1952 Christmas Rack Pack with Mantle

[chalupacollects]

4 user ID's in 4 years.. newest one not even a month old...

[russkcpa]

Originally Posted by chalupacollects

4 user ID's in 4 years.. newest one not even a month old...

Nice pick up. Never bothered to check that. I guess that says a lot

[glynparson]

I am the son. My dad is not completely ignorant about cards but he would ask me what i thought. thanks for clarifying, Tony was a little vague on the text he sent me.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Looks like Vickey must have a stack of fake 52 Mantle's laying around her place in Harford CT....I believe she is the same seller offering this fine fake specimen.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-TOPPS-M...p2047675.l2557



http://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=245231

[ALR-bishop]

I think Mark Murphy was the first, or one of the first to sell these, and advertised them in SCD. He said they were restocked Topps cards repackaged by a 3d party and sold in retail stores. But he did not or could not name the retail stores or the 3d party packager, and the dates that the packaging supposedly took place have varied ( 60s, 70s, 80s).

There has also been disputes about which Topps issues were initially involved. I think Murphy originally sold 54-63. Later, earlier and subsequent years appeared. Even if his story is true, there is no doubt someone else is continuing the process.

Some people claim to be able to tell the "originals" from the later productions looking at staples and the configurations of the packaging. The folks claiming this are usually selling them.

Here is some correspondence I had with Murphy and his partner about them

[dodgerfanjohn]

Why on earth are ANY of you even remotely entertaining the idea that this eBay pack is real?

The Murphy find is really well documented esp on CU and can be found easily with a google search.

But any Xmas pacs on eBay are 100% fake. No point in checking packaging, staples, anything. The research has been done and all of its fake.

[ALR-bishop]

Wow. Thanks, close call. Saved by the bell.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by dodgerfanjohn

Why on earth are ANY of you even remotely entertaining the idea that this eBay pack is real?

The Murphy find is really well documented esp on CU and can be found easily with a google search.

But any Xmas pacs on eBay are 100% fake. No point in checking packaging, staples, anything. The research has been done and all of its fake.

I have no interest in these but my Google search suggests that there is still some difference in opinion as to whether some of these actually contain some legitimate cards. This is from an interview Rich Mueller did a few years back. Not encouraging people to buy these, but I'm not sure it's as cut and dry as you suggest. I confess I didn't spend hours researching this, but this is what I quickly found from a legitimate informed publication.

Explain the “Christmas rack packs”—where did they come from, are any of them legitimate and what’s usually inside?


Another tough subject! These Christmas racks were not produced by Topps. That is first and foremost. All of these Christmas racks are not issued by Topps in any way in any type of Topps closeout. They have been produced by a third party and then retailed in stores. Most likely in dime stores around the country in the 60’s and 70’s.


The cards are usually in EX to EX-MT condition at best. That leads me to believe that Topps did not even supply the cards for these! Had Topps supplied the cards, they would still most likely have been a little bit cleaner and sharper than the cards that are in these packs. I also see Christmas racks now that are being produced today.

Most advanced pack collectors will tell you that these packs are not legitimate items since Topps didn’t produce them. I will never authenticate one as being real for this same reason.

However–this is not to say that the racks have no value. The cards in the packs are still legitimate Topps cards. I have seen many racks with many major stars right on top. If a Christmas rack has a Sandy Koufax RC showing on top in EX-MT condition, well then, it still obviously is worth whatever that card is worth to you! A 1962 Topps Christmas rack may have zero value as a legit, Topps issued unopened rack pack, but still holds some value for the cards it is holding within.

[russkcpa]

Well it's back on Ebay as an auction item. SHOCKING that Mantle is now most likely a reprint.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-TOPPS-...UAAOSw-5dZ9i19

[ALR-bishop]

The one negative the seller has is pretty funny

[mckinneyj]

And if a bidder were to read the fine print in the "Item Specifics" box they'd see that the seller is declaring this to be a "reprint" - fwiw...