  • DboneesqDboneesq Posts: 18,219 ✭✭


    << <i>And on cue, there's a series 3, LOL...this one came from Larry S. who some of you might recall as Jersey Five once upon a time..
    Thanks for the kind words, Dave! >>


    I thought I had a nice unopened collection a few years ago ... but MAN ... Larry had an AMAZING collection before he consigned it to Mile High!
    STAY HEALTHY!

    Doug

    Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
  • 70ToppsFanatic70ToppsFanatic Posts: 2,107 ✭✭✭✭
    I did not know GAI slabbed them in the box! That truly is another gem!

    I have about 50 of the empty boxes from when I was a kid (posted some photos of them a ways back). Mine were series 4
    but I opened them all as a child. What I would give to still have the one with the Rose AS showing unopened!!!

    Was lucky enough to nab a series 3 unopened cello. Hope to find more in the future.

    Again Tim, thanks for sharing these pix.


    Dave
  • 70ToppsFanatic70ToppsFanatic Posts: 2,107 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>And on cue, there's a series 3, LOL...this one came from Larry S. who some of you might recall as Jersey Five once upon a time..
    Thanks for the kind words, Dave! >>


    I thought I had a nice unopened collection a few years ago ... but MAN ... Larry had an AMAZING collection before he consigned it to Mile High! >>



    Now THAT was one hell of a collection indeed!

    Anyone who missed it can review the results from the August 2007 Mile High Auction at their website:

    August 2007 Mile High Results



    Dave
  • DboneesqDboneesq Posts: 18,219 ✭✭
    Although they do slab them in the box, IIRC, if the box is in bad shape, even if the cello is in GREAT shape, the slab will get a low grade. Tim, isn't that correct?
    STAY HEALTHY!

    Doug

    Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,816 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Although they do slab them in the box, IIRC, if the box is in bad shape, even if the cello is in GREAT shape, the slab will get a low grade. Tim, isn't that correct?

    Doug, that is correct, and is actually the main reason why you see most packs holdered without the box as it is usually in rough shape, and IIRC, GAI gave the submitter the option of submitting the pack with the box or just the box. PSA, to my knowledge, does not holder the box.

    That Mile High auction was where I also picked up my 1969 10-card blue-wrappered cello, an extremely tough pack to find, and one of my all-time favorites.


    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.
  • flatfoot816flatfoot816 Posts: 2,194 ✭✭✭
    Ah Ha! So you're the punk who outbid me on that '69 cello pack huh??

    I had a choice of that or the '69 wax tray, an equally rare item, and went with the wax tray.

    Great pick up!
  • jmoran19jmoran19 Posts: 1,626 ✭✭✭
    70topps, the yellow box is indeed a 1971 FB cello box, the 1970 FB cellos had a red box:

    image

    image

    Fritsch has basically graded and sold one 2nd series cello box and one 6th series cello box.

    Most of the 2nd series cellos are PSA graded and the 6th are GAI. I personally have 2 of the 2nd series cellos and I know of one being opened.

    image

    John

    Current obsession, all things Topps 1969 - 1972

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