John

Time Magazine Baseball Covers, 1923-1982

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In January 1983, Trader Speaks published this great piece from Frank Keetz highlighting the 44 times between 1923 and 1982 that a baseball player appeared on Time Magazine’s cover!

A few highlights:

  • Time has highlighted a baseball player on the cover ~1.5% of the time
  • Time Magazine covers are tougher finds than old Life, Sports, Sports Illustrated, and Street and Smith publications
  • George H. Sisler was the first baseball personality to appear on the cover.
  • Only Joe DiMaggio appeared more than once
  • If you’re a Mantle guy, you need the issue dated 6/15/1953

Here are the Sisler and Mantle covers:

1957-58 Topps Basketball Wax Packs

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There was quite a buzz across the hobby, particularly the unopened community when in April 2023, Mile High Card Co. sold the following PSA 7-graded 1957 Topps basketball pack for nearly $128k.

In their auction description, MHCC wrote, “Topps learned their lesson when they overproduced the 1952 Topps baseball series, sending cases of unwanted product to a watery grave. They were much more cost-conscious when they rolled out their inaugural basketball series and packs such as the one featured here are far more scarce.”

However, the underproduction of the 1957 Topps basketball set is a bit of a hobby misconception. In September 2015, Sports Collectors Daily shared that Topps Had Lots of Unsold 1957-58 Basketball. They included the following article from the spring of 1961, which says that Topps had 10M cards from the set left unsold; that’s like 70k boxes!

So, the 1957 Topps basketball packs aren’t scarce from under-printing; they’re scarce because no one wanted them, and Topps appears to have disposed of the leftovers. That disposal and the resurgence of vintage basketball and unopened collecting have skyrocketed the demand for 1957 Topps basketball packs. 

You see, the MHCC sale wasn’t some high-priced one-off outlier; shortly after that, in November 2023, BBCE auctions sold another 1957 Topps basketball PSA 7-graded wax pack for almost $92k.

Now, from a population (supply) perspective, PSA has only encapsulated nine of these packs (three 6s, four 7s, two 8s), and there are a bunch still in GAI holders, but likely not even an entire box worth across both companies.

However, some Facebook Vintage Wax and Packs Group collectors said the MHCC pack was probably part of a late 90s/early 2000s find. They thought they started selling for prices in the mid-teens (~$15k), that there were around 27 of them that GAI mostly slabbed as 7s/7.5s, and that the $128k pack was probably a cross from that find.

That timing seems to align with this lot of 6 GAI-graded 1957/58 Topps basketball packs that Mastro offered for sale in August 2004.

The packs’ grades included: GAI NM-MT 8: 2 packs, GAI NM+ 7.5: 3 packs, and GAI NM 7: 1 pack.

Update: 2 September 2024. After reading this post, a collector reached out and told me he and some friends bought the Mastro lot of 6 packs for ~$25k; they split four and sold two. Two of the guys he split them with sold theirs years ago. Another guy kept his GAI 7.5 and crossed it to a PSA 6 pack years ago, and he still owns one of the GAI 8 packs.

The same catalog had another lot for a single GAI 8-graded pack with a minimum bid of $1k.

Update: 8 September 2024. Mastro also included the following collection of five GAI-graded 1957 Topps basketball packs in their December 2004 Sports Auction of Distinction. One was a GAI NM-MT 8, and four were GAI NM+ 7.5s.

The recent ~$100k price point for these packs is a massive increase from other confirmed pack sales I’ve tracked down.

For example, Lelands sold this GAI 7.5 example for $3,352 in June 2005.

Memory Lane Inc. has two sales in its archives; the first is a GAI 8, which sold for $4,353 in December 2006.

And the second, more recently, is this GAI 6.5, which sold for just under $27k in December 2021.

That December 2021 Memory Lane 1957 Topps basketball pack appears to be the same one I grabbed a screenshot of back in August 2020 from eBay. 

You can see that the owner was asking $33k (plus $4.95 shipping). Many of us thought the price was a little high then; at the time, yes, but not two years later!

The next example of a 1957 Topps basketball pack that I found was, again, from MHCC; they sold this GAI 7.5 example for just under $20k in March of 2018.

Update: 16 September 2024. BBCE Auctions sold the following PSA-7 graded 1957 Topps basketball wax pack this morning for just under $69k.

Here’s a summary of the progression of wax pack sales:

  • June 2005: GAI 7.5, Lelands, $3,352
  • December 2006: GAI 8, Memory Lane Inc., $4,353
  • March 2018; GAI 7.5, Mile High Card Co., $20k
  • December 2021: GAI 6.5, Memory Lane Inc., $27k
  • April 2023: PSA 7, Mile High Card Co., $128k
  • November 2023: PSA 7, BBCE Auctions, $92k
  • September 2024: PSA 7, BBCE Auctions, $69k

If you have any other information about 1957 Topps basketball wax pack sales, please get in touch with me!

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

Mr. Mint Alan Rosen’s Find II

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In my post about Seven 1954 Bowman Unopened Five-Cent Wax Packs, I mentioned that they originated from the famous Paris, Tennesse, find, which I said I would detail in a future post. Well, here’s a look back at Mr. Mint’s Find II of unopened material.

First, a “find” is when old trading cards surface with significant value that few collectors know about. And usually, those finds have a great story related to them. Alan Rosen used those stories to grow his brand (before branding was a thing in the hobby) through advertising and word of mouth.

Alan Rosen – The Buying Machine – Advertisement

Mr. Mint’s Find II was his >$400k 1954 and 1955 unopened box find from 1987 in Paris, Tennessee. Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I pulled the following screen capture from Mr. Mint’s old website, describing the Find II as having over 500 unopened boxes of 1954 and 1955 Topps and Bowman baseball cards. Plus, an additional 250+ boxes of 1954 and 1955 Bowman football unopened boxes, along with some 1955 Bowman baseball sets (I’ve read they were all missing Charles King’s card, who lived in Paris, TN).

Mr. Mint’s Major Finds via the Wayback Machine

In a November 20, 1987 advertisement, Rosen also wrote that he was called to the deal by three Paris, Tennessee collector/dealers who came across the find in the basement of a former candy wholesaler. Many boxes were ruined by bugs and thrown away, and about a third were water-damaged (some vintage packs on the market from this find show brown stains on the wrapper). 

Alan Rosen’s The Find II Advertisement

You can see from the advertisement that he was selling:

  • 1954 Bowman baseball 5-cent packs for $125 and boxes for $2500. 
  • 1955 Bowman baseball 5-cent packs for $150 and boxes for $3000.
  • 1955 Topps baseball 5-cent packs for $200 and boxes for $3500.
  • 1954 Bowman football 5-cent packs for $20 and boxes for $425
  • 1954 Bowman football 1-cent packs for $10 and boxes for $1000.

Many of these products were bought and ripped to complete sets; indeed, many high-grade cards in today’s graded market came from this find. But the prices have skyrocketed for those who managed to hang on to the unopened products. Here are a few recent sales:

  • A 1954 Bowman baseball 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 8 sold for $4200 in the fall of 2021
  • A 1955 Bowman Baseball 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 7 sold for $4680 in the Fall of 2021
  • A 1955 Bowman Baseball 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 8 sold for $7200 in the Fall of 2021
  • A 1955 Topps Baseball 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 5 sold for $36000 in the Spring of 2022, yes, $36k. REA wrote that it almost certainly originated from the 1987 Paris find.
  • An empty 1955 Topps baseball 5-cent box sold for $1620 in the Summer of 2020
  • A 1954 Bowman Football 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 8 sold for $1740 in the Summer of 2020
  • A 1954 Bowman Football 1-cent wax pack graded PSA 8 sold for $420 in the Summer of 2020
  • A 1954 Bowman Football 5-cent wax box sold for $46800 in July 2020
  • A 1954 Bowman Football 1-cent wax box sold for $32400 in May 2020

It’s almost impossible to put a current market value at what a find like this one would go for today; the market saturation would be so incredible that if I found it, I would probably try to keep it a secret. 

You might think that most cards have already been “found,” but that isn’t true. We keep reading announcements about previously privately held collections, so keep your eyes open and happy collecting!

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

The Start Of An Era – The 1951 Topps Red Back And Blue Backs Baseball Cards

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Some folks will say the 1952 Topps set was the company’s first baseball card release because the 51s were more of a “game,” ignoring the baseball cards that were part of the 1948 Topps Magic Photos set.

Whatever you believe, this article from the second edition of Topps Magazine is an excellent primer to Topps’ early baseball card days.

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

1913 T200 Fatima Premium Of The Cleveland Americans Including Joe Jackson

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The 1913 T200 Fatima Team cards are popular and pricey, but even those prices get dwarfed by the premiums! REA offered this framed copy of the Cleveland Americans (Joe Jackson) at auction in July 2000.

REA wrote:

This large team photograph of the Cleveland Americans was issued as a special premium by Fatima Cigarettes. The Cleveland Americans are considered by many to be the most desirable in this series as this team includes Joe Jackson (standing second from left). T200 premiums, which are giant versions of the T200 Fatima team cards packaged with Fatima cigarettes, feature team photos on thick cardboard mounts and are ideal for display. These large premium team cards are among the rarest of all baseball tobacco issues, and were available only by mail in exchange for forty coupons which were included (one per pack) with Fatima cigarettes. This Cleveland Americans premium was the prize (both in terms of the team and condition) of a find of eight T200 Fatima premiums which surfaced and were sold at auction in June of 1998. Strong Nr/Mt condition with flawless contrast. Beautifully matted and framed. 11 3/4″ x 19 1/2″

More recently, REA sold and re-sold the following example for $18,800 in the spring of 2010 and $29,625 in the spring of 2012.

Also, it looks like someone got a pretty good deal when they picked up this mounted example in the fall of 2018 for “just” $6,000.

The Charlton Hockey Card Price Guide

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I love finding advertisements for items I have in the Hobby Library; here’s one such piece from Allan Kaye’s Sports Cards News & Price Guides April 1992 edition for the massive, 1000+ page Charlton Hockey Card Price Guide.

The advertisement mentioned the release of their third edition, but the photo is of the second, so I’m going to take that as “close enough.” Here’s the cover of my “hobby used” copy.

There certainly aren’t as many hockey guides as baseball ones in the hobby, so the fact that this one is so extensive makes it a must-have for collectors; look at the vastness of the table of contents.

A highlight for me is that the book contains more than sets; there are pieces related to card grading and counterfeits.

You also get a few nostalgic ads within the book; not much was “limited” in the early 90s concerning production.

Keeping the scans in numerical order, here’s an example of how they described counterfeits.

Of course, most of the book is the price guide; here’s how they showed those: the price movement chart was a nice touch.

The Charlton Hickey Card Price Guide also includes an excellent player checklist.

And here’s the back cover.

1953 Topps #207 Whitey Ford Original Artwork

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I ran across the original color artwork used for Whitey Ford’s 1953 Topps baseball card while flipping through Sotheby’s February 1992 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia Catalog. It represented a quick flip from its sale in Guernsey’s 1989 Topps Auction.

First, Sotheby’s included few details, just that it was a full-color original artwork and that the lot included an example card in near-mint to mint condition. They described the original artwork as being 3 1/2 by 5 in.

But like I said, Sotheby’s wasn’t the first auction house to offer this Topps original artwork. It was first made available to the hobby in Guernsey’s Topps Auction in 1989, along with the original full-color paintings of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Bob Feller, Jackie Robinson, and Roy Campanella’s 1953 Topps baseball cards.

Guernseys included cropped color photos of all six art pieces in the front (page 17) of the catalog; here’s a scan of the Ford.

The specific auction lots were found later in the catalog. Ford shared page 72 with Jackie Robinson. Notice the expected $2,000-3000 price.

The Ford did a little better than that; it sold for $35,200. Interestingly, less than three years later, Sotheby’s expected the Ford to be sold for only $20,000-25,000.

To round things out, here’s the original news photograph from the early 1950s that inspired Ford’s 1953 (and 1954) Topps baseball card. Heritage sold this PSA/DNA Type 1 example for $1,920 in November 2017.

Check out The Original Artwork Archive for more!