The Rare 1938 R83A Gum, Inc. Lone Ranger Promo Sheet

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A blast from auction history past: In October 2007, Mastro, via his Classic Collector Auctions, offered this incredible 1938 R83A Gum, Inc., Long Ranger Premiums Store Advertising Promo Sheet.

Unfortunately, the catalogs for these “internet-only” auction events from Mastro Auctions didn’t include an item description. However, several promo sheets have been auctioned off over the years. For example, REA sold a lot of three of them for $420 in the spring of 2015.

Here’s what they wrote about them:

Extremely rare collection of three advertising sheets, issued by Gum, Inc., in 1938, promoting the company’s “Lone Ranger” premium cards (R83A). The front of each 8 x 10-inch paper flyer pictures a montage of all five premium cards offered, while the reverse provides complete instructions for boys and girls on how to obtain them (it involved buying a lot of “Lone Ranger” Bubble Gum!). As noted on the reverse, the premium cards depict scenes from Republic Pictures’  The Lone Ranger, thus promoting the movie serial as well. While nearly all collectors are familiar with the actual premium cards, this promotional flyer is seldom encountered and is a perfect complement to any advanced R83A collection. In many ways, it represents a “sixth premium” to the set. The reason for its rarity today is obviously related to its purpose (it is an advertising piece) and limited distribution, as well as its extremely fragile nature. Printed on thin paper stock, few survived the rough handling they endured at the hands of young children as they ran from the candy store to show their parents exactly why they needed more money for “Lone Ranger” Bubble Gum. Parents too were probably quick to toss them in the trash as soon as their son’s or daughter’s interest shifted to the next “must have” premium. The offered advertising sheets were recently discovered by our consignor at a garage sale. (The entire find consisted of five examples, the other two of which were sold in REA’s fall 2014 auction.) The three advertising sheets are in Excellent condition overall, displaying only very tiny touches of wear at the corners and no creases or heavy wrinkles. This is a very rare collection of three desirable advertising pieces relating to this popular series of premiums! 

As for the five-card premium set, which together can sell for well over $1k, James Watson, in his fantastic Non-Sports Bible, wrote that the set was “actually issued prior to Gum, Inc. card set, these premiums contain artwork that is not reproduced on any of the regular issue R83 cards. Attractive artwork is one attribute that certainly contributes to their popularity. The majority of premium #1 contain the hero’s mask ‘drawn in by hand,’ but is absent in this original variation. This set was originally listed as R83A in the American Card Catalog.”

Happy Collecting!

PS, here’s a larger scan so you can read the back!

From Auctions Past: A Complete 1974 Topps Deckle Edge Proofs Set

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Here’s a cool piece from days of auctions past: a 1974 Topps Deckle Edge Proofs complete set of 72. MastroNet offered it in their 2nd Classic Collector Auctions in February 2005.

Individual proof samples are pricey these days; here are a few recent graded sales from eBay:

  • Johnny Bench – $506.95 in December 2024 
  • Steve Carlton – $240 in December 2024
  • Jim Palmer – $900 in November 2024 

The set itself was a test issue with limited distribution in the Massachusetts area. These proofs are known with white or gray backs, and they’re slightly larger than the final deckled cards that were released three per pack for five cents with gum or in two-card packs with no gum. 

23 1991 Upper Deck Heroes Jerry West Autos in One Case? The High Series Surprise

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The 1991 Upper Deck Jerry West Heroes autograph card is a hobby classic. West signed and numbered 2,500 of card #9, but unopened cases surfaced late in the release cycle with shocking clusters of autos—one in Texas had 23!

Sold by 4SharpCorners on eBay for $308 in October 2024

I discovered the tale of these loaded Upper Deck high series boxes from the September 1992 issue of Sports Collectors Digest’s Sports Card Price Guide Monthly, which had a few paragraphs of basketball commentary. The story begins with the last sentence of the first image below and continues through the start of the text in the second image.

Here’s the text from the article in case the images are a bit too small for you to read on your device:

Some of the later cases of Upper Deck high series cards contained pleasant surprises. One case that turned up in Texas in May wielded 23 autographed Jerry West cards, including six in one box. Another sent to a drugstore in North Carolina in mid-May included six autographed cards. In each case, the cards were numbered either sequentially or within one or two numbers of each other. It’s believed that when the final cases were prepared, an overrun of autographed West cards was discovered and the cards were simply packed close together.

Happy hunting, and I hope someone picks up one of these hot boxes someday soon! Happy collecting!

Uncut Treasures: Rediscovering Rare Sheets From a 1982 Baseball Cards Magazine Ad

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I ran across an advertisement from Stephan R. Juskewycz in the Spring 1982 issue of Baseball Cards Magazine offering some cool and scarce uncut sheets, so I tried to find them and tracked down six of seven.

1981 Donruss Baseball Uncut Sheet

These are probably the most common sheets on Juskewycz’s list, and they were also the cheapest in 1982. Here’s an example of one of the sheets.

1981 Granny Goose Uncut Sheet

The advertisement initially motivated me to write a dedicated piece on the 1981 Granny Goose set, but this was the one uncut sheet I couldn’t track down!

1977 Burger King Yankees Uncut Sheet

The advertisement said it was a sheet for a single set, and I found that REA sold a lot of 10 progressive proof uncut sheets back in 2008 for $588.

Heritage also sold this complete one in October 2024, along with a 1983 Topps Gaylord Perry Peanut Farm uncut sheet for $750.

1977 Cloth Stickers Uncut Sheet

REA sold this sheet with two complete sets for $630 in the fall of 2019.

1977 Cloth Stickers Puzzle Cards Uncut Sheet

REA failed to sell this example in the fall of 2018 when its reserve was $300.

1971 Topps Coin Proofs Uncut Sheet

Lelands offered this example in 2004, but the sheet failed to meet its reserve.

1969 Topps Uncut Proof Sheet of 9 1969 Deckle Edge Cards

I wrote about this sheet back in August 2024.

Happy collecting!

PS, check out The Uncut Sheet Archive if you’re into this hobby niche.

An Official Letter About How Many 1991 Topps Desert Shield Cards Were Made

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In late summer/early fall 2022, a memo from The Topps Company was circulated around social media, documenting the size of the 1991 Topps Desert Shield print run. Many collectors and dealers have guessed at its size in the past, but we have never had source documentation directly from Topps.

1991 Topps Desert Shield #79 Frank Thomas

The 1991 Topps Desert Shield set has become an incredibly popular set, and many had speculated at its print run. Mile High Card Company auctioned off the #1 set from the PSA Registry for $106k back in March 2018. They explained that the cards were distributed in wax packs sent to troops in the Middle East during Operation Desert Shield. They wrote that the cards were identical to the 1991 Topps set, but each had a gold foil stamp embossed with a shield and palm tree with the words “Operation Desert Shield” underneath. They estimated that Topps produced less than 6500 of each card. 

Sports Collectors Daily also wrote that Topps printed approximately 6500-7000 of each card but that sources on the exact distribution varied. However, they noted that many of the cards were discarded. 

A collector on a Facebook forum shared the following image about the cards.

Dealer Letter about 1991 Topps Desert Shield

This seller noted that Topps printed around 6300 cards for each player and that they thought about half of the cards were destroyed because no one knew they would be valuable. So troops told this collector/dealer that few went to mail call to pick any up and that most were trashed in the dumpster, used to make fires, or given to the locals. So he thinks a high estimate of 3000 of each card remains, but I’m not sure the numbers are even that high. The set’s most expensive card is the Chipper Jones rookie, and its PSA-graded population is just 935. Ultimately, many Desert Shield cards are worth grading, but their populations are minuscule compared to that 3000 card estimate.

Anyway, here is the recently discovered memo from December 21, 1990, directly from the Topps company to its employees.

The Topps Company Letter About Desert Shield Cards

It says, “Dear Fellow Employee: As most of you know, we recently produced 500 cases of baseball cards, specially embossed ‘Operation Desert Shield’, for our troops in Saudi Arabia. Thank you for the terrific cooperation we received on this project. Enclosed is a sample card for you yourself to own. Let it symbolize Topps’ pride in these brave men and women and the prayers of us all for peace. Have a Happy Holiday, a Healthy New Year and come back to us safe and sound.”

So now we know that Topps printed 500 cases of 1991 Topps Desert Shield cards. At 20 boxes per case, 36 packs per box, and 15 cards per pack, for a 792-card set (6 equal sheets of 132 cards), that’s just over 6800 for each card. 

1991 Topps Desert Shield #150 Cal Ripken Jr.

How many of those cards made it overseas, and how many made it back? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments. If you have more information about 1991 Topps Desert Shield cards, please reach out to me; happy collecting!

The PSA 8 Graded 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Sotheby’s Auctioned In 2005

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In June 2005, Sotheby’s offered this gorgeous PSA 8 graded 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle in their Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards catalog. The expected sales price was $40-50k! It’s now a million-dollar card after changing hands at least two more times!

I’m unsure what Sotheby’s sold the card for, or if it changed hands again, but in November 2014, it showed up in SCP’s Fall Premier Auction, where it sold for $268k.

Then, in May 2017, Memory Lane had the same card in their Spring Holy Grail Rarities Auction, where it sold for $462k.

I’m unsure if that buyer sold it since, but the PSA Card page for the cert shows that it was re-slabbed. Behold, over a million dollars in its plastic tomb!

It would be pretty cool if someone would trace the lineage of all the high-grade (PSA and SGC 8+) 1952 Mickey Mantle cards. It’s sort of just happened that I’ve started such a task with the T206 Wagner cards:

Happy Collecting!