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.
How many of you display pennants as part of your collections? Well, if you don’t and are interested in a nice introduction to them, Michael Solomowitz penned this great piece that Trading Cards Magazine published in June 1992.
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.
I quickly snapped this photo while scurrying about the 2024 National Sports Collectors Convention because it looked familiar. But I couldn’t place it at the time. I’ve now realized it was Bowman’s Collectors Club.
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.
Time for another Carpet o’ Wax! This time, 24 1956 Topps Elvis Presley Five-Cent Wax Packs!
Mastro offered this non-sport classic in their April 2004 catalog; here’s the photo of the box they included with the packs.
The box has a factory-placed strip of clear tape and bears a “36 count” overprint, indicating that its contents were marketed in Canada.
The reference number for this 66-card set is R710-1. Most cards are marked “Bubbles Inc.,” so you may also see the set referred to as the 1956 Bubbles Elvis Presley card, which Topps also distributed in penny packs and vending boxes.
I’ve noticed a surge in interest around the 1969 Topps basketball rulers lately. There are more collectors, increased sales, and a growing enthusiasm for the first basketball card inserts. In this article, I’ll provide a quick overview of the 1969 Topps basketball rulers, highlight a few notable sales, delve into the story behind the original line art for the set auctioned at the famous Guernsey’s Topps Auction, and what it reveals about the set’s composition, particularly the intriguing missing ruler #5. I’ll wrap up by showcasing some incredible photos from the collection where many of those original pen and ink drawings ended up.
1969 Topps Basketball Rulers 101
These 2-1/2″ x 9-7/8′ Topps basketball brightly colored cartoon drawings were printed on a paper-like perishable product, folded, and inserted in 1969 Topps basketball packs (one each). However, that year, Topps advertised them as Super-Star Pin-Ups on the wrapper and box.
1969 Topps Basketball Wrapper
1969 Topps Basketball Box
But the insert makes it clear why the hobby renamed them ‘rulers.’
1969 Topps Rulers #9 John Havlicek
Every blank-backed color ruler displays a caricature of the subject to the right of a standard ruler, accompanied by an arrow indicating their height, extending from the player’s depicted height to the ruler. The player’s name and team are in an oval near the top or bottom of the card.
1969 Topps Rulers #11 Wilt Chamberlain
The insert number (of 24) and copyright information are printed in small black text along the bottom right-hand side.
1969 Topps Rulers #10 Lew Alcindor Copy Right and Number
Despite the numbering of 24, the set only has 23 cards. #5 was never released, but we will talk about that later when we cover the original line art. One of the reasons the set is so popular, beyond the bright colors and unique design, is that it’s got huge star power. Twenty of the 23 players are Basketball Hall of Famers. Plus, the cards are relatively scarce; Topps never printed basketball cards as massively as they did baseball – PSA has only grade 3658 1969 Topps Rulers with the most for Lew Alcindor with 360.
Given the folds and paper stock used, ultra-high-grade copies are scarce; there are only 49 PSA 10s and 179 PSA 9s, leading to some really high sales prices.
Before the hobby boom and the set’s resurgence, Robert Edward Auctions sold a complete set in March 2019, advertised as #2 on the PSA Set Registry (8.91 GPA) for $7200. It included nine Gem Mint 10 examples, ten Mint 9s, and four Nm-Mt 8s.
1969 Topps Rulers REA Set – Image 1
1969 Topps Rulers REA Set – Image 2
1969 Topps Rulers REA Set – Image 3
1969 Topps Rulers REA Set – Image 4
1969 Topps Rulers REA Set – Image 5
More recently, in September 2023, Memory Lane Inc. sold the #11 set on the registry (6.04 GPA) for $8065. It had just three PSA 8s to go with seven 6s, ten 5s, one 4, and two 3s.
1969 Topps Rulers Memory Lane Inc. Set
These individual sales exhibit the set’s recent growth in popularity and price:
A PSA 9 Billy Cunningham sold for $2500 in September 2023.
A PSA 9 Gus Johnson sold for $2000 in September 2023.
A PSA 5 Jerry West sold for $1525 in April 2023.
A PSA 8 John Havlicek sold for $528 in March 2023.
A PSA 8 Lew Alcindor sold for $4150 in February 2023.
A PSA 10 Lew Alcindor sold for $9600 in January 2022.
A PSA 10 Gail Goodrich sold for $1560 in January 2022.
Even raw lower-grade lots of cards, without the super-stars, sell for $20-$50/card.
1969 Topps Basketball Rulers Original Line Art
I mentioned earlier that despite the cards being marked ‘of 24,’ only 23 different rulers are on the market. The hobby learned why in 1989 when Guernsey’s auctioned off a lot of the original line art in their famous Topps Auction – they mislabeled them as pen and ink drawings used for the height scales on the backs of 1958 basketball cards.
The auction included 23 pen and ink drawings, but you might notice a few peculiarities. First, the original card artwork for #12 Nate Thurmond and #13 Hal Greer weren’t included. However, those surfaced in late 2020 when REA auctioned off the pair for $3360.
1969 Topps Rulers Pen and Ink Drawings – Gear and Thurmond
The other interesting thing is the inclusion of Celtic legend Bill Russell and 5x All-Star Rudy Larusso (spelled Carruso on the auction page). The Topps Archives believes because the NBA and Topps knew the 1969-70 Topps season would be Russell’s last, and the decision to make a 1969-70 basketball set was made at some point after Russell’s retirement but before Larusso’s on October 1st, Topps likely intended for Larusso to be the 5th card in the set. He added that it’s also possible Alcindor was swapped in for Russell, and Larusso’s retirement caught them off-guard. The “Carruso” sold for $100 in 1989, and the Russell went for $2250. The Topps Archives shared that Bill Schonsheck bought the Russell and many other pieces in 1989, which brings me to where much of this art is now.
1969 Topps Basketball Rulers Original Line Art Today
PSA wrote an article about the 1969 Topps Rulers in March 2011 and included a few quotes from Christopher Sanchirico, a business partner of Bill Schonsheck. They reported that Sanchirico owns the Larusso artwork and that, over the past 20 years, had acquired the artwork for 15 of the 25 players that Topps had drawings for. When you check out Sanchirico’s collection online, you can see many original pieces of artwork framed with released rulers! However, it looks like some items from his collection have been popping up for sale recently.
1969 Topps Rulers Lou Hudson – Line Art and Cards
1969 Topps Rulers Gail Goodrich – Line Art and Cards
1969 Topps Rulers Walt Bellamy – Line Art and Cards
1969 Topps Rulers Wilt Chamberlain – Line Art and Cards
1969 Topps Rulers John Havlicek – Line Art and Cards
1969 Topps Rulers Jerry West – Line Art and Cards
1969 Topps Rulers Oscar Robertson – Line Art and Cards
1969 Topps Rulers Bill Russell – Framed Line Art
Wrap-Up
The 1969 Topps Basketball Rulers are an incredible vintage basketball insert set appreciated today for its star power, scarcity, and fantastic design. The cards also display incredibly well; I ran across this framed example and got major hobby envy!
Here’s a nice mid-1920s wooden exhibit card machine with two little signed cards showing a 1928 Blue Series Babe Ruth and Grey Tint Lou Gehrig exhibit. Sotheby’s offered the item in their April 1994 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia auction.
Here’s the lot’s full description:
Early Exhibit Card Machine with Autographed Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Exhibits, mid 1920s wooden exhibit card machine made by Metropolitan Coin Machine Inc. of Brooklyn, N.Y., holds two autographed exhibits of Ruth and Gehrig, the Ruth exhibit is a 1928 blue tint series with the Babe in quotes, a strong bold black ink signature, the Gehrig is a 1926 grey tint exhibit with the signature in the back-ground, “Lou” is a bit light but the “Gehrig” is bold and clear, overall condition of both cards is excellent to mint, with minor corner wear, the machine itself has a glass front and has been refinished, lock and key back, blue lettering “Novelty Card Vendor,” height 13 inches, width 7 1/2 inches, and depth 7 inches, at least near mint condition, wooden exhibit card machines are very rare, very few have survived and the autographed exhibits displayed of Ruth and Gehrig just add to make it a top shelf collectible.
It’s not the exact same card (auto location), but REA sold a signed 1928 Babe Ruth Exhibit card for $5,875 in 2008; it would be just a touch (ok, A LOT) pricier at auction today.
Also, FWIW, I think the Gehrig exhibit might have been a 1928 release as well, but I’m no expert on pre-war exhibit cards.
