Topps

Autograph Collecting/ Odd-ball Cards/ Toy Review

Star Wars Masterwork February 2015

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Star Wars Masterwork

Like any product of late, in my opinion, the February 2015 release of Topps Star Wars Masterwork disappointed me. The heavy price did not produce the quality I was expecting. I know many people might think the lack of a large hit may be the reason for my sour grapes, but I assure you it is not. The main reason is because I am a collector and not a seller! I do sell product from time to time, the main reason is for cash flow stream to purchase product that I want.

When the purchased product disappoints like the Star Wars Masterworks did for me. The cards are nice, hard to deny that but they lack the wow factor that a $250.00 should have. Sometimes as a collector, I purchase cards that I believe they may disappoint, and turn out to be a great product. Other times like (Star Wars Masterwork) the product is expensive, and they just do not pack the necessary punch.

In all the card I really wanted was the BOBA FETT autograph, and long and behold like the mighty Yoda, I willed one into my packs and was lucky enough to get the card I wanted. I am a huge BOBA FETT fan. So in that regard, I cannot claim the product was completely bad for me. But some of the 1 of 1 sketch cards were completely silly and horrible. I am going to list some of the pulls I had right here on this page, check it out:

BOBA FETT Autograph

1 of 1 Sketch Card

Darth Maul Postage Stamp

Psa / Heritage Auctions

1975 Topps Mini Charlie Conlon Collection

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I have long been a collector of the 1975 Topps mini baseball set. I have often scour the Internet for lots and boxes of this series. I have to ask though, are the Charlie Conlon collection 1975 Topps mini baseball cello boxes find worth $3995.00 a box? I think these cards however scare they may be, are equally over-priced. Granted the further into the future we go with baseball cards, and sports cards altogether, the more scare these will become. But I have to question any collector looking to plunk down this money for a cello box from this collection. The more years pass, the harder these cards will come by to find in mint or nrmt condition. But $3995.00 for a cello box is just plain ridiculous. Some unknown private collector has purchased two of the original 9 that are up for sale.

It appears to be quite the gamble to find a PSA 10 or BGS 10 in these boxes. Quite frankly for the true collector, owning a complete set of PSA 8 registered is far more valuable in my eyes and it would not cost you the amount of two of these cello boxes for sale on eBay. One of the great purchases that I made from the Topps 1975 baseball mini series was two boxes of 990 cards already sleeved and placed into plastic sleeves in which all are mint or nrmt. I made this purchase back in 2006. The total cost was $580.00, when I made this purchase there were still wax boxes of 1975 Topps mini (36 packs) available for $1300.00 plus. Now you cannot purchase these for under $2000.00.

While these cards are more and more quickly becoming favorites, they are full of factory defects, and the very colorful borders make them very difficult to not notice and extremely difficult to get in a high grade. This is why more and more, I am leaning towards getting a PSA registry set from one of the few vendors that have these cards already graded.

Specialty Cards

1966 Topps Superman Alternative Set

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PSA Registry Sets

You won’t have to “leap tall buildings in a single bound” to complete the 1966 Topps Superman set. An affordable alternative to the 1940 Gum, Inc. Man of Steel issue, this 66-card offering showcases black and white photos from the ’50s TV show. The fronts – exhibiting vertical or horizontal designs – also boast captions, while the backs of cards #1 through 44 can be uncovered in three different formats.

“The white backs are the rarest. They’re the ones that are commonly called ‘proofs’ because of the absence of color on the back. They never made the final stage of printing,” explained Steve Lucas, whose 1966 Topps Superman set is tied for fourth on the PSA Set Registry.

Superman

PSA Set Registry Hall of Famer, Bill Bengen, who owns three sets, agrees. “I’ve been collecting the white back variety for 10 years and I’ve got all of one card to show for it,” he said. “The white backs are incredibly rare.” An orange border is present on the second back incarnation that also includes copyright information along the card bottom. The final variation boasts an orange border, but showcases “WATCH SUPERMAN ON T.V.” in black print across the bottom. These two versions are more common than the white backs.

The back variations don’t apply to cards #45 to 66 which showcase puzzle pieces. Bengen notes that these pieces can be merged into two puzzles. Cards #45 to 56 form a cartoon picture of Superman, while singles #57 to 66 depict George Reeves. Superman – The vast majority of these cards were distributed in five-cent wax packs without gum. However, in issue #176 of The Wrapper, non-sports card pioneers, Bob and Jeff Marks, unveiled a Superman wrapper indicating on it that gum was included. Wax packs with gum are extremely rare. “I’ve had several boxes and opened a lot of wax packs, and there has never been gum in any of the packs I’ve opened,” said Steve Lam, who owns the registry’s top set. Bengen has had a similar experience. “I really don’t know what went on at Topps at that time. Gum really was Topps’ primary business, so I don’t know what they were trying to do. This set is a real puzzle,” he said.

But mysteries like this are part of this set’s appeal, as are the memories it evokes. “I’m a big Superman fan. I used to watch the show when I was a kid. The cards bring back memories for me,” said Brian Karl, who owns the No. 2 registry set. “I’m such a fan that I own the episodes on DVD now.” Lam shares similar recollections.

Read the rest of this article from PSA…..

The World Of The Wacky Pack!

Odd-ball Cards

The World Of The Wacky Pack!

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It was back in the mid 1970’s for me when I became hooked on collecting baseball cards and also cards of other sports as well.  I was a kid born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.  I can remember that feeling in the 1970’s when you had saved up enough allowance money to go and buy some Topps baseball cards and get some gum in the process.  Can you remember how disappointed you were when you went to get some baseball card packs with your allowance money and that good old mom and pop grocery store was all out of baseball or football cards, but there were tons of Wacky packs.  I know bummer!

Well don’t you wish you had some boxes of these Wacky packages cards now?  Graded by PSA or BVG and in the right grade, 9.0 and above, and you can put a kid through junior college.  As a collector I have spent most of my adult life trying to connect with that childhood that I left behind so many years ago in Brooklyn.  Friends long gone, and so is the city for me now, as I live in Miami.  But I can remember the first day that I purchased a Wacky pack.  I was in that mood to buy, which was basically whenever I got my hands on some money, and I purchased these cards because I just had to buy something and there was nothing else.  Being the anal retentive person that I had to be in order to keep my baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and odd-ball card collection intact and pristine, these Wacky packages were now part of my collection, so I kept them in the condition that you see right here above, mint.

Pictured here is the “Weakies” breakfast of chumps card.  The thing is that these cards like many others from the 1960’s, 1970’s and so on are viewed today as special items from another era, as well they should be.  Many of these Wacky packs are still hard to find in the condition that I like to collect cards in.  Collecting cards is something that I hope to pass along to my kids, and perhaps they can pass it along to their kids.  While times are tough and the economy is at a standstill, this may be the best chance that you can have to go out and purchase some boxes of these great cards, they are most certainly a part of my past and America’s too.  You can probably get them now for a fraction of the cost of say 5 years ago.  If you roam the EBay pages you can also find that Topps has opened up their vaults some years back and there are plenty of original artwork out there that can be purchased fairly cheap.  These cards are funny, amusing, and most of all great collectibles.

1973 Topps Candy Lids Thurman Munson!

1973 Topps Candy Lids

1973 Topps Candy Lids Thurman Munson!

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Welcome to the baseball card price blog, in this blog I write mostly from my own experience as a sports/baseball card collector.  For the most comprehensive baseball card price list out there the best option for me has always been Beckett, although there are many options available to collectors everywhere to include eBay, but I prefer the Beckett family of collectible magazines as my number one resource.

The 1973 Topps Candy lids trading card prices vary in price mainly from player to player depending on the player and of course the grade. Pictured here is the NY Yankees Thurman Munson candy lid. Graded by PSA and issued a 6 as the overall grade, price for this card can vary from $60.00 to about $300.00 depending on the seller. To give you an idea, I purchased a PSA 5 last month for $54.00, so the prices are out there. The best way on eBay to try and analyze the Topps baseball cards price on these cards and any others cards that you are interested in collecting, is to check the eBay auction list.  The buy it now option will not give you a good gauge for the pricing, because someone may want to be fishing for someone to purchase a special card just because they want it, and that collector may be willing to go above the actual listing price just because they need the card asap, based on impulse.

The sellers that sell baseball cards for a living, or as another way to make money, usually will not place the cards like this Topps Candy lids in a buy it now option unless they believe that their price will beat the competitions price.  The key to collecting and being smart with your money is most certainly patience, there is always someone that will come along and sell the card you want at the right price.  I will check back and write about my next 1973 Topps Candy lids card, which will be the Nolan Ryan.  I am trying to complete the set of Topps Candy lids which is a 55 cards set.  The 1973 Nolan Ryan Topps Candy lids graded by PSA as a 5 or 6 will fetch in the $200.00 range, depending on the need for the card at the time of sale.  This card is most certainly the most sought after card.  I will report my sale back on these pages so, wish me luck!