The Post War Cards Newsletter #252
BBCE's 2026 Spring Auction / Goldin’s March Elite Auction / Love of the Game’s Spring Premier Auction
Some links in this newsletter may be affiliate links. As a member of the eBay Partner Network, I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
⛹️ BBCE’s 2026 Spring Auction
BBCE closed its Spring Auction on April 12th, highlighted by the $68,399.37 sale of a PSA 7 1957 Topps Basketball Wax Pack.
I’ve got a bit of a meandering blog post with a lot of 1957 Topps Basketball Wax Pack history, in case you’d like to see some sales progression data, and it includes a pair of packs with serial numbers just a few away from the one pictured above.
A few of the other pricey auction highlights included a 1975 Topps Baseball Wax Box that sold for $37,936.08, a 1987 OPC Baseball Wax Case that sold for $22,800.96, a 1973 Topps Football “Jumbo” Wax Box that sold for $36,721.62, and a super scarce 1969 Topps Baseball 6 Pack Wax Tray that sold for $36,721.62.
It’s been suggested that these trays were originally a way for Topps to sell off extra invetory by offering consumers pre-packaged bundles of packs at a discount to retail. For a bit of hobby auction history, the oldest confirmed sale I have in my archives is the following one that Mastro sold for $5,500 in April 2004.
And maybe it’s because I find the set so interesting, but I think the 1961 Nu-Card Baseball Scoops baseball pack they sold for $1,037.79 is one of the coolest pieces of unopened material in the hobby. This is the lowest graded copy of the 21 that PSA has graded to date, but it is authentic!
🏀 Goldin’s March Elite Auction
Goldin’s March Elite Auction closed on April 11th, and, on the modern side, was led by the $622,200 sale of a PSA 10 2009 Playoff National Treasures Rookie Patch Auto of Steph Curry and, on the vintage side, the $244k sale of an MBA Gold PSA 3.5 1952 Topps Mantle.
Perhaps overlooked is that they also sold a pair of complete 66-card, SGC-Graded 1961 Fleer basketball sets. One was slightly nicer, and it sold for $15,250; the other sold for $9,191.
And one last interesting item was the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Michael Jordan, John Stockton Dual-Signed, Framed Cartoon Cel that sold for $3,355.
According to this Christie’s auction for a cel featuring cartoons and signatures of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, and Charles Barkley that sold for $822 in October 2000, these cels came from a Nike commercial. There are a few cels available on eBay now for $125 (Stockton, Mullin-Signed, Mullin, and Robinson).
⚾ Love of the Game’s Spring Premier Auction
Love of the Game Auctions closed their Spring Premier sale this weekend as well, with three six-figure items: a 1917 Boston Store #147 Babe Ruth that sold for $207,291.60, a 1935 National Chicle #34 Bronko Nagurski that sold for $118,800, and a Pete Hill Signed 1923 Baltimore Black Sox Player Contract that sold for $104,400.
They also sold a ton of items that warrant deeper dives, like the 1980 Topps Pepsi All-Stars Uncut Sheet, which sold for $15,600, and will be added to my piece, All About the Ultra Scarce 1980 Topps Pepsi-Cola All-Stars Prototype Baseball Cards, when I republish it in the next few months.
And seeing all the framed Ted Williams endorsement contracts (Fleer, Wheaties, Red Man, and Topps) has motivated me to track down and document his contracts, checks, and other signed pieces for the blog, and that will, of course, include the 1957 Sy Berger Letter Regarding Williams’ 1958 Topps Contract that sold for $690 and was featured on the blog in a piece titled A Fascinating Letter from Sy Berger to Fred Corcoran Extending Ted Williams’ Contract with Topps.