1958 Topps football, how do we love thee? Well, there's the Jim Brown rookie card. Second year cards of John Unitas and Bart Starr. Several other Hall of Famers are also present in this pre-Lombardi era set. There are thousands of collectors who either own a set or are working on one. There are far fewer who have done a 1958 Topps cello pack break. 24 hours after … [Read more...]
Ruth Signed Ball, E102 Wagner, Vintage Unopened Packs Highlight LOTG Auction
A 1946 Babe Ruth signed baseball, a high grade 1908 E102 Honus Wagner card, a beautiful group of unopened football packs from the 1950s, and a big assortment of autographs and memorabilia are among the highlights in the latest Love of the Game auction. “This auction is easily our biggest and most diverse,” said LOTG Auction Director Al Crisafulli. “We’re featuring a large … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: 10 Interesting Items and Observations from a Day on eBay
It's like clicking to watch a YouTube video. You're done viewing and inevitably something else pops up along side it that looks intriguing. You click on that video and watch it too. Then another one even more interesting reveals itself. Pretty soon you've killed an hour watching 1980's music videos or old baseball commercials that you never intended to. eBay can be a giant … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Break of the Week: 1986 Topps Football Rack Pack
The mid-1980’s was a great time to be a football fan and collector. Young quarterbacks with Hall of Fame careers in front of them. Bidding wars between the NFL and USFL. Football card sets that may not have been fancy, but were easy to put together (as long as you had about $20 for a box and a few trading partners). In 1986, it all came to a head when the likes of Elway, … [Read more...]
Artist Gary Cieradkowski Connects with Dad Through Card Designs
They look like they would have come out of packs in some long ago time. Carefully created images of stars and one-hit wonders from a top notch graphic designer. But you won't find them in some ancient unopened pack or some dealer's box of vintage cards. Northern Kentucky resident Gary Cieradkowski creates his own virtual cards, then showcases them on his blog. … [Read more...]
Rare Wrappers from the 1970s
Some were only issued in certain parts of the country. Others were made north of the border and are remarkably scarce today. Topps cranked out products in the 1970s that captured the fancy of youngsters, but in the overall scope of things wound up largely forgotten. Not anymore. Collectors of vintage Topps material say there are some rare wrappers among the variety of … [Read more...]
Like to Crack Codes? The Mystery of 1970s Football Cello Pack Production
by Unopened Pack Guy As a collector of unopened packs, I am fascinated by the stories behind them. Some of the most fascinating always end up with; “this test issue was only available in limited quantities in a candy store in Brooklyn, NY”. Historically, Topps did some odd things in terms of production, be it producing Test Issues or testing price increases for their … [Read more...]