The Post War Cards Newsletter #49
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Ready for the NFL season kick-off on September 7th? It's prime time to focus on some awesome football cards.
🏈 1984 Vs. 1986 Topps Football Wax Boxes
There was an interesting discussion about the price difference between 1984 (~$2200/wax box) and 1986 Topps (~$3400/wax box) football boxes on the Facebook ‘Vintage Wax and Packs’ group the other week. The collector who started the debate noted that there were more HoF rookies in ‘84 but that ‘86s generally sell for quite a bit more money. He asked the group if it was the quality of the rookies, the card design, ‘86’s inclusion of a Bears card on the box, production levels, or something else.
There were some interesting responses; one collector noted that ‘86 still has early career cards to go with its rookies - however, 1985 Topps football boxes have 2nd-year cards and are relatively cheap in comparison, so that argument is a little weak.
Another person noted that Jerry Rice was keeping the price of 86 high since he’s generally considered the best receiver of all time. While, for the key 84 rookies, it’s possible to argue that Marino is a top-5 QB of all-time, but Elway probably isn’t in that tier. A collector agreed with the 86 rookies being more notable and significant and added that the card’s design was nicer and was a higher quality card - others noted they liked the 86 box design more, too. A ton of other collectors piled on in support of Jerry Rice’s records and years with the 49ers being one of the main reasons.
However, a lot of folks did mention that they feel 84 boxes are the better value today, particularly those that aren’t X-outs, though it’s generally agreed upon that because of those X-out boxes, there are more 1984 boxes out there.
Lastly, there were a couple of conversations about PSA 10 populations of the set’s key cards; there are 162 PSA 10 1984 Elway RCs and 407 PSA 10 1984 Marino RCs compared to just 61 PSA 10 1986 Jerry Rice and just 8 PSA 10 1986 Steve Young RCs.
Maybe enough people are still ripping these boxes?
🗞️ In The News
Yahoo Sports: NFLPA moves up trading card deal with Fanatics in another blow to Panini and Action Network: NFLPA Cancels Panini Deal, Giving Fanatics Exclusive Rights 3 Years Early
Des Moines Register: A Michael Jordan rookie card was abandoned in a safety deposit box. Now Iowa is selling it.
Sports Collectors Daily: Bama Gets Bowman U Set
Yahoo: Trading Card Escalates In Value After ‘The Blind Side’ Parents Discovered In Image
CBS Detroit: Rochester Hills brothers cashing in on sports trading cards
Casino.org: Fanatics Will Eventually Add Trading Cards, Collectibles to Betting Loyalty Program
🇨🇦 The Criminally Underrated 1965 Topps CFL Set
In a hobby as huge as ours, it's not that crazy that cards as awesome as the 1965 Topps CFL checklists can slip under people's radars. After I shared them on Twitter, ToddUncommon pointed out the 1960-1972 Topps/O-Pee-Chee CFL cards get way less love than they deserve, especially for how comparatively scarce they are, particularly in nice condition. The 1965 Topps CFL set, in particular, is a tough one to put together because of its limited distribution and centering issues. PSA has graded 2153 cards (~16 examples of each card) from the set, with just seven 10s and 113 9s.
The 1965 CFL set was the last of an 8-year run to carry the T.C.G trademark, but they were printed (and only distributed) in Canada by O-Pee-Chee. PSA writes, "The 1965 Topps CFL football set consists of 132 cards measuring the standard 2-1/2" by 3-1/2"… The front images shows a player in-action or portrait style against multicolor pastel backgrounds with his name, position and team. Each back gives a brief paragraph highlighting his career and/or previous season printed in black on an orange background." George Reed is the set's key card.
The set has at least 33 CFL Hall of Famers and ~52 “rookie” cards. That same year, Topps released the incredible tall boy set in America, and the CFL pack mirrored its design, but more about that unique item another time!
If you’re interested in CFL cards, check out the Collecting Canadian Football blog and consider buying Andy’s incredible books.
⌨️ On The PostWarCards Blog
August 14th, 2023: 1978 Topps Team Checklists: The Essential Resource for Baseball Card Collectors
August 15th, 2023: Off-Center Gems: A Closer Look at the 1980s Fleer Basketball Sticker Sets
August 21st, 2023: The 1978 Topps Zest Soap Set: A Refreshing Twist on Baseball Cards
August 22nd, 2023: Checklist Chronicles: The Must-Have Post-War Non-Sport Checklists
🖼️ Football’s Equivalent Of The ‘53 Bowman Pee Wee Reese
Another perfect card!
