Some of the Scarcer Wax Pack Wrappers from the 1970s
Wrappers from the 1970's
Wrappers
When it comes to "tough to find", sometimes wax pack wrappers offer a cheaper alternative. In the case of the following, the term "cheap" is relative. These are probably some of the toughest wax wrappers to collect from the 1970s. (note the list is simply in year order)
- 1970/71 OPC Hockey Series 2
- 1970 OPC Football
- 1970 OPC Baseball
- 1970 Topps BB Booklets - Test Issue
- 1971 Topps BB Greatest Moments
- 1973 Topps BB Pinups
- 1974 Topps BB Stamps - Test Issue
- 1974 Topps BB Action Emblem - Test Issue
Some of these wrappers will sell for a few hundred dollars, while the "cheapest" of the group will probably set you back just under $50.
Wrappers from 1970
1971 Topps Baseball's Greatest Moments
The Wrappers from 1970
Four of the wrappers on this list come from 1970... three of them are OPC and the fourth is a Test Issue (we'll address Test Issue Packs in a future Hub).
OPC from 1970 simply doesn't exist in the market in significant quantities in either wax pack form or as opened wrappers. In an "average" year, you would expect to see perhaps; 1 OPC FB wax pack, 1-2 OPC Series 2 Hockey wax packs and maybe 2-4 OPC BB wax packs up for sale. In terms of wrappers for sale, the numbers should be on par or perhaps minutely higher. Either way, if this is something that interests you, when you see these items at a price you feel is fair, grab them.
As for the 1970 Topps Baseball Booklets wrapper, I think I may have seen 1 on the market every couple of years and sometimes wonder how many there are or if the couple that are out there are simply getting resold over and over.
If I were to purchase all four of these packs, I would expect to pay between $600-$700 for nice wrappers.
Super Tough to Find
1971 Topps Baseball Greatest Moments wrapper
Out of the list above, by far this is the toughest one in my book. The only one I've seen was in an auction about 5 or 6 years ago. In terms of a visual, this is so scarce, that the best I can offer is a picture of a wax box production sheet.
Other Wrappers from our List
Interesting Links
- eBay Store - The Unopened Pack Store and More
When you are ready to buy Cello Pack, Wax Pack and Rack Pack items, please consider my Unopened Pack Store. - Amazon.com: The Ultimate Guide to Collecting 1970 Baseball Cards eBook: Sports Collectors Daily, Uno
The Ultimate Collector’s Guide to 1970 Baseball Cards includes an incredible accumulation of information on the cards, the sets, the packs, the boxes, the sidebar sets, the test issues, and much, much more. Over 50 photos in total! - Old Unopened Topps Packs (Wax, Cello and Rack)
Here is a link to a blog I've set up with some other interesting information on unopened items from the 1970s. - Overview of the Unopened Pack Market from the 1970s.
If you an Unopened Pack Collector, you may enjoy this link to my About Me page on Ebay.
The Rest of the Wrappers on the List
The last four wrappers on the list are all Topps Test Issues.
The 1973 BB Pinups will have a picture of a player on the inside of the wrapper and those players are valued by Beckett, which should give you a good idea on how much to pay for one. There are 24 players in a set with the set having a value of $9,000. It is not clear if these were ever available for sale to the public in 1973.
1974 Topps Action Emblem - released in Test Issue format - these didn't include actual players but would show a generic picture and a pennant. Packs sell around a couple of hundred or so, so estimate about 1/3 of that for the wrapper.
1974 Topps BB Stamps - released in Test Issue format - Not sure about these but would ballpark them near the 1974 Action Emblem Wrappers
