Which Unopened Wax Pack Will Eventually Exceed $100,000
 

As many of you know, I have been buying rare and scarce wax packs now for over one and one-half years; actually 40+ years but not in this quantity. I have given some thought to which unopened wax pack will eventually break the $100,000 mark. It was debated a few years ago on another board but I thought that we are now getting closer to that mark and an updated debate might be interesting.


My personal thoughts are represented here and they are just my opinion. I consider the following unopened 5 cent wax packs as possibilities to exceed $100,000 depending on condition.


1 -- 1952 Topps High Number (if it can be proven to be a high number pack)

2 -- 1952 Topps (Eventually all such packs will break that mark but it could be another few years+ before that occurs).

3 -- 1953 Topps High Number

4 -- 1948 Bowman Basketball (Certainly rarer than a 1952 Topps baseball wax pack)

5 -- Any incredibly rare wax packs such as 1953 Bowman Color, 1956 or 1958 Topps, 1955 Topps All American Football, 1958 Topps Baseball, 1949 Bowman or any 1930s or 1940s wax packs.


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Have I missed any real current possibilities? I would consider any of the packs on this list (especially the 1952 Topps packs) as having terrific investment potential.


Also for those who care, I sold 8 of my recent pack acquisitions at last year's National and have sold another 21 packs since August. I did sell many other packs that did not come from the same source at last year's National. I have also bought roughly 25 packs since then, all between 1948 and 1959, except for one which was another 1969 basketball.

I plan on working on putting together another REVISED listing of my current availability during the next several weeks. When available, I will post that listing in the B/S/T sections and it will reflect price revisions for all packs that I do not consider scarce or rare. So watch for that listing in the next few months.

Regards and Happy Holidays from chilly New York.

Steve

I don't know much about the unopened pack market but I would guess something pre-war that could be proven to contain a rare issue, like 14 CJ or a t210 card might bring 6 figures before anything post war.

Interesting possibility, I was actually trying to find info. on this online last night. Does anyone know if a 1914 or '15 original Cracker Jack box is even known to exist? I couldn't even find proof of an empty one from that era. If so, and you could somehow prove the year by the box - I agree that would go for boatloads of money. Would be a real gamble though - the card inside if it were still with petrified 100+ year old pieces of caramel and popcorn would not be likely to be anywhere near mint condition. Still though - the novelty of something like that...

Packs
 

Great list Steve. On Topps I assume you are referring to nickle versus penny packs. I have a Toops pack run but have settled so far for penny packs in 56 and 58. I envy Anthony his 56 and 58 packs. On Bowman I have settled for wrappers with my sets, but missing 2, the usual suspects. My favorite wrapper is my 1970 Greatest Moments. My favorite pack is my 51 Topps Red Back full panel set with game board and other 51 set insets

Not sure they all did but 52 highs had a blue and red scheme vs the green and red scheme for the prior series releases. Not a lot have survived, I suspect a lot of the highs were intended for vending, or at least the first wave. A 52 high # pack is a very likely candidate to be the first I would think.

Agree on the 52 High pack. With the chance for a high grade Mantle and consolation prizes of Mathews or Jackie that could get ~100k, I could see someone paying that much. In particular if it was one of, two deep pockets could create a bidding war.

'52 High or '56 Nickel are the most likely. I'd think '56 might go higher if someone was putting together a run- you would be fine with a lower series '52, but any nickel pack from '56 is near impossible to find. All bets are off if the current trend of selling slots and ripping the pack keep up, that would drive the '52 well past $100k
As far as I know, there is 1 empty '15 Cracker Jack box known. While a full, sealed, legit one would be valuable, I would think any card pulled out of it would be heavily stained.

Griff...

If ripping continues to be the "in-thing"...what are the prospects for vintage 60s. I am putting together a 60s run (nickle pack) and noticed some are difficult to find. Would the ripping trend lead to significant appreciation for not only 50s packs but 60s packs as well?

Thanks in advance...
Monte

I also think that the 58 Topps in outstanding condition could rise and certainly exceed $50,000 to $75,000 plus. Al and Griffins collections are fabulous, but there are a number of silent collectors whose collections equal theirs, but they choose to remain quiet. With my recent acquisitions over the past 18 months, some of them have e-mailed me pix of magnificent packs, but I can't show their collections because they personally must do that.

I also believe that a 1948 bowman basketball could be the first $100,000 pack unless a high number 1952 T surfaces in any of the auctions. If I had one, which I don't, I would probably wait to list for another several years.

But I do have a 1953 Bowman Color baseball 5 cent pack in outstanding condition and there are a number of factors that could push that one to break the mark: two surfaced previously and both were in 3 and 3+ conditions and sold in auction for $12,000 to $20,000+. The pack has Joe DiMaggio all over it, so it appeals to Joe D. collectors and pack collectors.

Enough about me.

Also, while there are many pre-war possibilities, my intent was to debate "wax packs". But the inclusion of the earlier items is also welcome, and very interesting.

Reminder: Check out my unopened packs list when it is ready, probably in January.

Happy Holidays!!

Steve

P.S -- I did sell a 1958 Topps Baseball 5 cent wax pack with one really bad corner at last year's National before the doors opened to the public. It was bought with 2 other wax packs, one of which was a very rare unopened football wax pack.

Monte- a rising tide lifts all boats. I think '60's packs have been drying up for some time. In '04 or so you could go to Steve Harts site and put together a full run '51 on up, minus '56 and '58, in one shot. I doubt you could put together that run now in 3 years, even paying whatever it takes. It's tough even finding '60's packs now, let alone most '50's packs.
FWIW the toughest pack (regular nickel pack) of the '60's was '61 for me.

Steve--Congrats on the 53 Bowman. Post a pic sometime

Al, I was up in the air about selling the 53 B as I know I would kick myself someday about doing that. But I actually stopped collecting in 1976 when I became a comic book and card dealer. To this date, I have been investing annually and putting aside items I would miss. In my own collection, I have most 5 cent packs except for some of the biggies: I do not have 1955 All American Football, 1956 Topps baseball, 1954 Bowman Baseball (just never found one I kept) and of course the high number 1952 Topps baseball. I have most football wax packs except for that 1955. I also do not have most hockey packs pre 1968 as they were always tough to find.

When I can, I will post you some pix of the 1953 Bowman Color.

Regards,


Steve

'53 Topps high, or '53 Topps in general. I've seen people who've gone to large shows for decades say they've never seen an authentic unopened '53 pack. If one would come up on Just Collect's Vintage Breaks or something like that I can imagine slots would go for an ungodly amount of money.

There was a find of '53 packs about 2004/2006. While most '50's packs don't come up very often any more they are around and available if you really look. The penny packs from that year are a lot tougher than the nickel packs.

Attachment 338935

Attachment 338936

Nice 53 pack and it's in a psa holder. I prefer ungraded but I am more concerned with GAI graded packs because of some of the things we found out about GAI. The PSA graded packs are good but I hate the way they force them into the holders. Some look terrific and others look terrible. Some day.

I just retrieved all of my packs that I have for sale from storage and will be taking two to four pictures of each pack before returning them to storage tomorrow. Then I will publish a list of every pack I have for sale (ungraded) with their prices. I should be able to send you decent photos of each pack now.

I also travel a lot and can bring packs to you to look at. My travels often take me to:

-- New York and most Eastern states (where I live)

-- Chicago

-- Milwaukee

-- Florida

-- Las Vegas

One other thought: If you don't want to buy from me, maybe you want to sell to me, or consign items to me for sale at this year's National. Why tie them up in an auction for months, when I can possibly sell them for you in one week.
I am not looking for common items, and I am focusing on scarce and rare items and certainly unopened rarities.


My best wishes for a happy new year!!

Steve