1952 Topps Hi # Empty Wax Case - $50K!
 

$50K seems pretty steep to me, but still a really cool item.

How can they tell it is a high number case as opposed to any other series?

http://www.dacardworld.com/vintage/1...all-empty-case

A bargain at twice the price!

Seem to recall reading somewhere that Mr. Mint found the cards opened and stacked on a tray, so I'm not sure where the case story fits in. Cool piece regardless.

$50k for a box, amazing.

52 shipping case
 

hi # how do they know?
last time it sold was 2000 for $1000
Pandora's Box - 1952 Topps Shipping Case mastro may 2000

Does anyone else get turned off items when a seller gets an easily checked bit of information wrong?

They say 52 Topps was created by Sid Berger (Not Sy or Seymour as it should be)
To me that just makes anything else they might say suspect.

Steve B

Sid versus Sy
 

Steve---I guess you are not a big Norm Crosby fan :)

That Mastro case had a 3-52 on the bottom, this one's a 6-52, so it seems possible it refers to the card series.

http://www.dacardworld.com/blog/dave...er-case-worth/

The 6-52 on the bottom of the box is likely this particular box's manufacture date (June of 1952) and was printed on there by the "D.L.& D. Container Corp" out of Brooklyn. It would appear that Topps purchased these "boxes" to put their product in from this container vendor out of Brooklyn. Since Topps used this box stamped 6-52, it is likely that the 6-52 case was indeed used to hold cards from a later series of the 52 set. The box stamped 3-52 would have been manufactured in March 1952.

Many boxes I use today have the month and year of manufacture stamped on the bottom by the producer also.

this item is worth couple hundred max in my opinion and that only if its really proven it was from the MR mint find

shipping cases
 

shipping cases are very underpriced as a rule since in theory there is only 1 for every 24 boxes...but based on experience its more likely that only a few of each have been saved and are quite rare...a 52 case i would pay $2500 for in this condition....if there were as many collectors of the boxes and the case as there are of the cards..it probably would be more than 10k

Box
 

Pretty beat up thing to have on display in my view. If I had it you could have it for $ 2,000 Larry :)

shipping case
 

it looks pretty good in scan
no missing flaps...pretty decent
u know i collect the master set...all wrapper variations all box variations and case variations
the 52 box sells for 1000-4000 and this at least 24x as rare and i suspect 100s of times rarer in actuality

52s
 

I am with you on the set in master form, and packs and wrappers. I leave the boxes to you...which is good, one less collision course for us...and we have had a few :)

topps
 

still looking 4 hocus focus box:)

Out of curiosity....
 

Here's something to think about when you're laying in bed tonight.... If one of these surfaced and was full of untouched wax boxes (I can only dream), what would it bring at auction?

Untouched Boxes
 

But then my dream turns to a nightmare when I open the box and it is filled with untouched 1991 Topps boxes :)

For 50k I don't think I will be adding it to my cart.

The last 1952 Topps empty wax box only brought $650. Wax boxes (arguably) make for nice displays and make an oftentimes recognizable visual connection. No kids ever saw the case boxes, so there's no connection there. They also lack nice graphics. A case box may be at least 24 times more rare, and more likely hundreds of times more rare, but I don't see it bringing more than a small multiple more than a single box. The only example I could find that is on point is a 1956 Topps case box sold in 2000. It went for $412. That is 13 years ago but at the top of a prior card bubble.

Agree on the blatantly obvious point. If someone came across a wooden shipping pallet that once held Topps case boxes in 1952, I wonder what an over-zealous collector might pay for it?

What's it worth
 

If it's graded PSA authentic, who knows

LOL And then the forklift that carried that pallet, and prior to that...

And, of course, a Topps exclusive memorabilia card with a swatch from the overalls of the guy driving the forklift:D

Too funny! Somewhere there is a junior executive at Topps reading the posts here and thinking " hmmmmm, I wonder......."

There's a whole series in it for them. Rags used to wipe down the press, Bits of the ink containers, (with rare 1/1 can lid box toppers) uniform swatches from the truck driver who dropped off the blank paper, and the one who picked up the shipments......

Get after it Topps! I demand these in the 2014 Set at the latest!

Steve B

Hey, I opened this can of worms...I mean brilliant marketing strategy. I was planning to get the pallet graded, put it through a chipper and sell authenticated toothpicks for a buck.

Yup, and you could float a rumor that Mantle, in a Wagneresque manner, had his card withdrawn because he didn't want the youth of America getting splinters in their gums.

Steve,

I think you're on to something here:D

Best,

Eric