1952 Christmas Rack Pack with Mantle

[Snapolit1]

I have to confess that if I saw them at goodwill for a few bucks I'd buy everyone they had. Maybe a losing lottery ticket but who knows.

Other than second and third and fourth hand knowledge, has anyone every bought one and taken it apart? After 500 posts on the subject over the years I still don't know if anyone knows

a. are they all 100% counterfeit cards

b. are they just repacked real cards and essentially fake retro items but in crappy shape

c. or some mixture of fakes (rarer) and real (cheapos)

Maybe I've missed it but I still have never seen that simple question definitively answered.

[Republicaninmass]

I got smoked an a 56 rack a while back before there was more info in them. It had an Aparicio RC on top that graded a 7. The rest were ex commons.

[steve B]

I bought a 58, haven't opened it. The cards showing are all real, and look pretty good as far as corners go. But have typical centering issues. There is a high number on the back, so it's not entirely junk.

Looking at the ones on Ebay, there's a few different types of packaging. I'd expect worse stuff from some of them, although I'd have to really study them to figure out which are fakes of the old repacks.

[ALR-bishop]

I have been told the answer lies in the staples

[kvnkvnkvn]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

I got smoked an a 56 rack a while back before there was more info in them. It had an Aparicio RC on top that graded a 7. The rest were ex commons.

So, just to be sure, all the cards were authentic though, right?

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by kvnkvnkvn

So, just to be sure, all the cards were authentic though, right?

Yes all were authentic.

[SMPEP]

I have a 1961 one. I assume it's fake because when I purchased it - the guy "threw one in for free". (Total move to get a sucker to keep coming back I decided).

I sold the one I bought (broken even) and have the other one still.

Can't decide whether to open it or just sell it for whatever I can get on Ebay and take a profit .

So the analysis is opening it worth $75-100 on the off chance it is "real" (at least came from the 1960s/early 1970s)? Never been able to convince myself to open or sell it - so it just sits in a box!

Cheers,
Patrick

[ALR-bishop]

Like any "unopened pack" whatever is in it could never be as good as what you hope might be in it

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Like any "unopened pack" whatever is in it could never be as good as what you hope might be in it

I hate unopened stuff, I just have to rip it open to see what is in there.

I only have 1 unopened item. A 1986 Topps rack pack with the Roger Clemens Blue Streak error showing in the center. It is killing me not to rip it open because I know that elusive Terry Puhl Blue Streak error is in there.

[CW]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I have to confess that if I saw them at goodwill for a few bucks I'd buy everyone they had. Maybe a losing lottery ticket but who knows.

Other than second and third and fourth hand knowledge, has anyone every bought one and taken it apart? After 500 posts on the subject over the years I still don't know if anyone knows

a. are they all 100% counterfeit cards

b. are they just repacked real cards and essentially fake retro items but in crappy shape

c. or some mixture of fakes (rarer) and real (cheapos)

Maybe I've missed it but I still have never seen that simple question definitively answered.

You'll find a few videos on Youtube where collectors open some of these up.

Here's a 1958 rack pack being opened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-NpONNnjR8

1967 pack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yfrK0x1tq0

This guy doesn't open any, but claims to have about 100 1952 pack and about 1,000 Christmas rack packs in all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya3m0P4TbN8

[ALR-bishop]

CW-- no red dots on the 67 Mantle.

We needed a sample of the staples to carbon date it

Ben --- pretty sure the Puhl is there, better open it

He should not have made so many cuts, makes it harder to reseal

[Thecafewha]

I have a few 1962s. I've never opened any and only bought because they were cheap (nothing good showing). They aren't all the same header, staples or seal. I assume they are later packs, not from 60s or 70s.


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[Volod]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

I have been told the answer lies in the staples

Wha..., steel versus aluminum?

[ALR-bishop]

Originally Posted by Volod

Wha..., steel versus aluminum?

http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0SO8...tlLey.Q5Inzsc-

[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...

[jchcollins]

I've never understood the allure of the "Christmas" rack packs. If you are really into wax / unopened (I'm not...) why wouldn't you go for stuff known to be authentic?


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[ALR-bishop]

John---tend to agree with you but sad fact is that knowing what is authentic these days, be it wax packs or cello packs, is harder and harder to discern.

I have a Topps pack run ( some graded, some not) that I think is legit, but truth is I will likely never know for sure

[lutherlafy]

I think that Christmas rack packs the majority if not all are faked.
Great idea to make a lot of money from vintage collectors.
I would not buy one with your money.
No grading company will grade or authenticate them.
That should be a clue.

[ALR-bishop]

Glen-- I could be tempted to buy one with "your" money

[BillP]

Always tempted to buy a rack pack Xmas or not, or wax. But I'm always thinking about condition, off center or other. In the end the odds of finding something legit or real good are very low. 1955 bowman mantle aside.

So in the end i'll stay away.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by BillP

Always tempted to buy a rack pack Xmas or not, or wax. But I'm always thinking about condition, off center or other. In the end the odds of finding something legit or real good are very low. 1955 bowman mantle aside.

So in the end i'll stay away.

The '55 Bowman Mantle from the National last year was out of cello, not a rack - at least that is my recollection. It's currently up in the Goldin October Legends auction where the current bid is $26k. Um yeah, I'll take two...

Fun to me to peruse this thread again. I am far too skeptical of the Christmas Racks phenomena to ever spend a decent buck on them, but must admit I like / love the idea of them if even a small percentage were "real" and ever done like this back in the 1960's or 70's or at least before the hobby became fully self-aware in the mid-1980's. As a kid, there were always cards I pined after and (certainly in the days before the interwebs...) could literally never find simply because I was not old enough. In my example, I started collecting in 1986, and would always want a particular card from maybe the early 80's or even the late 70's that I had seen somewhere, but could never find for myself with limited resources and having to beg my folks to take me to a card shop. So I'm picturing how cool it would have been for a kid in 1965 to walk into a store and find a 1956 or 1960 Christmas rack with a Mantle showing on closeout...

I guess we'll never know whether things like that actually happened or not...but if so I bet it made some kids really happy. :-)

[GasHouseGang]

There's a different 1952 Christmas pack opening posted on YouTube with the Page/Sain error. If the cards are real that pack might have been worth getting.
You can watch the video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlmqRP6-HDM

Any opinions on authenticity?