Sealed vintage wax, not a nickel anymore

Sports card packs from more than 70 years ago were so plentiful that Sy Berger, the creator of Topps baseball cards, tried selling 1952 Topps packs for a penny, equivalent to 12 cents today, and still couldn't move them. His factory was so full that he had to dump cases of product into the waters off the New Jersey shore.

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ALSO: 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle gains value over the years

For the packs that survived and remained sealed, times have changed. The nostalgia and desire to own a piece of Americana from the "Nifty Fifties" fueled the rise in value of vintage sealed wax. In Sept. 2024, a PSA 7 sealed 1952 Topps pack sold for $91,000, nearly matching a 2021 sale for $105,000. In 2023, a bundle with eight sealed packs sold for $873,000.

The most critical part of the sales is that buyers knew it was highly unlikely the Mantle rookie card was in any of the packs. Mantle's card, number 311, was part of the high-number cards in the set released later in the season, just as football season was beginning. Sales were so poor that cases are now sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

1978 Topps Football Wax Pack — Image Courtesy of Fanatics Collect

But it isn't just Topps baseball cards. 1978 Topps football packs sell for $80 to $90. They sold for 20 cents nearly 50 years ago. A 1984 Donruss baseball sealed wax box sells for nearly $1,000 when it was $10 in 1984. It's not really worth opening the boxes.

Yes, scoring a Donruss PSA 10 Don Mattingly rookie card would triple the return on investment. But that's a crapshoot considering the 1984 Donruss Mattingly has a 2% Gem Rate.

The packs are as collectible as the cards. Even an unopened 1986 Topps baseball cello pack in Gem Mint 10 condition has $35 in bids at the REA September Auction. Back then, the 28-card pack sold for 59 cents. The 1986 Topps football counterpart, a 31-card pack, sold for 69 cents back in the day; one now has $70 in bids at REA.

sealed vintage wax — Image Courtesy of REA

The price of vintage sealed packs makes sense. They are colorful and visually appealing, and easy to display encased in slabs. They are also much more scarce than the cards contained within them.

PSA has graded 68,404 1986 Topps baseball cards. By comparison, PSA has graded 394 1986 Topps wax packs. If you opened a regular pack of 86 Topps baseball cards, you would find it difficult to give the cards away. However, a loose, sealed pack now sells for $5. According to PSA, a Mint 9 recently sold for $33.

The value of the packs is amplified the further back you go. There have been thirty 1952 Topps wax packs graded by PSA compared to 317,524 card submissions - that's one pack graded for every 10,580 cards. With every passing year, more packs are opened, making them just a little bit rarer. Cards provide major dopamine hits of nostalgia, but the packs do too.

Of course, buyers should be careful. Scammers can open and reseal vintage packs with the ease of a skilled craftsman. One should also familiarize oneself with PSA's grading standards for packs.