There were ten regular Elite insert cards of players, each with 10,000 printed. Baseball hobby boxes have some of the most valuable cards and are far more desirable because there is generally a greater chance of hitting parallels, numbered cards, memorabilia cards, and autographed cards than in a blaster box or retail pack. Burger King cards have caused confusion in the hobby for 40 years or more because, generally speaking, they look just like base Topps cards from the same year but with subtle differences. Can you imagine the White Sox offense with both Sosa and The Big Hurt throughout the decade? Even more luckily, I convinced my parents to float me a loan for all the burnt orange packs I could find. Its also sad because the case itself is so beat up. The challenge is keeping those boxes sealed over time and fending off that deep temptation to rip and pull one or more of the next generations most valuable baseball cards. Their creation was almost too beautiful for words! Henderson's legendary career is attributed to his status as one of the greatest base stealers in baseball history. Customer Service: 800-601-2650info@giantsportscards.com, Mailing Address:1815 Hembree Rd., Suite 413Alpharetta, Georgia 30009, United States. SP was a high-end product from Upper Deck. That card was already popular among collectors when Pete headed back to the Cincinnati Reds in August 1984 as player-manager, but it was then we all realized hed be taking aim at Ty Cobbs all-time hits record on the Riverfront. However, there are still unopened packs circulating among high-end collectors, and only the incredibly brave would risk ripping open one of these packs in search of Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, or the coveted Mickey Mantle. A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card that went to auction earlier this month sold for a record $12.6 million on Sunday. Web168 likes, 6 comments - Certified Sports Guaranty (@csgcards) on Instagram: "All junk wax is not created equal! But dont completely turn your nose up at this era just because of the name. I know that we all know now that 1987 Donruss is not rare, but its still awesome to me. But theres one package left a smallish rectangular one that could be a watch or maybe maybe something better? 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card #482, 13. How Junky was the Junk Wax Era? - Sports Collectors Daily If theyre from this era, probably not much, A Mickey Mantle baseball card is selling for more than $10 million, PSA value of $360,000 for a condition grade of 10, The 12 most iconic (and valuable) rookie cards from baseballs junk wax era, 30 Standout Baseball Cards from the Junk Wax Era, Deseret News Week 37 high school star athletes of the week, The list of departures only continues to grow for Utah State, 3 Utah Jazz players, 3 former Utah college players make The Ringers list of 150 best NBA players, What to make of Kody Epps 11th-hour move, Grading the Jazz: Kelly Olynyk proved he has something left in the tank. Because, even though Fleer managed to finally break the Topps monopoly and pulled Donruss into the market with them, the onslaught of new cards did little to excite the senses or capture the poetry of the game. Its probably seen a hard life, or its just aged, like I have. We use cookies to improve your experience. And then along came the 1980s, with its baseball card boom and the incessant hyping of every rookie from Paul Assenmacher to Paul Zuvella. This is the holy grail of 1984 baseball boxes, of course, as it possibly contains the fabled 1984 Donruss Don Mattingly rookie card that changed the hobby forever. This card sold for $12.6 million at auction on Sunday. 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. So, not only did they issue a 1981 base set that was fairly OK plus showcased one of the greatest error cards of all time (C. Nettles), they also blessed us with their first Star Stickers set. This eBay lot lets you capture all that Super kitsch with three unopened boxes of 1984 Topps Supers, minus one pack. Because so many baseball cards were printed between roughly 1987 and 1993, the values plummeted significantly.. That Yaz/Bench beauty is also the centerpiece of this eBay lot, an unopened 1984 Donruss Rack Pack with the Living Legends right there on top, in the middle. It may be time to head back to school, but that doesnt mean you cant have fun with it. Chipper Jones, a prospect for the Atlanta Braves, was included in the Desert Shield set, and his rookie card quickly became one of the set's most valuable and sought-after cards. With a passion for Animation, Brand/Graphic Design, and Illustration, Yanni offers a unique outlook on alternative investments. Whichever something inspired someone to marry the two Topps and Mrs. Butterworths, that is. Theres a consensus about one in particular a 1993 SP Derek Jeter rookie card. There were several hobby retailers who sold complete sets, but you could also buy them in individual paper packages containing three buttons each. (Not sure why I didnt make the set because I once tied for the Major League lead among all fans for fewest games attended in person.). Freddie Patek was the size of an average Dachsund but was an All-Star shortstop for the Kansas City Royals and somehow hit 41 homers in the Major Leagues. Heck, you might get really lucky and pull a Craig Worthington noggin. And, if you dont like the cards, at least the listing gives you a new euphemism for well something. Cards from the 60s and 70s were starting to appreciate in value as card collectors began to appreciate in age and look back fondly on their own childhoods. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Frank Thomas was a two-time American League Most Valuable Player and a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner. Super cool, right? And it would have yielded 15.15 repeating copies of every card in whichever set was involved. Especially especially when the PSA Population Report shows ups that fewer than 50 of any particular card from said test issue has ever been submitted for grading? Somehow, my little corner of the world was blessed with a goodly supply of 1987 Donruss, and my keen 15-year-old wax-sniffing nose sussed them out at every turn. Damon was a fan favorite, a fantasy favorite and a hobby favorite. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network and Amazon Associates. And if you can resist any Champ Summers baseball card, youre a stronger man than I. Junk Wax And there is nobody NOBODY starrier than Craig Worthington and his .230 lifetime batting average. by ; 28 kwietnia 2023 Since rookie cards are generally considered the most valuable for any given player, Griffey cards are relatively affordable because of this era. In the in-between are goodies like six 1985 Topps baseball wax packs, three 1982 Donruss wax packs, two 1981 Topps baseball cello packs, and three 1989 Upper Deck baseball packs. The most valuable baseball cards in that series include the great Nolan Ryan and cool coin inserts that included Brooks Robinson, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays. Youre not going to find any break-the-bank rookie cards or breathtaking beauty in this wax pack. For that reason, there are a lot of cards out there from this era, which makes them relatively cheap. Thats because theyre part of the Pitch, Hit, & Run series that features a Burger King logo on card fronts. And, you know, busting all these packs would make you feel like a Kardboard King even if the cards arent worth the (thick) paper theyre printed on. PSA 10 card is currently selling on eBay for $22,200 in 2021. Its a moot point for me, because how could I ever even dream of opening those beautiful, perfect boxes?? This card is the first of Upper Deck's first set. Like someone fought them with his Sharpie light saber or tried to force them into being Topps or Donruss cards through creative will. PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $1,510 on March 2023. The fact Griffey was affable, handsome, and a much-ballyhooed progeny of a respected major leaguer made this card even more attractive. For collectors of a certain age there is something oddly comforting about junk wax cards. Thanks to the Internet and thanks especially to shopping websites like eBay and Amazon, we can find most of the cards we dreamed about as kids just about any time we want. Lots of chances to perfect your no-tears tearing. WebRecently, I came across an advertisement by a company called 49er Headquarters, who, by 1993, seemed to be holding a decent amount of rare and/or hard to find Pro Set items: I mean, theyre black-and-white, sure, but big. Hes upside down, too. The hobby had no guarantee there would even be a 1982 Donruss baseball card set. Check out the full eBay listing (affiliate link). The two hobbies are ridiculously similar in that you are investing in players you believe will perform well, and when they do, thats good for you. But card overproduction and their own PED transgressions have hamstrung the values of their rookie cards. Throw in big-time rookie cards of Ryne Sandberg, Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Ron Kittle, Frank Viola, and, um, George Wright, and you had a combination that was hard to beat (even though Topps did). Quite a rally from the brink of obscurity! 2023 Giant Sports Cards And the baseball cards that commemorated the occasion pure and utter cardboard blasphemy. Topps capitalized on that popularity the next year by issuing a whopping nine Rose cards in their base set the normal Rose at #1, a Record Breaker at #206, a manager/Cincinnati Reds team card at #741, and six retrospective cards (#2-7) that showed miniature versions of Petes previous 24 base Topps cards. One recently sold for more than $6.6 million, becoming the most expensive trading card ever . Speedsters can help fantasy players a lot, but its all about power and WAR in collecting. I mean, sure youd give up hard-earned money for your cardboard fix but would you chuck down box after box of gut-churning, cavity-inducing powdered, compressed, malted, generally blech wheat products? To be sure, the 1979 Topps set does indeed does hold the Ozzie Smith rookie card, but this pack is perfect as it is. ), Junk wax baseball cards didnt get their name because theyre rare and valuable. In a recent auction, a lot of eight unopened 1952 Topps baseball wax packs were sold for $873,300. Then, if you manged to tear open the pack without ripping the stickers themselves, you could affix them to the appropriate page in the accompanying sticker album. There is some debate over which of the Mike Trout rookie cards is the ultimate Trout rookie. April 2023; January 2023; December 2022; November 2022; The 35 Best Hockey Cards from 1990-91 - Puck Junk The Mantle card, which was graded at 9.5 by the card I went big time on a box of 1991 Leaf Series I and plunked down a whole $12 for this premium junk wax. (Speaking of beautiful Frank Thomas cards, his 1992 Topps card ranks among my all-time junk wax non-RC favorites.) If youre a card collector, you are also most likely a fantasy player. The card is nothing but a comic. There are 24 packs per box and 12 cards per pack, making the odds of hitting a Jeter pretty good for any brave baseball card collector willing to shell out up to $15,000 to rip open a box. So, yeah, lots like this one four unopened boxes of 1987 Donruss wax packs make my old man heart go pitter-patter and leaves me with drool pooled at my feet. A Google search will deliver several articles and videos on Junk Wax Era cards that have value. According to the Athletic, SP was a high-end product from (card brand) Upper Deck. It comes with a PSA value of $360,000 for a condition grade of 10. But these cards arent all football, and they dont tilt toward the later Junk Wax years of the run, at least not by much. Even though baseball is entering the stretch run, then, theres no way I can ignore tantalizing football product when it pops up right? Is This A New Junk Wax Era? - CardLines.com I mean, look at this 1983 Donruss rack pack up for sale right now on eBay . My memory of the 1984 Donruss cardsKmart had rack packs thrown in a bin. Round, enameled, bright colored borders, full color photos, baseballs biggest stars these babies are great! Id get a vending case, pull all the Mark McGwire rookies or Vince Coleman rookies or Bill Doran rookies or first Padres Steve Garvey cards, and then sell the excess for beaucoup bucks. Then you have Gorman Thomas, whose whole demeanor screamed beer league but who slugged like Dave Kingman for the Milwaukee Brewers, including the 1982 Harveys Wallbangers team. Think I got the Yaz/Bench card, but dont remember the others for sure. 12 Most Iconic Baseball Rookie Cards From the Junk Wax Era (1986-93). An Elite card of Rickey Henderson was an 11th and came with a print run of 7,500. Ranking the 13 best sets of the Junk Wax Era of baseball cards | Sporting News KAN MIN 1:10p -250 BAL DET 3:40p -127 CHC MIA 3:40p -120 PIT WAS 4:05p And again and again and again until I had retired at age 15. 15 Most Valuable Basketball Cards 1990s for Investment, The Complete Guide to Pokmon Card Grading, 15 Most Valuable Luka Doncic Rookie Cards. Here is a list of five of the most expensive baseball card boxes to date. This card was part of a special set released by Fleer in 1984, featuring players who had made their debut during the season. Someone is gonna have a lot of fun, in other words, and maybe feel just a little younger in the process. A 1989 rookie card for Ken Griffey Jr. in mint condition sold for $1,400 in 2020, nearly double its price from the year before, according to the Wall Street Journal . All told, there were 112,500 Elite cards. ), See the full listing on eBay (affiliate link). The 1986 Topps baseball card set was not the greatest in the companys history. Its amazing! But not quite, and they wanted to spread that word. No one realized they lived through the Junk Wax Era, until the bubble burst and prices plummeted. It is quite a cautionary tale. Just because its known as the Junk Wax Era doesnt mean all the cards are worthless. Recently, some of these cards have been surging in value. I mean, just look at those gorgeous Topps rack packs, with Tom Seaver showing and Rick Sutcliffe showing and Fergie Jenkins showing and. The downside was that most hockey cards from 1990-91 were produced in such vast amounts that it is considered the start of the Junk Wax Era for hockey cards. It didnt even matter that the cards werent all that great. Yep, before The Kid ever took the Kingdome field, Mike Cramer and the Pacific Trading Card Company treated the hobby to the *drumroll* Ken Griffey Jr. Yep, and hes looking pretty svelt there, too. $360,000 for a PSA 10, $7,800 for a PSA 9. RARE does not usually apply to baseball cards of the Junk Wax era. While his SP card is considered Jeters top rookie, Im still a bigger fan of the look (and price) of this version. While many cards from this era are not particularly valuable, there are some notable exceptions. Or popcornless movies? Still, its pretty cool to see an unopened box of these things, like this lot offers up 37 years old and as fresh as the day they drove off the showroom floor. Mattingly+rookie+cant-find-these-cards-anywhere+New York Hype = explosion. WebJunkWaxCards.com is your global source for sports cards, gaming, and hobby supplies operating for over 10 years. But this lot ratchets up the intensity of this argument a couple of notches. The Yankees drafted Jeter in 1992. Look Ive already told you how I feel about Pete Rose in a Montreal Expos uniform. 1994 Alex Rodriguez SP Foil Rookie Card #15, 5. Sit back and enjoy the ride, and be sure to check back regularly to see what new goodies weve discovered. I always loved previews of what was to come, so I thought Id start sharing those with you here! We still hadnt come to grips with the idea that baseball cards didnt always go up in value or that there actually could be too many baseball cards too many sets, too many cards/sets/boxes in a print run, too many choices, too many everything. The 1984 Topps Don Mattingly rookie card fits that bill perfectly it wasnt the main attraction when Donnie Baseball was making his name during that fabled summer of 1984, but it became a hobby favorite in a flash and has maintained that status for nearly 35 years. 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth, 1949 Leaf Jackie Robinson and 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle and I want to know who would make your hobby post-2000 Mount Rushmore in the comments section! Or a mid-career card of a Hall of Famer? Topps released the card as part of their Finest set, which featured cards printed on a special chromium cardstock. The next time youre lamenting how todays safety-first regulations and advertising are robbing us of everything fun, come back to this eBay listing (affiliate link) and remind yourself the joy-robbing started no later than the mid-1980s. An Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card from 1989 also makes the Athletics list. My rules for making this list: they must be base cards, not inserts. As soon as you pick it up, the contents inside slide shift, just a little, and you know whats inside a folded up rack pack of baseball cards! The unopened boxes that did survive are incredibly scarce and highly sought after, even though the only notable rookie card in the set is Chipper Jones (the Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez rookie cards wouldnt arrive until Topps issued its Traded set that year). PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $19,100 on October 2022. Could the in-between hold a Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn, or Ryne Sandberg rookie card? The Mantle card reportedly came from a trove of untouched 1952 Topps baseball cards found in a basement, according to ESPN. Those that buy and hold hobby boxes or entire hobby cases of the newest sports card releases are often rewarded. Maddux was the best pitcher of the past 50 years. I believe I bought about $10 worth.maybe 300 cards. For those who have their own boxes of baseball cards stored away and are hoping for a payday, be aware that there is an era of baseball cards that is particularly not valuable. The 1990 Score McDonalds set is the exception. If there were a Mount Rushmore of baseball cards, this Junior card might earn that Teddy Roosevelt spot just because it represented the era when more people collected cards than any other time in history. Its one of the most valuable baseball cards of this era, and what makes it so special is that the 1993 SP Upper Deck release was one of the early super premium card sets and featured rare die-cut Platinum Power inserts. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. RC in 2019 Topps Archives. PSA Graded Cards, 1980 Topps Pat Kelly Gave You Some Options - Wax Pack Gods, Baltimore Orioles Stadium History: 31 Facts, 1986 ProCards Pittsfield Cubs Rafael Palmeiro Left Room for Interpretation Wax Pack Gods, 1998 Upper Deck Final Tribute Captured Eddie Murray in His Second Home Wax Pack Gods, Players with 3000 Hits and 500 Home Runs Wax Pack Gods, Card Traders Near Me: Where to Find Them! Topps tried out another version of their picture-in-picture design not on par with 1983 but not terrible. As the decades have passed, the value of our baseball cards have ebbed and flowed, but something else has happened something amazing. 1985 Topps Rack Packs are not, technically speaking, This lot offers up twenty (20) 1985 Rack Packs with stars on front(. Not only did you get a new Fleer set and a new Donruss set, both with enough errors to keep your English teacher in haughty bliss all the way through high school, but you got extras. Its unclear if SP means short print, or not, but thats a decent assumption. The Most Expensive Ken Griffey Jr. Back in 1986, though, clouds had much more limited applicability . But Maddux won four Cy Young Awards and dominated the 90s, more than half of which came when offenses were exploding. Thats when leagues were over-licensing to anyone who wanted in on the gold rush, David Gonos wrote for The Athletic. Its a humdinger of a card that was popular right off the bat and still rings collector bells today. These iconic players dominated the court from Michael, Read More 15 Most Valuable Basketball Cards 1990s for InvestmentContinue, Learn everything you need to know about Pokmon card grading with our guide. But, hey, at least these beauties still deliver 36 cards per pack, which means youd score a cool 432 Topps cards for you $175. But Topps issued a parallel, limited edition Desert Shield set in addition to the regular set of 792 cards, and this special gold-foil-stamped set was sent to soldiers serving in Operation Desert Shield. There was at least one sealed wax box of Topps baseball cards that surfaced after 50 years, and it sold at auction for a whopping $77,675. In the summer of 1984, Don Mattingly came out of nowhere to win the American League batting title, snatching it away from New York Yankees teammate Dave Winfield. Ken Griffey Jr.s rookie year was 1989. Upper Deck eventually persuaded Griffey Jr. to sign with them by offering him a share in the company's future profits. This Leaf rookie card, along with Sosas rookie, were hobby keystones for the last decade of the 20th century. And he hit like he was using a piccolo for a bat. In my new role of sommelier of junk wax, I would say the 1990 Fleer football set combined forceful star density and design with delicate hints of chase cards before finishing with a lovely sense of nostalgia. Here are some of the most valuable baseball cards from the 80s and 90s: The Bowman Tiffany Collection was a limited edition set, with only 6,000 copies of the Griffey Jr. card printed. The 1984 Fleer set has basically the same lineup as the Topps set from that year, except with fewer cards overall (less special subsets, mostly). A T206 Honus Wagner card sold earlier this month for $7.25 million, a then-record that didnt last long. PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $14,000 on August 2022. Its where its at! PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $3,280 on March 2023. In 1986, Donruss was the hottest brand going thanks to the presence of a Jose Canseco Rated Rookie card, but Fleer wasnt far behind thanks to rookie cards of Canseco, Cory Snyder, Lenny Dykstra, Benito Santiago, Cecil Fielder, and many others. Theres not much to say about todays Wow! Several hundred rack packs. If you grew up collecting cards in the 1970s or 1980s, this thing will take you back like that! I picked merch a lot. You can buy one right now on eBay. Would you rather have Keith Hernandez or Mike Schmidt on your team? Still, one sealed Topps Desert Shield wax box recently sold for $7800, making these some of the most valuable baseball cards of the junk wax era. Its hard to be happy with 15.15 repeating of a bunch of things when you have to have one of everything. Check out this video for details! Dark and dingy photos, half-hearted designs, lousy cardstock, errors all over the place things were pretty messy in 1981 and 1982. The 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card is one of the most iconic, most popular, and yes, most valuable junk wax cards of all time. Still, how cool is it to see these unopened cello packs that have somehow remained sealed since they came off the grill four decades ago? Like in this eBay lot (affiliate link), which features four packs of the 1984 Ralston-Purina baseball cards, or this companion lot (affiliate link) that offers another four packs. Whether you're a serious collector or just curious about the value of your old cards, this article is a must-read. Better grab yourTums. After all, 1981 had been a rough year for the first-time cardmaker, from losing their right to sell gum with their cards to, well, the cards themselves. His career spanned from 1990 to 2008, during which time he hit 521 home runs and recorded over 1,700 runs batted in. He also had quite the Rated Rookie mustache! What if someone came before you and searched through the packs to get the good stuff? Its all fiction. Anyway, this eBay lot gives you a pretty good shot at all these guys and plenty more its a complete unopened box. See, a single vending case contained 24 vending boxes, each with 500 brand new, perfect cards (probably not perfect, but thats how it seemed). The box and packs are nice display pieces in themselves, and they showcase three of the sets All-Star/Hall of Fame denizens in Jim Rice, George Brett, and Fernando Valenzuela. On the back, you have the small-man All-Stars. Another oddball set from 1984, Topps Supers were exact replicas of the base card for each of the 30 players included in the set except huge. Sosas controversial PED allegations, along with his denials and subsequent weirdness when the public wanted answers, tainted his legacy. You know, make the inset headshot square instead of round, fill it in with a garish color, add big block letters down the left-hand side. Yanni Stathopoulos, a gifted writer at FutureArtFair.com, specializes in art and collectible investments. Valuable Collectibles Hiding in Your Thats a great bonus, too, because you can take two of these abominations out of circulation at once. You know, with its Tony Dorsett rookie card and its lineup of Hall of Famers like Walter Payton, John Riggins, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, and all the rest. And what better way to have some fun than busting open a box of one of those funky Topps test issues risen from the nadir of the Junk Wax Era. Pikachu Pokmon Card Value Its Worth More Than You Can Imagine! The card is part of the 1993 SP (Special) set, which Upper Deck produced. In his run-up to the record, all of Roses cards jumped up in demand and value, and he was arguably the hottest of all non-rookie players all across the land. In recent years, the value of the card has fluctuated due to Rodriguez's controversial career. Why, thats not anywhere close to $14.40! Below is a list of excellent cards of excellent players you should consider tracking down. The Top Iconic and Valuable Sports Cards from the Junk Wax Era All Rights Reserved, What are your baseball cards worth? And if its been awhile since your last Benny Ayala fix, this one has you covered there, too. Speaking of Bonds, his rookie card appears on two of these eight cello packs. The set proved to be popular, so Topps continued it in 1982. Blow it up to the size of a skyscraper and shine a light on it for all the world to see? The only question here is would you eat this stuff? There were other versions of it, but this was the main one. PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $1,900 on March 2021. But back in 1971, hoarding away sealed boxes of cards wasnt necessarily a commonly practiced financial endeavor. Most Expensive With just one card per pack but 36 packs in a box, you *should* stand a good chance of getting one of everything with this lot. PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $1,930 on March 2023. But its happy because the blue boxes themselves are shining through a crack in the case cardboard, and they look pretty gorgeous still. We'll respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.. 1987 Topps Glossy Send-Ins Gary Gaetti Cause or Effect? The Cloud is all the rage these days, and anybody whos anybody has at least one something running there, or aspires to. In particular, what youd be bidding on if you bade (or BINned): 1980 Topps Baseball Superstars 1 box, 36 cards, all opened1984 Topps Super Baseball 1 box, 20 unopened packs, 16 opened packs + wrappers1985 Topps 3-D Baseball 1 box, 22 unopened packs, 4 opened packs1990 Topps Doubleheaders 1 box, 36 unopened packs1990 Topps Heads Up Baseball 2 boxes (1 box with 24 unopened packs, 1 box with 21 unopened packs). Thanks for sharing some fun memories! These really are more pins than buttons, but thats OK because its the pin bit that allows you to stick the enameled, round hunks of metal to or through things. Im closing in on 500 YouTube subscribers, so I thought Id celebrate that with a giveaway of one of my favorite members of the 500-HR club. (My other Mount Rushmore baseball cards? Add in the Future Hall of Famers and All-Stars inserts, and you had a solid set that verged on scorchingat various times.
