This could be the rarest football product known; a full box of 1961 Topps wax packs. Currently in the hobby the box you see here is the ONLY full box known to exist.
In 1961 Topps released a set of 198 football cards that includes legendary players such as Bart Starr, Y.A. Title, and Jim Brown. A mixture of close-up head shots and action poses as well as both a horizontal and vertical design on the card makes the ‘61 set fun to collect. You could pick up a penny pack that came with just a single card and a stick of gum if you were all about the candy over the cards or you could purchase a nickel pack to find more of your favorite football players.
Over 60 years since the packs rolled out of the Topps factory have gone by. Few packs remained unopened since Ray Charles released Hit The Road Jack, The Andy Griffith Show was on TV, and gas was 31 cents per gallon. Naturally few packs have remained sealed over the last six decades; we know it’s hard for you not to open a pack you bought last week – now stash that for 60 + years. The PSA pop report lists 78 packs unopened and graded.
However, there is ONE treasure in the hobby. A single, full box of 24 packs left untouched! This box was discovered as part of a massive find in Tennessee. In the 1960’s, a man owned a confectionary company that made non-sports cards. In the early days of sports cards, kids were more interested in candy and gum than the cards so the cards were used to sell the gum! You may have heard the term “bubble gum card” growing up. Sports products were purchased as part of research, perhaps to release sports cards at some point. When the man passed, the cards remained in the attic.
A nephew reached out to to Mile High Card Company to mention what he found in his late Uncle’s attic, and the President of the company was on the next plane out to Tennessee. On June 16th, 2017 that 1961 Topps wax box was sold for $118,496.40!
Looking at that PSA pop report again, only 37 cards from the 1961 Topps set have ever been graded PSA 10. Just 37 out of over 32,000 cards submitted for grading. Would you dare to open a pack to perhaps find and own the only PSA 10 Johnny Units or would you leave the packs sealed?
In our storage shed is the snow plow for the Winter, a few quarts of oil for the car, and Corn Hole boards. What. A. Find. If you have any amazing stories like this, we’d love to hear about your discoveries! Send us a message any time here to hello@gildeds2.sg-host.com!
