Wax Box

1967 Topps Baseball 3rd Series Wax Box

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Legit, who knows?! But Masto offered this 1967 Topps Baseball 3rd-Series 24-Count Wax Box for sale in August 2003 with a minimum bid of $1500.

Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks are in the third series, but interestingly, PSA hasn’t designated any of their 77 graded wax pack examples as being from the third series; 22 are undesignated, and then are the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th series packs. FWIW, all the graded 4th-series packs I ran across offered the “All Star Pin-Up Inside.” REA sold this one for $3960 in their Spring 2024 auction.

I asked some folks on the Facebook Vintage Wax and Packs group how Mastro could say the packs were the third series. They surmised Mastro pressed some packs to see the cards and determine the series. I had been wondering if the insert or wrapper color 1967 prevented that technique. I think Topps only used that specific wax box design (advertising the pin-ups) after the first few series were released; if you have more info about this, please leave a comment. Here’s an example from Heritage Auctions of a box without the pin-up ad.

Masto described the box as being in Ex-Mt condition, with a few of the packs showing minor faults or tears but the majority in near-mint condition.

15 1953 Topps Baseball 5 Cent Packs

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Mastro offered these fifteen 1953 Topps Unopened Five-Cent Wax Packs in his April 2004 auction, which included the OPC archives.

Global Authentication graded and encapsulated all the packs, and the breakdown was as follows: GAI EX+ 5.5: 7 packs; GAI EX 5: 8 packs.

I don’t know what the lot sold for, but there was a separate lot with just a single pack, and it sold for ~$12k.

And in case you were curious, here’s what a 1953 Topps 24-count 5-cent wax book looks like.

1967 Topps “Who Am I” Unopened Wax Box

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I shared a nifty 1967 Topps Who Am I Proof Paul McCartney card the other day; on the same page of the auction (two lots later) was one of the remaining unopened boxes!

It remains a pricey box; REA sold one for $5925 in their Spring 2013 catalog.

More recently, BBCE offered this one on their site, which they authenticated, for $29k.

For completeness, here’s a wax wrapper.

The Greatest Collection Of Vintage Bowman And Topps Football Display Boxes

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A lot of people remember the April 2004 Mastro auction for the incredible unopened material they sold from, I believe, OPC’s archives. Perhaps overlooked a bit were all the empty vintage Bowman and Topps football display boxes they sold a few years later in 2008. 

It’s tough to put prices on items like these today in 2024, given the run-up in vintage unopened/display items, but here are a few sales:

  • REA sold a 1952 Bowman Large Five-Cent Display Box for $5040 in December 2023
  • REA sold a 1959 Topps One-Cent Display Box for $360 in August 2019
  • Heritage sold a 1959 Topps Five-Cent Display Box for $227 in December 2012
  • Heritage sold a 1950 Bowman Five-Cent Display Box for $690 in March 2021
  • Collect Auctions sold a 1958 Topps Five-Cent Display Box for $202 in November 2020
  • Memory Lane Inc. sold a 1957 Topps Fice-Cent Display Box for $736 in September 2017

1969 Topps And O-Pee-Chee Man on the Moon Wax Boxes

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Non-sport seems to be getting a lot of hype these days, so I thought I’d share this cool auction from April 2004 of a 1969 Topps and O-Pee-Chee “Man on the Moon” wax boxes! As the lot said, space exploration was at the forefront of the nation’s consciousness during the late 1960’s.

The 1969 Topps Man on the Moon 24-count display box contained 24 ten-cent wax packs, while the 1969 O-Pee-Chee Man on the Moon box originally contained 36 5-cent packs (the box in this auction was incomplete with just 30 packs).

“Real Photos Of Men On The Moon!”

1966/67 Topps USA Test Wax Pack Display Box Uncut Sheet

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Mastro’s April 2004 catalog featured this “only known example” 1966/67 USA Test uncut display box. It was described as an ex-Topps Vault item and was accompanied by that company’s LOA.

The 18” x 25”’ blank-backed sheet, printed in the US on regular cardstock, bears the unfolded, central rendering of a 24-count, 5-cent wax pack counter-sales box. Masto wrote that small proofer’s notes and printing alignment marks appear in the periphery of the sheet.

Lelands first sold an assembled 1966-67 Topps USA Test Wax Display Box (pictured below) in October 2017 for $8070 before selling another for $4555 in February 2019.

And for completeness, here’s a 1966 Topps Test hockey “cello” wrapper. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I found this one to credit the source.

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