Opening 1991 Topps Wax Packs...

[bnorth]

I opened a ton of 91 Topps wax and all I got was a 1988 common.

[Harliduck]

Originally Posted by bnorth

I opened a ton of 91 Topps wax and all I got was a 1988 common.

Oh man, I would be so ticked...haha. An 88 common is probably worth LESS than a 91!

Great link Zack...thanks!

[ALR-bishop]

I still have four unopened boxes which I kept because of this promotion. Topps supposedly had gone into the market and had procured at least 3 of each card it had issued prior to 1991 for it's 40th anniversary celebration. The 51 sets were not included in the promo. For 52 to 56, and for any card with a then market value over $ 50 ( not sure how they determined that) they did not insert the actual card due to size or value, but rather had redemption/contest cards as inserts. I was always curious as to whether all the pre 1957 cards and value cards were redeemed.

You could also enter a contest through an insert card to win a grand prize which was a full Topps set run, or one of the complete sets in the run. The game cards said your odds of getting a older card in a pack was 1 in 1000.

The inserts say all redemptions had to be claimed prior to 4-1-92 and that unclaimed cards would not be awarded

There were 2 types of insert cards...Match The Stats and Instant Win Game. The Match The Stats involved a scratch off game for prizes. The Instant Win card involved a chance to win a prize based on the card itself, or a chance to enter a drawing for the Topps set run.



The Instant Win Game cards were sequentially numbered If anyone has any of these laying around, I need the following to complete a "set"

12411
12478
12545

Also, I like to collect variations, errors and print defects with my sets. In my opinion there are more variant cards involved in the 1991 set than any other Topps set.

Also in 1991 Topps offered a lot of other baseball products

Traded Set
Desert Shield Set
Box Panel Set
All Star Glossy Rookie Set
Glossy Rookies Set
East Coast National Reprints
Gallery Of Champions Aluminum, Bronze and Silver Sets
Golden Spike Award Card
Babe Ruth Set---from movie
The Garagiola business card
Super Stand Ups
53 Archives
Major League Debut Set
B Robinson Bronze card

[savedfrommyspokes]

I pulled a 75 Topps Brent Strom out of one of the 91Topps packs...I still have that card today....it was in about EX shape. Apparently Topps spared no expense in buying back the cards they inserted into these 1991 packs

[Harliduck]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

I pulled a 75 Topps Brent Strom out of one of the 91Topps packs...I still have that card today....it was in about EX shape. Apparently Topps spared no expense in buying back the cards they inserted into these 1991 packs

My 1970 Cito Gaston was severely miscut, but the corners were sharp.


Thanks Al for all the info...I do have that bunch of unopened 91s still sitting around, I can check my contest cards for you...haha. Any cool variations I should be looking for?

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

I pulled a 75 Topps Brent Strom out of one of the 91Topps packs...I still have that card today....it was in about EX shape. Apparently Topps spared no expense in buying back the cards they inserted into these 1991 packs

If the true odds of winning were 1:1,000 per Al's card above (must read the fine print) and the production figures were close to the same as the 1992 Topps set (76 million packs) then that is 76,000 "winners".

Z Wheat

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by Zach Wheat

If the true odds of winning were 1:1,000 per Al's card above (must read the fine print) and the production figures were close to the same as the 1992 Topps set (76 million packs) then that is 76,000 "winners".

Z Wheat

Coming at it from a different direction, from 1952 to 1990, there were 24,530 cards in the main Topps sets. Therefore, if the 1/1,000 is correct, there would have been 24.53 million packs produced. The fine print on the game card does say that at least one of every card produced in included. In order to get up to 76 million packs, they'd have to put in around 3 of every card. It's more likely they put in 1 of every card and filled it out with many extra cheapos, for instance lots of 1988, 1989, 1990 commons.

[Zach Wheat]

The link provided in an earlier post - if correct - indicates they actually purchased 300,000 Topps cards for insertion. This presumably included counting cards for the full set winners for each year and a Grand Prize winner who won every set since 1952. And they indicate they spent less than $1MM in the promotion.

That's a lot of cards.

Z Wheat