Topps Wax - 1971-'80

A lot of unwrapping was done over the weekend. So, here are some packages that are still wrapped up (not mine, however...the temptation to rip them open would be too great). For many, these will be a walk down memory lane; for others, they'll be an interesting time capsule:

1971 Topps Pack

The '71 pack is unique because of its artwork. A notation appears at the bottom about an insert (which was a coin).

1972 Topps Pack

The font Topps used to spell out "Baseball" was interesting, especially considering the design of the cards in 1972 (some of my collecting buddies have nicknamed them "Psychos").

1973 Topps Pack

There were actually several different designs used in 1973. This one shows a manager having a casual discussion with an umpire (he looks a little like Dick Williams); the others showed a batter, a catcher and a pitcher. Packs from the final series also included cards from earlier series, and those wrappers have a notation on them about that.

1974 Topps Pack

1974 was the first year Topps issued the entire set at one time rather than in series. The packs that year let the kids in on the news.

1975 Topps Pack

Topps made their 1975 cards in two different sizes. The regular-sized cards were issued nationally and mini cards were tested in specific areas. Both had the same pack design covering them up. Though I wasn't collecting cards at this time (I was 3 that year), I recognize the design from this card that came in my possession about 5 years later:

1979-80 Wacky Packages, Series 3

It's interesting that the year was placed at the top of the Wacky Package (as it was on the 1975 edition of Wacky Packages), since the original baseball wrapper didn't include that info.

But I digress:

1976 Topps Pack

Topps recycled its 1974 design two years later, but made sure they placed the year underneath the baseball in case anybody thought it was an "old" pack.

1977 Topps Pack

This has become a memorable design over the past few years. It was incorporated into the design of this book cover:

It is also part of the design around the Baseball 1977 blog.

1978 Topps Pack

Topps used a similar font for "Baseball" (but tilted) for its 1978 pack. they also went with a catcher on its pack for the first time since 1973.

1979 Topps Pack

Now, here's a pack I remember. 1979 was the first year I busted open new packs of baseball cards, and that image of a batter standing beside a catcher and getting ready for the pitch will always be emblazoned in my mind.

1980 Topps Pack

As the notation indicates, there were three more cards included in the pack. If memory serves correctly, the price of the packs went from 20 cents to a quarter (or from a quarter to thirty cents), so Topps was giving the impression that they were offering more value. Once again, the 1974/'76 design was used, only with a blue background instead of red. This would be the basic design Topps would continue to use through 1992, with a yellow banner on top of the ball giving the year of issue, and a rotation of blue, green and red for the background colors.

Q&A

When you have a website that gives information about baseball cards, it sometimes leads to emails asking about values. While I generally avoid giving pricing info, this one made me think about how the laws of supply and demand have affected the hobby:

Q:

"I have some baseball cards (1989 Donruss in the original box and 1988 Score cards in original plastic wrapping) and I was wondering if you could give me a rough estimate of what they might be worth. I've attached a picture to this e-mail. Thanks!"

(My rough count tells me there are 36 unopened '88 Score packs in their original cello wrappers in this photo, which is the same amount as an unopened box contains. And that is definitely the box used for the '89 Donruss factory set.)
A:

Sadly, since there is no shortage of unopened late 1980s material, the prices on 1988 Score and 1989 Donruss haven't done well over the years. In 1988, I bought packs of Score for 40 cents (plus New York's then 7% state sales tax) from a family-owned store just around the corner from where I lived. My copy of Baseball Cards Monthly magazine from May 1989 offers a complete '89 Donruss set from several sellers at anywhere between $22.95 and $29 (plus shipping and handling).

Today? Well, according to this site, there is no need to do a "rollback" sale on unopened packs of Score. They're worth about the same amount they sold for 23 years ago. Dozens of boxes sit on eBay with "Buy it Now" prices of $18 (which comes to 50 cents a pack) and stay unsold.

As for the '89 Donruss factory set...this seller is offering them for $11.95, which is less than half what they fetched when they were brand new.

Back in the late 1980s, unopened material from the past sold for a lot of money. It encouraged people to stock cases away in the hope that they would also appreciate in value. However, so many unopened cases were set aside that the supply never had a chance to dwindle from natural attrition. At the same time, kids weren't torturing their cards in 1989 the way kids in the 1950s and 60s did. They weren't flipped against walls or placed in bicycle spokes all that often. Their mothers weren't tossing out their collections when they went to summer camp. And manufacturers were releasing enough cards to allow every man, woman, child and family dog in America to have two of them. At the same time, the prospects in those sets -- Gregg Jefferies, Sam Horn, Mike Greenwell, Al Leiter, et. al. -- didn't turn into Cooperstown-bound legends. And of those who did better (that '89 set contains rookie cards of Ken Griffey, Jr., Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, who are likely to be first-ticket HOFers), the glut of material has prevented their cards from making the same 20-year gains we saw in the 1980s.

The supply is so high and the demand so low, I'm not sure when -- or even if -- the prices will ever trend upward.