Unopened Archive

A Rare Sight: Mint 1965 Topps Tall Boy 5-Cent Display Boxes

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You’re not going to see many mint 1965 Topps Tall Boy 5-cent Display Boxes on the market; I scanned this one from Mastro’s December 2007 catalog.

This empty box once held 24 5-cent packs, and one or more of them may have contained Joe Namath’s rookie card. Its minimum bid was $300 at the time, but I’m unsure what it closed at.

As I said, the box is rarely found, especially in mint condition. However, you may remember that in September 2017, MileHighCard Co. sold a full unopened BBCE-authenticated box for $145,746 and a box with 21/24 packs for $106,149.

Exploring auction history over the past few years, it looks like mid-grade display boxes have been selling for between $250 and $500.

Happy collecting, and don’t forget to check out The Unopened Archive!

The 1984 Topps Gremlins Rack Pack Display Box Artwork

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Old catalogs, new discoveries! From the October 2007 Classic Collector Auction Catalog: 1984 Topps Gremlins Rack Pack Display Box Production Artwork and Color Proof Sheets.

Remember, the Classic Collector Auctions from Mastro were internet-only, so the catalogs rarely included any item descriptions.

You can find unique wax boxes for this set’s American (Topps) and Canadian (O-Pee-Chee) releases. However, I think the rack packs were only distributed in the US.

Here are all the boxes I could find; first, an OPC variation that REA sold for $270 in May 2023.

Next, here’s a Topps X-out variation that Collect Auctions sold in March 2022 for $110.

Also, because it’s cool, Huggins & Scott sold a sealed case of Topps Gremlins cards for $1,230 in August 2021; they’re pretty tough to track down now.

Finally, this 1984 Topps Gremlins Rack Box Case and three BBCE-wrapped (but not marked FASC) boxes, which you can compare to the proofs above, were offered on Facebook in February 2024 for $1,750.

Happy collecting, and don’t forget to check out The Unopened Archive!

The Unopened Archive

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Welcome to the relaunched Unopened Archive! It used to have pages with photos of packs, wrappers, boxes, and cases from all the big pre- and post-war releases. This 2.0 version is more of a hub for all my blog posts about different unopened material. Over time, I’ll bring back the old content and add way more—like info about fakes, finds, sales, collation, and all the known products out there.

Some of my most unique unopened writing is released via the paid tier of my newsletter, The Unopened Market Report, but if you’re looking for a particular unopened product photo, shoot me an e-mail.

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Hockey

Other Sports

Multi-Sport

Non-Sports

Unopened Hobby Books, Magazine Articles, and 101s

1951 Bowman Baseball Unopened Products

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I came across a 1951 Bowman Baseball one-cent display box in Ron Oser Enterprises’ April 2001 catalog, which inspired me to revive posts on the blog highlighting complete unopened product runs from various sets. This time, instead of dedicated pages, I’ll be sharing them as blog posts with a bit of added commentary.

1951 Bowman Wax Pack

With a certification that starts with 104, I’d be apprehensive about the authenticity of this pack without getting my hands on it or without a word from an expert in the hobby, like Steve Hart, who authenticates packs for PSA. Memory Lane Inc. sold it for $6,848 in May 2017.

Mile High Card Co. resold the pack for $4,672 in May 2020.

I’ve been unable to find any photos of 1951 Bowman five-cent wax packs.

1951 Bowman Wax Wrappers

Heritage sold this one-cent wrapper for $1,260 in September 2022, which seems unusually high because Collect Auctions sold the second example for just $196 in August 2020.

Heritage has also sold a five-cent wrapper before; the following one went for $1,260 in September 2022.

And years ago, in August 2016, Huggins and Scott sold the following pair of 1951 Bowman wrappers for $768.

1951 Bowman Wax Boxes

Display boxes are exceedingly rare and highly desirable. I’m also unaware of any full boxes. Memory Lane sold the following one-cent display box for just over $1k in December 2009.

Lelands also sold one of these one-cent display boxes, also quite a few years ago, in November 2008, for $437.

Memory Lane also sold a five-cent display box in the same auction as the one-cent box for $1,214 in December 2009.

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!