Welcome to the second edition of Vintage Pack Facts. While there aren’t many collectors who wouldn’t love to rip open a 30, 40, 50 or 60+-year-old pack, there isn’t really a readily available knowledge base for all of them. This series hopes to shed some light on one individual release each week in terms of the variety of packaging methods used, prices at the time, a little about the set itself and more.
VintageBreaks.com will often open the packs we’re discussing and we’ll sometimes share those segments so you can have a little fun going back in time to see what kids saw when they opened them at the time (the gum was definitely better back then, though).
This week: 1967 Topps cello
- Topps expanded its set from 598 cards in 1966 to 609 in ’67 but youngsters wouldn’t know it until late in the year as it continued to produce cards in series that were time released over the course of the season. There were seven series in 1967.
- Collectors also noticed something else when they flipped their cards over. For the first time, the backs were printed vertically.
- In addition to wax and cello packs, Topps produced tray packs with multiple wax packs wrapped in a cardboard “tray”. They also produced rack packs containing, essentially, three 10-cent cello packs for 29 cents. The value to the buyer, of course, was you saved a penny and could see six of the cards you’d be adding to your collection.
- Until 1973, most cello packs didn’t have any text on the wrapper. The 1967 Topps cello packs came in a red box with the price printed on the front (10 cents). Wax packs containing five cards were a nickel so those who could find cellos received two extra cards.
- There are only 88 cards in Series 2 and with 12 cards per pack, the odds of finding a Mantle, Steve Carlton, Willie Stargell, Frank Robinson, Eddie Mathews or Yankees team card aren’t bad.
- Like wax packs, ’67 cellos typically included one of the poster inserts Topps produced that year.
- A complete box of 1967 cello packs contained 48 packs. Baseball Card Exchange purchased one in 2012 and it was quickly snapped up by a private collector for $26,000.
- In the early 1990s, a single Series 2 pack was valued at $250.
- With 576 cards in a box, a full box of 1967 Topps Series 2 cellos should have held at least six of each card in the series if distribution was good.
- Only two 1967 Topps Mantle cards have ever graded PSA 10. The last one sold for nearly $70,000. A PSA 10 Carlton would likely sell for somewhere in the $10,000 neighborhood.
You can learn more about participating in vintage pack breaks—or just watch—by visiting VintageBreaks.com.
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