Quote:
Originally Posted by thatkidfromjerrymaguire
Reviewing this thread again (because as I said, this is my favorite set too).
Volod, I do have a question: How big was the gum that came with these cards? Where they big "card size" rectangles? Smaller rectangles like 80's era Topps cards? Stick gum like wrigleys? Was the gum wrapped, or did it just sit on top of the card? While the wax stains are very common on the back of these cards, I'm not sure I've ever seen an actual gum stain.
Just wondering what it was like to actually open a pack of these!
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you're really busting my feeble memory cells with that question.
As best as I recall, the Bowman gum was a flat pink rectangle the same size as the cards, and since the cards had gum dust on them, I don't think there was any buffering in the waxpack. I have also been puzzled by the high percentage of cards that show stains on the reverse. Since the 5-cent packs had six cards, only one of the cards could have been in contact with a gum slab, and I seem to recall the gum usually being right on top - contacting the front of the card - when my grubby little fingers ripped it open. So, I have to believe that the stains, as common as they are, were perhaps caused by wax from the wrapper - maybe being still warm during the packing process. But, that still would not seem to account for the high percerntage of staining, since even that causal factor would only affect one of the six cards in each pack. So, another mystery of time and space, I guess. And, to your other question - I don't recall noticing any difference in the gum used by Bowman and Topps. If you look at the ingredients listed on the packs, they seem to be the same toxic junk, so maybe some kids just liked one brand a lot more because they happened to find a Mantle or Mays in the pack, instead of another duplicate of Peanuts Lowrey.