resources on warehouse vintage finds, etc.?

[Maris61]

Hi all,

I've returned to collecting somewhat recently. Like some, I collect only what I can easily afford (no Mantle RCs for me, thank you very much)--and, more importantly, what I like.

Lately I encountered a few sets that neatly fit these criteria: 1933 Sanella (w/ the comparably inexpensive but lovely Ruth card), the 1958-65 Jay's Publishing photos/cards, and 1976 Isaly's Sweet William discs. . . . BUT cursory research shows that one thing these have in common is an affordability due either to market flooding (Sanella) or relatively recent warehouse finds (Isaly's & Jay's). . . . I also learned about '51 Topps red backs being such a find back in the '80s.

Does anyone know of other such sets--"vintage" (i.e. pre-1981) yet affordable b/c of old stock newly discovered? Are there some recommended resources that cite or report on such finds?

Thank you for any help!

[savedfrommyspokes]

A great value, due to a flooded market, is the 1975 SSPC set. Loaded with HOFers, for around $50 you can own a nearly 40 year old set in NM-MT shape

[aelefson]

I am a big fan of the 1969 Globe Import set. Although the cards are paper thin, really small and black and white there are a bunch of hall of famers. Often, you can find sealed decks (with the more common variations) for less than 10.00. These are everywhere in the Northeast at least, (I have had more than 100 decks myself, and I supplied the Standard Catalog with the variation information in the early 2000s such as the Drysdale Ace of Spades, red checkered backs, and team logo removals versions).

Good luck in whatever sets you pursue.

Alan

[Maris61]

Oh, what a great start to this thread! Both the Globe Imports & SSPC sound perfect. Thank you both for being the first to contribute and respond!

[Volod]

Also have great interest in historic warehouse finds, but there seems scant evidence of them in hobby history. As you mentioned, the find of 1951 Redbacks in the 1980's was apparently the most recent significant such discovery. I once bought a bunch of fifty-year-old Polk directories thinking that some old abandoned candy distribution warehouses might be identified and possibly searched, but found that any such were long since razed, ending my naive pipedreams.

[aelefson]

Warehouse finds can be a bit misleading, as very rarely have huge stocks of older items found, but often a few thousand packs can make a big difference in future availability (I forget the details of the 51 red backs but I think it was 2-300 boxes at a minimum).

The 1964 Topps Giant cards also benefited from a similar find in the 1980s (I bought 300 of these just last year for about 40.00 at Brimfield although they were mostly commons. That is probably atypical, but they are still very cheap for the era and quality). I do not know the exact details of the find, but given the quantities of these cards in really nice condition I think it was in the tens of thousands.

Alan Rosen, aka Mr. Mint, publicized his finds in the 1980s including the famous 52 Topps find, but also finds of mid 1950s Topps and Bowman unopened boxes. I think the second find was a couple hundred boxes with some bug damage (if I recall correctly).

REA auctioned a really cool wharehouse find of early 1930s unopened baseball and non sports cards a few years ago. I think it was only one box of each product.
Alan

[daves_resale_shop]

Cool set from the 30's with a lot of big name hofers... I could have sworn that there was a warehouse find in the late 90's many of which came with the original display backing... Cool pins & you can typically find Dimaggio & Gehrig in the $100 range...

[campyfan39]

Mr. Mint was with a dealer friend of mine "Uncle" Dick Decourcey. They found a delivery truck abandoned in a TN warehouse that contained cases of 53-55 bowmans. Most of the cards were perfect but some boxes had been invaded by silverfish. Dick told me they had to stop and wash their hands constantly.

Interesting stuff.
Almost all of this stuff is word of mouth. I cant even find much on the 51 topps find on the net. I have a couple other stories as well that I am including in my book.


Warehouse finds can be a bit misleading, as very rarely have huge stocks of older items found, but often a few thousand packs can make a big difference in future availability (I forget the details of the 51 red backs but I think it was 2-300 boxes at a minimum).

The 1964 Topps Giant cards also benefited from a similar find in the 1980s (I bought 300 of these just last year for about 40.00 at Brimfield although they were mostly commons. That is probably atypical, but they are still very cheap for the era and quality). I do not know the exact details of the find, but given the quantities of these cards in really nice condition I think it was in the tens of thousands.

Alan Rosen, aka Mr. Mint, publicized his finds in the 1980s including the famous 52 Topps find, but also finds of mid 1950s Topps and Bowman unopened boxes. I think the second find was a couple hundred boxes with some bug damage (if I recall correctly).

REA auctioned a really cool wharehouse find of early 1930s unopened baseball and non sports cards a few years ago. I think it was only one box of each product.
Alan

[Maris61]

Yes, I'd noticed that those 1964 Topps Giants seemed pretty affordable--even the Mantle card. . . . Now I know one of the reasons why. . . .

And I totally understand about the "find" not needing to be extremely large in order to affect values.

[Maris61]

Also along these lines of affordable vintage (due to whatever "finds," market flooding, lack of demand, or whatever), I was wondering about minor league or even foreign baseball league cards of players to later go on to make it big?

(I assume that most of these are *not* going to be affordable, but I thought there may be some exceptions.)

Is there anything out there in the way of this?