wax pack

Prince of Cards – The “Best” Unopened Product You Will Ever See

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Yesterday, I shared an ad from The Baseball Card Kid, with whom most collectors on the leading unopened FB group had fond memories. This ad from Prince of Cards didn’t precisely elicit identical memories.

The ad is a scan from the June 1996 issue of Sports Card Trader. Here are a few comments from collectors on the Facebook ‘Vintage Wax and Packs’ group after I posed this same ad on September 15th, 2024.

  • One collector noticed that the 1971 rack was bad since the header hole was wrong, and another group expert commented that the 1969 Aaron/Bench rack was probably bogus, too, showing just how far back people were fabricating this stuff.
  • Someone noticed that the 1975 mini box at $1,750 was actually higher than the price for one as recently as 2012 or so. And someone commented that they were getting them for around $400 in the early ’90s.
  • It’s not all bad; one collector said he bought a couple of 1986 Fleer basketball sets from Prince (in the late ’90s), and both Jordan’s graded PSA 8.
  • A collector remembered the huge find of sealed 61-62 Fleer basketball cases in the late 80s/early 90s.
  • Another collector recalled buying a 1969 cello pack from this dealer that, when opened, had two wax-stained cards in the middle (circa 1992). Another purchased some 1961 Fleer basketball packs around this time that, when opened a few years later, had 1980s Topps baseball cards in the middle.
  • A ton of collectors said the packs purchased from this dealer in the early ’90s were bad.

The lesson is to be informed and do as much homework as possible, especially when buying pricey items in the unopened niche. 

Mark Murphy The Baseball Card Kid – Unopened Advertising In Late 1993

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Today, the Baseball Card Exchange is the big player in the unopened space, but in the early ’90s, it was Mark Murphy, The Baseball Card “Kid.” Here’s an ad he placed in the December 1993 issue of Sports Cards Magazine.

You can see along the top that he had just bought a gorgeous run of 1970-1979 Topps Baseball wax boxes and was offering packs from each of them as the first products in the ad. Let’s compare prices in December 1993 to PSA 8-graded wax packs today:

  • 1970 Topps: $200 (5th/6th/7th Series) compared to ~$2000+
  • 1971 Topps: $175 (1st/2nd Series) compared to ~$2000++ (BBCE Auctions recently sold a PSA 8 1st Series pack for $6,667 and 2nd Series packs for $3k)
  • 1972 Topps: $65 (3rd Series) compared to ~$500-750
  • 1973 Topps: $110 (2nd Series) compared to ~$1k
  • 1974 Topps: $60 compared to ~$500
  • 1975 Topps: $90 compared to ~$1k
  • 1976 Topps: $35 compared to $350-425
  • 1977 Topps: $30 compared to ~$225
  • 1978 Topps: $20 compared to ~$150
  • 1979 Topps: $15 compared to ~$115

This ad has so many other awesome products, so I shared the advertisement on the Facebook ‘Vintage Wax and Packs’ group in early September 2024 to see what stood out to people who concentrate on this hobby niche:

  • Some were surprised by how high some prices were at the time; many thought that everything would have been a lot cheaper in 1993.
  • One collector commented that the 1982 Topps and 1991 Stadium Club boxes cost the same.
  • Many commented on how many “bad” decisions one could have made in that ad.
  • A lot of folks had bought vending boxes from him.
  • There were many comments about the 1986/87 Fleer basketball packs being $225 or $425 for two.
  • Many recalled fond memories of dealing with Murphy.

Happy collecting!

Five Incredibly Rare Hockey Wax Packs

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Mastro offered five scarce hockey wax packs in their August 2004 Sports Premier Catalog Auction. Here’s the oldest, from the 1954/55 Topps set featuring a “who’s who” of hockey greats: Kelly, Howe, Worsley, Bathgate, and Sawchuck!

Also included were a 1957/58 Topps Five-Cent Wax Pack, a 1958/59 Parkhurst 5-cent Wax Pack, a 1961/62 Topps Five-Cent Wax Pack, and a 1965/66 Topps Five-Cent Wax Pack.

For good measure, a 1954/55 Topps display box was also part of this catalog!

PS, this auction also included a few lots I’ve discussed previously:

Happy collecting!

24 1969/70 Topps Basketball Wax Packs

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This is what we in the hobby would call a “fun rip.”

These 24 GAI-graded 1969/70 Topps basketball wax packs were offered for sale together in Mastro’s April 2004 catalog. The original 24-count counter-sales display box was included, too.

Each 10-cent pack had ten cards and one of the year’s paper “rulers” inserts. The pack’s grades included GAI Perfect 10: 6 packs; GAI Gem Mint 9.5: 7 packs; GAI Min 9: 7 packs; GAI NM-MT+ 8.5: 1 pack; GAI NM-MT 8: 2 packs; GAI NM+ 7/5: 1 pack.

If you didn’t know, PSA started grading oversized packs around the fall of 2023, and most notably, Goldin sold a lot of 14 1969 Topps basketball tallboy packs in March 2024 for $148,840!

The packs’ grades included:

  • PSA NM 7: 1 pack
  • PSA EX-MT 6: 9 packs
  • PSA EX 5: 4 packs

At the time (June 2024), PSA’s Pop Report still only included those 14 packs.

1957-58 Topps Basketball Wax Packs

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There was quite a buzz across the hobby, particularly the unopened community when in April 2023, Mile High Card Co. sold the following PSA 7-graded 1957 Topps basketball pack for nearly $128k.

In their auction description, MHCC wrote, “Topps learned their lesson when they overproduced the 1952 Topps baseball series, sending cases of unwanted product to a watery grave. They were much more cost-conscious when they rolled out their inaugural basketball series and packs such as the one featured here are far more scarce.”

However, the underproduction of the 1957 Topps basketball set is a bit of a hobby misconception. In September 2015, Sports Collectors Daily shared that Topps Had Lots of Unsold 1957-58 Basketball. They included the following article from the spring of 1961, which says that Topps had 10M cards from the set left unsold; that’s like 70k boxes!

So, the 1957 Topps basketball packs aren’t scarce from under-printing; they’re scarce because no one wanted them, and Topps appears to have disposed of the leftovers. That disposal and the resurgence of vintage basketball and unopened collecting have skyrocketed the demand for 1957 Topps basketball packs. 

You see, the MHCC sale wasn’t some high-priced one-off outlier; shortly after that, in November 2023, BBCE auctions sold another 1957 Topps basketball PSA 7-graded wax pack for almost $92k.

Now, from a population (supply) perspective, PSA has only encapsulated nine of these packs (three 6s, four 7s, two 8s), and there are a bunch still in GAI holders, but likely not even an entire box worth across both companies.

However, some Facebook Vintage Wax and Packs Group collectors said the MHCC pack was probably part of a late 90s/early 2000s find. They thought they started selling for prices in the mid-teens (~$15k), that there were around 27 of them that GAI mostly slabbed as 7s/7.5s, and that the $128k pack was probably a cross from that find.

That timing seems to align with this lot of 6 GAI-graded 1957/58 Topps basketball packs that Mastro offered for sale in August 2004.

The packs’ grades included: GAI NM-MT 8: 2 packs, GAI NM+ 7.5: 3 packs, and GAI NM 7: 1 pack.

Update: 2 September 2024. After reading this post, a collector reached out and told me he and some friends bought the Mastro lot of 6 packs for ~$25k; they split four and sold two. Two of the guys he split them with sold theirs years ago. Another guy kept his GAI 7.5 and crossed it to a PSA 6 pack years ago, and he still owns one of the GAI 8 packs.

The same catalog had another lot for a single GAI 8-graded pack with a minimum bid of $1k.

Update: 8 September 2024. Mastro also included the following collection of five GAI-graded 1957 Topps basketball packs in their December 2004 Sports Auction of Distinction. One was a GAI NM-MT 8, and four were GAI NM+ 7.5s.

The recent ~$100k price point for these packs is a massive increase from other confirmed pack sales I’ve tracked down.

For example, Lelands sold this GAI 7.5 example for $3,352 in June 2005.

Memory Lane Inc. has two sales in its archives; the first is a GAI 8, which sold for $4,353 in December 2006.

And the second, more recently, is this GAI 6.5, which sold for just under $27k in December 2021.

That December 2021 Memory Lane 1957 Topps basketball pack appears to be the same one I grabbed a screenshot of back in August 2020 from eBay. 

You can see that the owner was asking $33k (plus $4.95 shipping). Many of us thought the price was a little high then; at the time, yes, but not two years later!

The next example of a 1957 Topps basketball pack that I found was, again, from MHCC; they sold this GAI 7.5 example for just under $20k in March of 2018.

Update: 16 September 2024. BBCE Auctions sold the following PSA-7 graded 1957 Topps basketball wax pack this morning for just under $69k.

Here’s a summary of the progression of wax pack sales:

  • June 2005: GAI 7.5, Lelands, $3,352
  • December 2006: GAI 8, Memory Lane Inc., $4,353
  • March 2018; GAI 7.5, Mile High Card Co., $20k
  • December 2021: GAI 6.5, Memory Lane Inc., $27k
  • April 2023: PSA 7, Mile High Card Co., $128k
  • November 2023: PSA 7, BBCE Auctions, $92k
  • September 2024: PSA 7, BBCE Auctions, $69k

If you have any other information about 1957 Topps basketball wax pack sales, please get in touch with me!

24 GAI-Graded 1966 Topps Lost in Space Wax Packs

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Another incredible Carpet o’ Wax Packs from Mastro’s April 2004 catalog of incredible non-sport material. This time, 24 GAI-Graded 1966 Topps Lost in Space Wax Packs.

The lot came with the wax box, too.

Here’s the lot’s full description:

A 24-Count display box of Topps’ Lost In Space cards is presented, and all of its original, tightly sealed packs have been graded and encapsulated by Global Authentication. Still enjoying a cult following of devoted fans almost 40 years after the show first aired on prime time television, this issue is a perennial favorite among non-sport collectors. The set traced the Space Family Robinson’s exploits, as shown in black-and-white photographic format, in a very desirable 55-card set. A tough issue, with sporadic distribution at the time of release that’s had a pronounced “ripple effect” on the modern hobby’s supply, demand for this set has always been quite strong. As a complete, unopened box, availability of Lost In Space is an almost unheard-of event, and one that almost demands a special news release! This 8″ × 3-3/4″ x 1-7/8″ display box boasts nearly impeccable condition. It presents at the Near Mint level, with a crisp, dark blue color scheme and bright graphics that have successfully avoided the rigors of handling. The superlative array of 5¢ wax packs reveals sharp, untouched character throughout. The packs’ grades include: Graded GAl Gem Mint 9.5: 1 pack; GAI Mint 9: 3 packs; GAI NM-MT+ 8.5: 10 packs; GAI NM-MT 8: 6 packs; GAI NM+ 7.5: 4 packs. This very rare box and its exceptional contents deliver pure Lost In Space nostalgia in its finest, most highly prized form!

The minimum bid was $1,000. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it sold for. However, it looks like Robert Edwards Auctions re-sold the exact same lot in their Fall 2022 auction for $8,700.

That $8,700 price seems like a bit of a steal. Since then, REA has sold a pair of PSA 8-graded individual wax packs for $900 and $840.

Seven 1954 Bowman Unopened Five-Cent Wax Packs

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In August 2003, Mastro sold these seven 1954 Bowman baseball five-cent wax packs that originated from the famous Paris, Tennesse find, which I’ll detail in a future post.

Six of the GAI authenticated and encapsulated packs were graded NM+ 7.5, and one was graded NM 7.

If you want to add one of these packs to your collection today, it’ll be pretty expensive. BBCE Auctions sold a PSA 9-graded pack for $7588 in November 2023 and a PSA 7-graded pack for $3445 in April 2024.

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