Football Cards

1960 Post Cereal Complete Set Of 9 Full Boxes

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The 1960 Post Cereal cards were issued on the backs of Grape Nuts Flakes cereal boxes and measure 7″ x 8-3/4″. The full-color cut cards are already pretty rare, but complete boxes that include side panels with player bios are like unicorns. After some research, I think just a single complete set exists in full-box form. I first came across it in Mastro’s April 2003 Catalog.

They described the cards, within the boxes, as being in Near Mint to Mint condition and offered the lot with a minimum bid of $2500. At the end of the lot’s description, though, they mentioned it as an “Ex-Copeland collection” piece.

So I pulled out Sothetby’s March 1991 catalog that presented The Copeland Collection of Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia, and there it was as lot 573, but it only included a photo of the Mantle box.

Then, in the fall of 2018, REA re-sold the set for $11,400. 

They included a more detailed condition description: Mickey Mantle (card area is Nr/Mt-Mt, light moisture stains very near edge of frame), Ed Mathews (card area is Ex due solely to tiny wrinkle extending from bottom edge), Harmon Killebrew (light mark on left side of frame, otherwise card area is Nr/Mt-Mt), Al Kaline (card area is Vg-Ex+ due to tiny wrinkles confined to the very perimeter of frame), Don Drysdale (card area is Vg+ due to creasing), Johnny Unitas (card area is Vg/Vg-Ex due to light wrinkles confined to the perimeter), Frank Gifford (card area is Ex due to tiny wrinkle extending from right edge and a bit of staining on the reverse), Bob Cousy (card area appears Nr/Mt-Mt from the front, with a bit of staining on the reverse), and Bob Pettit (card area is Nr/Mt). The grades listed above focus just on the card area and not the surrounding portions of the boxes. All the top flaps of the boxes are missing; all the bottom flaps were glued at one time then later opened causing paper loss and remnants of paper on those areas. 

An Incredible Collection of 100 Sports Wrappers

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I’ve always loved wrapper collecting. Too bad I wasn’t buying yet in 2005 when this incredible lot of 100 (1949 to 1972) baseball, basketball, football, and hockey wrappers were auctioned off together.

Most were described as being in clean EX to NM condition. There was also a bit of duplication amongst the collection: BASEBALL: Bowman 1949 one cent green/orange, 1950 one cent dated, 1952 one cent. 1953 Color (GD), 1954 dated (VG) and 1955 (VG). Topps 1951 Red Back one cent, 1952 (VG), 1953 one cent (a NM beauty), 1954 one cent, 1955 one cent, 1955 Doubleheader one cent, 1956 one cent, 1957 one cent, 1958 one cent, 1959, 1960 (2), 1961 (2), 1962 (2), 1962 Baseball Bucks one cent, 1963 one cent, 1964, 1964 Giants, 1965, 1966, 1967 (3), 1968 (3), 1968 Posters, 1969, 1969 Posters, 1970 (2), 1971, 1971 Tattoos, 1971 Super, 1972 (5) and 1972 Posters. Leaf 1948-49 and 1960. Fleer 1960, 1961 and 1963. FOOTBALL: Bowman 1951 one cent, 1953, 1954 one cent and 1955. Topps 1951 Magic, 1956, 1957 one cent, 1958 one cent, 1959 one cent, 1960 one cent, 1961-71 and 1972 (5). Fleer 1960-63. Philadelphia 1964-67 Also 1961 Nu-Card, 1963 Topps Canadian and 1972 O-Pee-Chee. BASKETBALL: Fleer 1961-62. Topps 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72 and 1972-73. HOCKEY: Topps 1968-69, 1969-70, 1971-72 (2) and 1972-73.

Wrapper collecting isn’t for everyone, but they are way more affordable than unopened wax packs. And, stored in binders, vintage wrappers display very well together. Another cool thing about wrappers is that there’s usually exciting hobby history involved, as Topps often advertised giveaways on them.

1968 Topps Football 1st Series Unopened Wax Box

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In the summer of 2006, Mastro had every pack from a 1968 Topps Football 1st Series Wax Box authenticated, graded, and slabbed by GAI.

The packs’ potential stars include Starr, Meredith, Namath, Sayers, Unitas, and Butkus. The grading breakdown was as follows: GAI Gem Mint 9.5: 1 pack; GAI Mint 9: 9 packs; GAI NM-MT+ 8.5: 9 packs; GAI NM-MT 8: 4 packs; GAI NM+ 7.5: 1 pack.

The lot also came with the empty display box, with the Pin-Up insert image of Johnny Unitas on its front panel, but I can’t get a good scan of it from the huge catalog, so here’s an example of a box that REA sold back in 2010.

Today, these boxes and packs are really pricey. REA sold a BBCE-authenticated wax box for $78k in the spring of 2022, and PSA-slabbed packs are selling for ~$1500 these days. 

A High-Grade 1935 R331 National Chicle Football Complete Set

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This high-grade 1935 R331 National Chicle football complete set was offered for sale in Mastro’s August 2003 Sports Premier Catalog Auction and would rank in the Top 10 of the PSA Registry today.

The highlight was definitely the PSA 7 Bronko Nagurski. In the lot’s description, they wrote that the minimum bid of $3500 was only half of the SMR value of the Nagurski card alone at the time. That means, in 2003, a PSA 7 Nagurski was $7k. Well, REA sold this one for $105k in the summer of 2022.

1962 Topps Football Uncut Sheet

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This original, uncut sheet of 132 different cards from the 1962 Topps football set was auctioned off in April 2004.

The 27-3/4” x 42-1/2” Ex-conditioned panel presents many of the set’s high-profile stars and short-prints, including Ditka, Groza, Davis, Meredith, Starr, Hornung, Gregg, Jordan, Tarkenton, McElhenny, Tittle, Gifford, Layne, Kilmer, and Brodie.

These black-bordered sheets are incredibly scarce. The only reference I can find online to them is from The Vintage Football Card Gallery, which has a page dedicated to virtual uncut sheets but includes a photo of the other second-half sheet a collector sent him. 

The Ultimate 1959 Topps Football Display Box And Wrapper Collection

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This photo of “The Ultimate 1959 Topps Football Display Box and Wrapper Collection” is from a May 2000 auction catalog.

Tracking down a 1-cent and 5-cent display box along with those three wrapper variations wouldn’t be easy today, particularly in a single lot.

But for a truly complete unopened run, you’d need to track down full packs, a cello pack/box, and a vending box—and it won’t be cheap; REA sold the following 1959 Topps football cello box for $81k in 2021. 

I’ve never seen any 1959 Topps football cases, so I wonder if any (empty) exist. If you know of one, let me know.

1952 Bowman Chuck Hunsinger Original Football Card Artwork

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You don’t see original artwork used for the 1952 Bowman football large and small issues up for sale very often, and when you do, they’re pricey! Even in 2000, when Ron Oser offered this example featuring Chuck Hunsinger, it had a minimum bid of $375 and was the first they had ever offered.

The brightly colored piece was described as 4” x 6 1/8” with minor corner wear; otherwise, it was in excellent condition. Oser included the example card in the lot.

Over the years, REA has sold most of the publicly offered examples (since they were first offered during Guernsey’s Topps Auction in 1989 with estimates of $300-400 per lot – more on these another time). Three of the priciest have been the card artwork for:

#28 Kyle Rote – $2962 in the spring of 2013

#29 Hugh McElhenny – $2666 in the spring of 2013

#61 Leslie Richter – $2340 in the spring of 2024