Back at the 2012 National, Jeff Finniagan from Finnigan’s Sports Cardsi n Albany, NY. got to live out a dream we all share – he opened a pack of 1963 Topps baseball cards. The last card in the pack was a surprise, and makes the list of Greatest Pulls of All-Time! It was the 1963 Topps Hank Aaron Peel Off.
1963 Topps baseball cards were released in 7 series, with each series containing different cards throughout the season. Example: Series 7 has cards numbered 523 to 576 (the last card in the set) and was released in the Fall of 1963. You still see releases happen like this today with Topps often releasing Series 1 in March, Series 2 later in the year, and Update at the end of the season. In 1963 Packs could be found with two cards for one penny, and a four-card or five-card pack for a nickel. Jeff opened up a five-card pack:
While the cards were commons, the sticker card is a HANK AARON! A pack-fresh sticker from 1963 of one of the greatest baseball players ever to take the field. The Hammer was just 29 years old in ‘63 and had over a decade of baseball left in him when this pack rolled out of the factory. The PSA pop report lists only 40 copies of the Aaron Peel Off having been graded of this blank-back version. We’re not sure if Jeff submitted this beauty for grading to PSA but he said “send that into PSA!” Maybe this card is one of the two-known PSA 9?
Could this be the last pack-fresh Hank Aaron peel off card from 1963? Unlike modern products with numbered variations, known print runs, and social media to tell us when big cards are pulled, we truly have no idea how many sealed packs from 1963 remain nor what could be lurking inside. The last PSA 9 sold for $305 in 2017, and as you know, prices for vintage cards have skyrocketed since. This may not be a six-figure card, but a pack-fresh card from 1963 of Hank Aaron is truly spectacular.
You can find Finnigan’s at 1593 Central Ave in Albany, NY. A local card store that offers in-store case openings, too. You can see all of their big pulls on their IG account.
