John

1952-1955 Red Man Tobacco Find of 768 Cards

by

REA, then a division of MastroNetInc., offered this massive find of 768 1952-55 Red Man Tobacco cards (760 with tabs) in their July 2000 Baseball Cards and Memorabilia auction. The same auction included a lot of 1971 Milk Duds Giant Assortment of 661 Unassembled Complete Boxes.

They described the lot as the biggest group of Red Man Tobacco cards they had ever seen. It included four 1952 complete sets, six 1953 sets, four 1954 sets, and one 1955 set missing two cards (#AL15 and #AL18). 25% were Nr/Mt to Nr-Mt-Mt, 30% ranged from Ex to Ex-Mt, 35% were Vg to Vg-Ex/Ex, and 10% were lesser.

Here’s the auction catalog cover if you want to own a cheap piece of hobby history.

A 1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee Ad

by

If you read modern hobby guides about the 1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee set, most will say that the cards were available from the artist for $3.50. Well, here’s an ad from the March 1977 issue of The Trader Speaks proving it!

Note that not only were sets advertised for $3.50, but you could get “2 sets for $6.”

Laughlin described the set as 32 cards based on baseball’s most memorable moments, like Hank Aaron’s 715th home run.

The Post War Cards Newsletter

by

I’m happy to announce the (re) launch of The Post War Cards Newsletter, hitting inboxes every Thursday, starting September 26, 2024!

Whether you’re a passionate collector or someone who loves the history behind the hobby, this newsletter will be your weekly source of vintage card insights. Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect:

  • Deep Dives: Explore iconic cards, sets, and the stories behind them, taking a closer look at what makes vintage sports cards so unique.
  • Exclusive Insights: Each issue will feature some of the hobby’s most intriguing topics and pictures that you won’t find anywhere else.
  • Curated Content: Get links to the best hobby articles from around the web, all in one place.
  • Rare Collectibles: Discover a rare vintage unopened collectible in every issue-something for collectors to admire or seek out.
  • Stay Updated: Keep up with the latest news in sports collectibles.
  • Hobby Library Gems: I’ll highlight hidden treasures from The Hobby Library, bringing you closer to the roots of the sports card world.
  • Card Show History: Learn about the history of legendary card shows, from regional events to iconic national gatherings that shaped the hobby.

It’s a weekly celebration of the vintage hobby community, curated for passionate collectors and enthusiasts.

So sign up; the lady who sold Mark Murphy (The Baseball Card Kid) 84 1952 Topps baseball wax packs would want you to!

1961/62 Topps Hockey Five-Cent Display Box

by

I always feel bad for vintage hockey unopened collectors; finding these items is tougher than tracking down a unicorn. Here’s one of them, a 1961/62 Topps Five-Cent Display Box.

Mastro included this one in their December 2004 Sports Auctions of Distinction catalog.

During the early 1960’s, Topps Chewing Gum Company printed NHL hockey cards in the United States, and then shipped the vast majority of them to its Canadian subsidiary. There, O-Pee-Chee, the affiliate company, produced its own packaging for use in distributing the cards north of the U.S. border. Offered is an original 36-Count display box from the Topps/O-Pee-Chee series of 1961/62. The 8” x 3-3/4” x 1-7/8” box, with the issue’s scarce stamp insert prominently featuring in its front-panel graphics, grades at least NM with only very mild, natural handling faults. This scarce relic is a superb representative of a highly collectible U.S.-Canadia collaborative effort.

The minimum bid at the time was $200; that wouldn’t be close to enough today. In the fall of 2022, REA sold a display box, perhaps the same one, that they described as the first they had ever handled and the only example they had seen available at public auction in the past twenty years for $10,500.

Still interested in vintage hockey unopened? In the market for an authenticated 1961/62 Topps hockey wax pack? BBCE listed this one on their site in August 2004 for $25k. PSA has only slabbed seven.

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

The PSA 1.5 1909-11 T206 Sweet Caporal Honus Wagner’s History

by

I ran across this raw T206 Honus Wagner in Christie’s October 1992 Sports Memorabilia catalog.

I’ve been enjoying tracing T206 Wagner’s sales history lately (number 28 and the Frank Nagy Wagner). Thanks to the Wagner Sales History page and Wagner Gallery on T206Resrouce.com, it’s been made a lot easier. They label this particular example as number 45.

Like I said, Christie’s offered this one raw back in 1992. They provided the following description:

Front depicts Wagner in a color lithograph against a warm orange background with white border, the bottom stating “WAGNER, PITTSBURGH.” The reverse reads “SWEET CAPORAL CIGARETTES, THE STANDARD FOR YEARS” trimmed in red-lined border-2 5/8 x 1 7/16 in.-good to very good.

The T206 Wagner card is the most sought after and avidly pursued collectible card in the hobby today. It has been widely reported that Honus Wagner was vehemently against smoking and therefore requested the withdrawal of his card.However, according to his granddaughter, Ms. Leslie Blair, Wagner objected to the fact that children would have to purchase cigarettes in order to obtain the card; actually, Wanger himself chewed tobacco. To date, fewer than 40 T206 Wagner cards are known to exist.

The expected sales price was $100,000-125,000, but I have yet to confirm what it actually sold for.

The next public sale I have data for is when Heritage Auctions sold the card, now graded Fr 1.5 by PSA, for $2.28M in May 2021. Unfortunately, they didn’t include any information about this Wagner’s provenance.

Goldin then re-sold the card a little over a year later, in October 2022, for $3.72M (a nice 17 month ~$1.5M flip).

Please let me know if you have any more info about Wagner number 45.

Bowman’s 5-Star Series Picture Card Collectors Club

by

I quickly snapped this photo while scurrying about the 2024 National Sports Collectors Convention because it looked familiar.

Once I got home from the show, I remembered the logo was also on the back of 1950 Bowman baseball and football cards.

Details are super scarce, so please contact me if you have more info, but in the early 50s, I remember collectors mentioning that Bowman tried having a collectors club akin to Topps’ Trading Card Guild (Picture Card Collectors Club). The Topps Archives mentions it in a piece titled Re-Rack. Given the boxes below, it could have been how Bowman re-packed unsold cards.

I found that Lelands has sold a pair of these boxes. This first one was titled 1953-54 Bowman Television & Radio Stars/Power For Peace Partial Cello Box (27/36).

It sold for just under $2k in February 2019.

This second example is a 1953 Bowman Power For Peace/NBC Radio & Television Stars Cello Box with 14 Packs. It sold for $879 in March 2022.

The BBCE website has an out-of-stock 1953 Bowman TV & Radio Stars Cello Box that they had offered for $8k.

I also had the following early Bowman cello box in my photo archives; REA sold it in 2021 for $3,960. They resold the same box in August 2024 for $6,900.

Again, please let me know if you have more information about Bowman’s 5-Star Series Picture Card Collectors Club.

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!