Unopened pack questions

[aanewport]

Hello all! I am new here and have an unopened pack question for anybody with more knowledge about this than me, which will probably be most everyone on these message boards. I recently won a contest from Topps and the prize was an unopened pack of 1968 Topps wax (pics attached). My question is if the slight tear on the first "B" in Baseball on the front of the pic would affect the grade if I were to get it graded by PSA or GAI.

On a side note, it looks like the top card is a 1968 World Series Card and the back I can see the last name begins with "Cull" (Tim Cullen #209?). Does that mean this is the series that contains the Ryan rookie?

Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks,
Albert

[Leon]

Hi Albert,
Welcome to our forum. I mainly collect pre-war stuff so don't know the answer for you. I can say though that I did collect those packs as a kid. I was 7 at the time. I definitely think a small tear will affect a grade but hopefully others with more knowledge will chime in for you. take care

[Griffins]

A small tear will affect the grade. But what should be a bigger concern is that PSA's holders are causing even more damage to packs, as they are not holding them securely. On CU and other boards there are numerous stories of packs damaged in transit.
In regards to what series the pack is, if you can see Tim Cullen you can be reasonably sure the pack is from the second series, if it is legit.
Additionally the middle series packs have a different wrapper, so you can narrow the series down further. See below for comparitive scans.
My suggestion- if you're going to keep the pack, don't bother having it graded until PSA modifies their holder. GAI is a crapshoot these days and while it will allow the pack to display better than PSA's there have been instances of submissions lost.
If you're going to rip the pack don't- it's worth more than the sum of its parts. You've got 5 cards in there, and with a potential gum stain on the front card, wax stain on the back one, miscuts, off centers, dinged corners, and the chance of a stack of Tim Cullen's make it more worthwhile to keep it intact.

[aanewport]

Leon,

Thanks for your help in getting registered.

Griffins,

Thanks for all the feedback, exactly what I was looking for. I figured the tear would negatively impact a grade, any idea on how much so? I have no plans to open the pack but will probably hold off on grading as well until I can do a little more research.

[Griffins]

I've never focused too much on grades on packs- authenticity is paramount, then eye appeal- but I would guess at least a full grade and maybe as much as 3. Frankly I wish they would just authenticate them and leave the often arbitrary grading out of the equation.
The tear is almost certainly caused by the gum moving around, and in shipping it for grading and the grading company handling it the tear would probably get worse and possibly have others. If you send it to PSA they'll send it to Steve Hart who will then send it back to PSA, where it will be slabbed and sent back to you. The slab won't stop the gum from tearing at the pack, and my fear is that it will look a lot worse when you get it back. If you're not selling I'd hang onto it until they get their act together in regards to holders.
Welcome to the boards!

[ALR-bishop]

Anthony is PAC(K) Man. He has a great collection. I think there are some scans of his stuff on CU. I keep asking him where he lives, but he won't tell me

[frankpt]

I would believe the hole will affect the grade. I have not put too much emphasis on high graded packs, but more importantly that the pack has not been resealed. Right now PSA grades and definately will knock the pack down a lot, but PSA holders can ruin packs, I would send it to Global Authority, their holders protect the packs. If you bought it on Ebay raw without knowing the seller, chances are its resealed. I have been collecting unopened packs since 1990 and can help with any questions or concerns you may have regarding packs.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by aanewport

On a side note, it looks like the top card is a 1968 World Series Card and the back I can see the last name begins with "Cull" (Tim Cullen #209?). Does that mean this is the series that contains the Ryan rookie?

If the back card is indeed Tim Cullen, that would make it a 3rd series wax pack, not 2nd series (Ryan).

Like others have said, it will not grade very high with the tear, and you risk further damage during shipping.

Series 3 players include HOFers: Cepeda, Marichal, Bunning, Killebrew, Rose (not HOF), Kaline, Bench RC, Yaz, Niekro and...MANTLE!

It probably has a value of $100-$150 in my opinion. If it were mine, I would probably open it and hope to hit a couple of HOFers that will grade nicely (wouldn't Mantle be nice?).

If you decide to open it, please show us your results. Either way, good luck!

David

[scmavl]

If you decide to sell it (for a reasonable price), I'll buy it, open it, and post the results on the forum. I'm not one to buy vintage packs to keep, I love to bust 'em. Even if it is usually a stack full of commons.