The Post War Cards Newsletter #2
Thanks for the great reception on the first newsletter; I'm always looking for new info to share and feedback, so please email me if you have any suggestions.
⚾️ 1968 Topps Baseball Boxes For $99.50
Here's an incredible piece of hobby advertising nostalgia from the May 1980 issue of The Trader Speaks. John Mehlin's 'Sport Collectibles' offering some incredible products for what now look like unbelievable prices, including a 1968 Topps baseball box for $99.50!
Now, remember, 1968 was only 12 years earlier than when this ad was placed; that's like offering a box of cards from 2012 for sale today. Also, $99.50 in 1980 is equivalent to ~$380 today. However, you may recall that Mile High Card Company sold the following 1st Series 1968 Topps Baseball Wax Box for $95k in April 2021.
A collector on the Facebook 'Vintage Wax and Packs' group shared that the boxes in this advertisement were the last from a huge collection of unopened products that John Mehlin bought from a former Topps salesman; most boxes were also high numbers dating back to 1962!
✍️ Great Hobby Writing
Junk Wax Jay: Collecting By The Book: The Uncommon Life of Danny O'Connell
Vintage Football Card of the Day: 1972 Alabama Playing Cards Sylvester Croom
Hobby News Daily: T206 Ty Cobb in a Fake GAI Slab Sold for $25k on eBay, Anyone Care?
Junk Wax Hero released a YouTube video sharing that the card ended up being real, though.
SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee: Three Interesting Under-The-Radar 1941 Baseball Cards & Pete Rose's Hairy Legacy
Baseball Cards Come to Life!: Dodger Postcards
The Topps Archives: Very Nice
Nachos Grande: The Mount Rushmore of.... Topps Sets
Pre-War Collector: Baines Shield Netball Cards Feature a Basketball Spinoff
Crocodile Sports Cards has been releasing "a series of posts about TCMA's set from 1987 highlighting some of the best ever teams in MLB history," like the 1955 Dodgers
📦 Unopened Item Of The Week - A 1977 Topps Baseball Wax Tray Dealer Sheet
Since I kicked off the newsletter with a piece about unopened wax boxes, I'll shake this column up and share an unopened adjacent collectible as the 'unopened item of the week'; here's the only 1977 Topps baseball wax tray dealer sell sheet I've ever seen (though, more must exist, right?).
If you're interested in the advertised product, a single tray is pricier today than an entire case was in '77. In December 2023, REA sold the following BBCE-authenticated 1977 Topps wax tray for $2,520.
📝 On The Blog
September 27, 2024: A Complete SGC-graded 1967 Topps Venezuela Retirado Series Set
September 28, 2024: UCLA Legends Limited Edition Signed Lithograph
September 29, 2024: A Bobby Bonilla Advertisement For Ultra PRO Platinum Hologram Pages
September 30, 2024: 1982/83 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Sealed Rack Pack Case
October 1, 2024: 1953 Stahl-Meyer Meats Complete Printer's Proof Set
October 2, 2024: An Advertisement for TCMA's 1978 Official Minor League Card Sets
💼 Card Show History - The 1993 NSCC at McCormick Place
There was a great interview with Mike Berkus in the November 1993 issue of Sports Cards Magazine about the future of the National Convention. I found the following photo included with it hilarious because it could have represented this summer's National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland just as easily, but more from the fan perspective; shouldn't dealers love big crowds?!
The more I study the hobby, the more I realize it's a flat circle that tends to repeat itself. I only attended the 2024 NSCC on Thursday, and while it was crowded, I had a great time. What's funny is that after the show, so many people were calling for the show to move to more modern and larger convention centers—well, like the '93 Chicago show, it's been held at some of them before!
Here are a few more great lines from the article, a few of which I'm highlighting because of the conversations surrounding this summer's Fanatics Fest that was held a few weeks after The National:
"Has the National become such a vicious monster that it's now out of control?"
"...to make the National Convention similar to Major League Baseball's FanFest."
"Getting a real feeling for what the dealers want is very difficult to gauge."
"What would make the National different from FanFest or JamFest or any of the others."
"I think the toughest thing for any of us to realize today is what is five years and 10 years in the future going to mean?"
PS, Jeff Morris wrote a great piece for Sports Collectors Daily in July 2023, looking back at the 1993 National in Chicago.
📘 In The Hobby Library - Tipps From Topps
Today's Hobby Library item was inspired by a great recurring column that The Trader Speaks published, The Checklist Corner. This one was published in April 1981 and highlighted the 1968 Bazooka gum boxes.
The article didn't mention that Topps also published a booklet that included all 15 "Tipps panels" printed in black and white. The Topps Archives blog said it may have been distributed by MacGregor Sporting Goods.
With a little patience, you should be able to pick up a copy on eBay for ~$50.