John

1969 Topps And O-Pee-Chee Man on the Moon Wax Boxes

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Non-sport seems to be getting a lot of hype these days, so I thought I’d share this cool auction from April 2004 of a 1969 Topps and O-Pee-Chee “Man on the Moon” wax boxes! As the lot said, space exploration was at the forefront of the nation’s consciousness during the late 1960’s.

The 1969 Topps Man on the Moon 24-count display box contained 24 ten-cent wax packs, while the 1969 O-Pee-Chee Man on the Moon box originally contained 36 5-cent packs (the box in this auction was incomplete with just 30 packs).

“Real Photos Of Men On The Moon!”

1966/67 Topps USA Test Wax Pack Display Box Uncut Sheet

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Mastro’s April 2004 catalog featured this “only known example” 1966/67 USA Test uncut display box. It was described as an ex-Topps Vault item and was accompanied by that company’s LOA.

The 18” x 25”’ blank-backed sheet, printed in the US on regular cardstock, bears the unfolded, central rendering of a 24-count, 5-cent wax pack counter-sales box. Masto wrote that small proofer’s notes and printing alignment marks appear in the periphery of the sheet.

Lelands first sold an assembled 1966-67 Topps USA Test Wax Display Box (pictured below) in October 2017 for $8070 before selling another for $4555 in February 2019.

And for completeness, here’s a 1966 Topps Test hockey “cello” wrapper. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I found this one to credit the source.

1952 Bowman Baseball Original Artwork, Proofs, And Retouched Cards

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Today, a piece of Bowman history I learned from the Spring 1982 edition of Baseball Cards – The Complete Sports Collectors’ Magazine. The initial artwork of Willard Ramsdell for his 1952 Bowman card showcased him as a member of the Reds. However, a trade to the Cubs for Frank Hiller on January 3, 1952, prompted a retouching of the artwork before the set’s release.

In the Fall of 2014, Robert Edward Auctions sold the original artwork for $2700.

When I shared the cards on Twitter, Keith Olbermann added, “Same for Cliff Mapes. The first proof has him in a browns uniform. Second has him in Detroit (and it’s 1953 sized). Issued card has him with Detroit.” He also shared this photo.

An Incredible 1953-54 Briggs Meats Mickey Mantle

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This 1953-54 Briggs Meats Mickey Mantle has the most manufacturer’s packaging borders I’ve ever seen. This one was offered for sale in December 2004. Do you think it was cut for grading?

The Mickey Mantle is the most popular card in the already scarce 1953-54 Briggs Meats 40-card, Washington D.C. regional set. This unique example measured 4-1/2” x 4-3/4” and features the same image of the mantle used by the Dan-Dee and Stalh-Meyer regional issues. According to PSA, the set includes “28 players from the Washington Senators and 12 players from the three New York teams (Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, New York Yankees).”

To put the popularity and cost of this set into perspective, in May 2009, REA sold nine panels, including the following Mantle/Bauer, for $82,250. Granted, the cards were usually hand-cut from the panels, which drove the high price over a decade ago.

However, Memory Lane Inc. did sell this PSA authentic graded Mantle for >$30k in late 2021.

36 1960 Topps Baseball 2nd Series Cello Packs

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These 36 1960 Topps Baseball 2nd Series cello packs, encapsulated by GAI, were offered for sale together back in 2004.

They were described as originating from the 1960 cello box find by “Mr. Mint” more than a decade earlier. The consignor purchased these packs directly from Rosen.

The 2nd Series numbers in 1960 ran from 111 to 198, including #’s 136 Kaat, 148 Yastrzemski, and 160 Mantle/Boyer.

These days, PSA-slabbed 1960 Topps 2nd Series cello packs are ~$2k.

1938 Signal Oil Oakland Oaks Stamps Set and Album

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Only a few complete 24-stamp sets of 1938 Signal Oil Oakland Oaks Stamps are known to the hobby, including this one, which was auctioned off in December 2005.

The 24 Pacific Coast League player stamps in this lot were each mounted in their original album.

The collection’s album has a big scuff on the left side, but the stamps were described as in excellent to near-mint condition.

George Woodruff’s Ted Williams Portrait Used For Topps And Fleer Cards

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Here’s George Woodruff’s portrait of Ted Williams that Fleer used as the photo on the box and wrapper of their 1959 set!

Mastro sold the 8” x 10” portrait in July 1998.

And yes, Topps used the same picture on the Splendid Splinter’s 1954 (#250), 1955, and 1956 Topps cards.

In terms of dating the photo, Memory Lane Inc. sold a Type 1 example for $1,501.20 in October 2017 and estimated the issue date right after Williams’ return from his final 1953 Korean War stint.