The 10 Items from the Topps Vault VIP Exclusive Auction Held at the 2011 National in Chicago

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Back in 2011, at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, IL, Topps held an auction exclusively for VIP ticket holders on Wednesday, August 3, at 2:30 PM. It featured “10 magnificent TOPPS items direct from the Vault!” In this article, I’ll share the paragraphs describing the lots exactly as Topps advertised them on the National’s website leading into the show.

1957-58 Topps Basketball Card Bill Russell Cancelled Check

1957-58 Topps Basketball Card Bill Russell Cancelled Check – Topps Vault Auction

Direct from Topps’ legendary vault comes Hall of Famer Bill Russell’s very first Topps basketball card canceled paycheck. Mr. Russell was the key card in the celebrated 1957-1958 Topps basketball card set. The 1957-58 Topps basketball card set was the first basketball card set issued by Topps and is the most important of the three major basketball sets issued prior to 1969 (the other two are Bowman’s 1948 set and Fleer’s 1961 set). The reverse is endorsed by Mr. Russell in bold black ink. Overall condition is very-good-plus. PSA/DNA Certified Authentic. A Topps Vault certificate of authenticity accompanies this one-of-a-kind piece of Topps hoops history. 

1968 Topps Final Baseball Card Color Transparency – 1968 Nolan Ryan Rookie Card

1968 Topps Final Baseball Card Color Transparency – Topps Vault Auction

For each baseball card created by Topps, there exists one color transparency used as the original artwork from which the proof sheets were made. Offered here is a unique opportunity to own the only artwork used to create the 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan Rookie Card. This original color transparency was trimmed down in the production process in order to fit into the duel-player Topps Rookie Card design. Nolan Ryan has long been regarded as one of the most popular and sought after names in the hobby which makes this transparency one of the most unique items a card collector could possess. Transparency measures approx. 1 1/4″ X 1 1/2″ in size and is in its original state. The original hand-inscribed Topps file envelope is included. Lot is accompanied by a Topps Vault certificate of authenticity. 

The bidding on this item was reported as fierce and ended at $3500. The Ryan Transparency had been listed for sale on eBay for a long time, apparently by the original buyer, for $89,995. Here are a few more items they have shared for the item.

1968 Topps Final Baseball Card Color Transparency – eBay Front
1968 Topps Final Baseball Card Color Transparency – eBay Reverse
1968 Topps Final Baseball Card Color Transparency – eBay COA
1968 Topps Final Baseball Card Color Transparency – eBay Evenlope Side 1
1968 Topps Final Baseball Card Color Transparency – eBay Evenlope Side 2

1977 Topps Uncut Proof Sheet with Rare Reggie Jackson Orioles Error Card

1977 Topps Uncut Proof Sheet – Topps Vault Auction

Every once in a while, a rather significant Topps error card will find its way to auction. This is one of those times. This incredible uncut proof sheet contains several error cards, most noteworthy, the 1977 Topps Reggie Jackson Orioles card. Printed early in the production process, this proof sheet contains Mr. October donning his 1976 Baltimore Orioles uniform. In subsequent proof printings, Mr. Jackson was outfitted in Yankees pinstripes. Barely a handful of these Reggie error cards has ever surfaced making it one of the most important Topps boo-boos in history. Other slips include Don Baylor in an A’s uniform, Dave Duncan (Orioles), Steve Stone (Cubs), Wayne Garland (Orioles), Gene Tenace (A’s), Pat Kelly (White Sox), Gary Matthews (Giants) and Rollie Fingers (A’s). Proof sheets are made by the engraver, usually from the final set of separations. Proofs show what the product will look like when it is printed. Topps staffers use them to check color and registration. Proofreaders will also check them for content. This extraordinary find is professionally matted and framed and is accompanied by a Topps Vault certificate of authenticity. 

More recently, the Oriole’s Jackson cards have sold for almost $60k, so while the $10k price for this sheet was considered a lot at the time, in retrospect, it was a steal!

1987 Topps/Nestles Baseball Card Set – Mickey Mantle Signed Agreement

1987 Topps/Nestles Baseball Card Set – Mickey Mantle Signed Agreement – Topps Vault Auction

The 33-card 1987 Nestle set features players from the golden era as well as the games modern era. The biggest of these baseball greats were the late Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth. The 1987 Nestle set was produced in conjunction with Topps and was offered inside specially marked six-packs of select Nestle candy bars. In order to include retired players in the set, Topps entered into an agreement with each individual athlete or the estate. Offered here is the original hand-signed agreement between Topps and Mickey Mantle himself. Original 8 1/2″ X 11″ archival document comes professionally matted and framed and features a bold blue ink signature. Lot is accompanied by a Topps Vault certificate of authenticity. 

Here’s an example of a hand-cut Mantle 1987 Nestle set.

1987 Nestle #17 Mickey Mantle

1979-80 Topps Hockey Uncut Proof Sheet – Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card

1979-80 Topps Hockey Uncut Proof Sheet – Topps Vault Auction

Wayne Gretzky is regarded as the greatest hockey player ever and his 1979-1980 Topps Rookie Card is one of the pre-eminent trading cards ever printed. Featured here is a blank back production sheet containing the “Great One’s” very first bubble gum card. Original proof sheet is professionally matted and framed (26″ X 32-1/2″) and overall is in near-mint condition. Proof sheets are made by the engraver, usually from the final set of separations. Proofs show what the product will look like when it is printed. Topps staffers use them to check color and registration. Proofreaders will also check them for content. Lot is accompanied by a Topps Vault certificate of authenticity.     

While not a proof sheet, a 1979 Topps Hockey sheet with the Gretzky rookie card was listed on eBay for ~$5k a year or two ago.

1979 Topps Hockey Uncut Sheet

1980 Topps/Pepsi Unissued Two-sided Final Uncut Sheet

1980 Topps/Pepsi Unissued Two-sided Final Uncut Sheet – Topps Vault Auction
1980 Topps/Pepsi Unissued Two-sided Final Uncut Sheet – Topps Vault Auction

The unique 1980 Topps-produced Pepsi baseball card set features many of the era”s greatest diamond stars. In fact, half of the ballplayers incorporated into this 22-card set are enshrined in the hallowed halls of Cooperstown. This prized Topps relic comes professionally matted and framed (12 3/4″ X 33″) and is in tip-top condition. The reverse side of the sheet is also viewable. Some of the more notable subjects include; Rod Carew, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Reggie Jackson, George Brett, Mike Schmidt, Jim Palmer, Dave Winfield and Steve Carlton. This is the first and only time this seldom-seen and un-catalogued Topps baseball product will be offered in uncut sheet form. Lot is accompanied by a Topps Vault certificate of authenticity. 

1968 Topps Uncut Proof Sheet Nolan Ryan Rookie Card

1968 Topps Uncut Proof Sheet – Topps Vault Auction

Rare 1968 Topps uncut 44-card uncut blank-back proof sheet. Direct from the Topps Vault archives, this blank back proof sheet measures 21″ X 28″ and overall, is in excellent-plus condition. What makes this cherished Topps production item so special is that it is not crafted from the usual cardboard stock but rather a vinyl-like material. Proof sheets are made by the engraver, usually from the final set of separations. Proofs show what the product will look like when it is printed. Topps staffers use them to check color and registration. Proofreaders will also check them for content. The principal card featured on this highly sought-after piece is the Nolan Ryan Rookie Card. Also included are the 1968 Topps cards of Hank Aaron, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan and the late Elston Howard among others. For instant viewing pleasure, this lot is professionally matted and framed. A Topps Vault certificate of authenticity is included. *This lot will be framed.”

Memory Lane Inc. sold a sheet matching this description in their Spring 2013 auction for $1583. REA has also sold blank-backed vinyl-like sheets but unframed in a few past auctions; one sold for $1778 in the fall of 2013, and another sold for $2160 in the spring of 2017.

Framed 1968 Topps Uncut Proof Sheet

1957 Topps Basketball Card Set – Bill Russell Signed Agreement  

1957 Topps Basketball Card Set – Bill Russell Signed Agreement – Topps Vault Auction

Direct from Topps’ legendary vault, this auction lot features Bill Russell’s Rookie basketball card contract. The 1957-1958 Topps basketball card set was the very first basketball card set issued by Topps and remains today the greatest of all Topps basketball card sets. Original hand-signed document measures 8 1/2″ X 11″ in size and overall, is in near-excellent condition. Contract is signed and dated by Mr. Russell as well as Topps’ Sy Berger. This extraordinary slice of Topps history is professionally matted and framed for your immediate viewing pleasure. A Topps Vault certificate of authenticity accompanies this Topps archival relic.

1974 Topps Test Issue The Six Million Dollar Man Unopened Box  

1974 Topps Test Issue The Six Million Dollar Man Unopened Box – Topps Vault Auction

1974 Topps “The Six Million Dollar Man” Full 36-Count Wax Pack Box. This seldom-seen Test Issue wax pack full box originates directly from the Topps Vault archives. The plain white Test box contains 36 firmly sealed packs. Each pack contains seven cards and a slab of bubble gum. The original plain white box is in top-flight condition. Topps failed to get the U.S. rights to this 1970’s pop culture television series. After its limited test run, a small quantity of the remaining Test boxes was sent to the UK for distribution. This rare pack box was unearthed during a recent visit to the Topps warehouse and now becomes one of only a handful of Topps Six Million Dollar Man full wax pack boxes ever offered for sale. A rare find indeed! A certificate of authenticity accompanies this spectacular auction lot.

I saw a few GAI-graded packs sell for a little over $200 a few years ago, and a few PSA-graded packs have been listed for sale on eBay over the years. One of them had the words “Topps Vault Collection” written on the flip and was listed for $1429. 

1974 Topps The Six Million Dollar Man PSA Pack

1985 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Series One Uncut Sheet  

With its madcap gross-out humor, Topps Garbage Pail Kids stickers took the country by storm in 1985. Kids were plastering the hip gross stickers everywhere. Seldom offered, this stunning 132-sticker full sheet measures a stout 28 1/2″ X 43″ and overall, is in excellent-plus-plus condition. Sheet shows only the usual wear associated with uncut sticker-stock sheets of this size including very-very-very mild surface and edge wear. This colossal collectible is suitable for framing and much, much more! Each of the 132 finished stickers is scored. Sheet contains two complete “B” Series’ and one complete “A” series sticker sets, plus a few doubles. Sheet code is 4-494-05-01-5. A Topps Vault certificate of authenticity accompanies this fabulous pop-culture collectible.

The only item I don’t have an original photo of is this Garbage Pail Kids sheet. However, a sheet with the same serial number was listed on eBay for $5400 a while ago. 

Garbage Pail Kids Series One Uncut Sheet

Also, the Six Million Dollar Man box and the Garage Pail Kids Uncut Sheet were announced as the final two auction items a few weeks after the first eight items were.

While this auction didn’t have the breadth of Guernsey’s Topps Auction from 1989, its depth was incredible. Happy collecting!

Giant 1950s Ted Williams Moxie Window Decal

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It’s a miracle that any of these 1950s Ted Williams Moxie Window Decals survived; Sotheby’s offered this one in their 1994 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia auction.

Sotheby’s described the item as a large stick-on window decal printed on sturdy, weather-proof plastic with the original backing paper still attached. They added that the piece was 21” wide by 32” high in near mint to mint condition.

Heritage sold the following framed example in August 2023 for $8400 (the estimate in 1994 was $2000-2500).

Oh yeah, it looks like they used the same George Woodruff portrait that Topps and Fleer used on Williams’ cards!

1947 Bob Feller Dreamsicle Window Sign

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Another great piece of vintage athlete-endorsed advertising is the partnership between Bob Feller and Dreamsicle.

This 1947-dated piece( it says “Copyright 1947 Joe Lowe Corp” in the lower left) was sold by Sotheby’s in 1993. It features a multicolor caricature of Feller pitching on paper stock; the back is blank. The piece is approximately 7 1/2” x 19 1/2”.

It was a previously unknown piece to the hobby until the year before the 1993 Sotheby’s auction when about a dozen examples were obtained from a single source.

Given the scarcity, I’ve only found a few other sales; REA sold the following framed example for $480 in their 2017 spring catalog.

More recently, Mile High Card Co. sold this one for $1108 in December 2020.

“Pitch into a Delicious Dreamsicle,” says Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians Pitcher!

1968 Topps Football Uncut Sheet And A Great Looking Subset

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Here’s a 1968 Topps Football uncut sheet of 132 cards that Mastro auctioned off in May 2008. They described it as being in approximately Ex condition.

The big names on the sheet include Starr, Meredith, Namath, Sayers, Unitas, and Butkus. I think the 1968 Topps Packers and Raiders cards are among the best-looking football card “subsets” of all time.

I had written about the subset in one of my old newsletters, #57, so here’s that text (its preceding mini article was about ‘Beautiful Two Player Baseball Cards’:

While we are on the subject of beautiful cards, there’s a solid case to be made for the 1968 Topps Packers and Raiders cards as the best-looking football card “subset” of all time. Those teams played in Super Bowl II (Lombardi’s last game as a coach) and have cards that are oriented horizontally, while the rest of the cards in the set are oriented vertically (and look rather bland)

The eight 1968 Topps Green Bay Packers cards were the key players from the 1967 Packers Super Bowl champs (they won 33-14): Bart Starr, Carroll Dale, Bob Jeter, Elijah Pitts, Boyd Dowler, Herb Adderley, Ray Nitschke, Jim Grabowski, and Donny Anderson.

The eight 1968 Topps Oakland Raiders cards (the 1967 AFL Champions) included: Kent McCloughan, Billy Cannon, Hewritt Dixon, Clem Daniels, Tomo Keating, George Blanda, Fred Biletnikoff, Daryle Lamonica.

1939 Playball #26 Joe DiMaggio With Rare Ad Back

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A small number (cards 1-115) of 1939 Gum, Inc. Playball cards were overprinted on the reverse and given away to generate interest in the set. But PSA didn’t designate “sample” on the card flip in its early days, like with this DiMaggio that remains in an old flip today.

To date, PSA has slabbed 30 1939 Playball #36 Joe DiMaggio Sample cards, but the one above (from a November 2001 auction catalog) isn’t included in that thirty unless it was cracked and re-submitted.

The highest-graded DiMaggio samples are a pair of Nm-Mt 8s. REA sold this one in the fall of 2019 for $3600.

More about these free sample cards and their red advertising message in the future, so don’t forget to subscribe to blog posts so you don’t miss it.

Stan Musial Wonder Bread Cardboard Advertising Sign

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Here’s another classic cardboard advertising sign of Stan Musial pitching for Wonder Bread; it’s what “Good Ball Players Need” to “Build Strong Bodies 8 Ways.”

Sotheby’s offered this example in its April 1994 catalog of Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia. It is described as a late 1940s/early 1950s 30 by 40-inch piece in excellent overall condition.

This isn’t the first Stan Musial Wonder Bread ad that I’ve shared; there’s the more “common” one that he shares with Mickey Mantle and another cardboard example with seven of the era’s biggest stars.

14 1952 Bowman Unissued Original Artworks

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Christie’s East offered these 14 original 1952 Bowman paintings of never-issued cards in its October 1992 Sports Memorabilia Auction.

They were offered as Lot 93 with the following description:

14 original Bowman paintings of cards that were never issued. Players depicted include C. Lavagetto, M. Martin, J Hopp, C. Van Cuyk, G. Shuba, J. Merson, V Trucks, B Thorpe, T. Moore, B. Addis, J. Wilson, B. McCoskey, R. Gumpert, and J. Dobson. Each card measures 5 x 7 in.

The estimated value was $8,000-10,000.

Christie’s reference to R. Gumpert should have been Bill Henry, the second-to-last card on the bottom. Randy Gumpert has a 1952 Bowman card.

Bowman scrapped more than 14 players from their 1952 set; I previously shared Bill Dickey’s unissued original artwork that Ron Oser Enterprises sold in April 2000, REA sold artwork of an unidentified Detroit Tiger, and The Topps Archives has a post that shares Gelman’s find of 29 original Bowman art pieces including 15 who did not appear in the issued set. Those 15 (the 14 from Christie’s plus Bob Kennedy) were re-printed by TCMA in 1982 as a 1952 Bowman Supplement set (no Bill Dickey or unidentified Detroit Tiger in the supplement set).

Beckett describes the 1952 Bowman extension set as follows:

In 1980, 15 unissued pieces of artwork initially intended to be used by Bowman Gum in their 1952 baseball card set were discovered. This set consists of 15 cards made from this original artwork. The backs have been created to resemble the original 1952 series, and the set has been numbered 253-267 (the next 15 cards in the 1952 Bowman sequence). The facsimile autograph on the original 1952 Bowmans has been omitted from the cards in this set. This set was originally available from the producer for $3 per set.

For completeness, Heritage sold the original art for the 1952 Bowman Bob Kennedy card in May 2020 for $1,110. I’ve also included photos of the unidentified Detroit Tiger and Bill Dickey cards.

Also, check out my earlier post, 1952 Bowman Baseball Original Artwork, Proofs, And Retouched Cards, for more about the Willard Ramsdell and Cliff Mapes cards.

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