Gayle's Broadway Rose Auditions, Open Letter To My Girlfriend Odyssey, Articles N

Sosa was traded from the South Side of Chicago to the North Side for George Bell, and many people dont realize that Sosa and Frank Thomas were on the same team in the early 90s. For those who have their own boxes of baseball cards stored away and are hoping for a payday, be aware that there is an era of baseball cards that is particularly not valuable. Those memories are part of what draws me to lots like this one, a full 1987 Topps vending case. Either way, this is a sweet blast from the past, and an unusual issue that wont break the bank. Who do you like? $360,000 for a PSA 10, $7,800 for a PSA 9. The story was that Ripken jokingly wrote the infamous phrase on the knob of his batting practice bat, so he knew which one was his. From iconic players like Ken Griffey Jr. to rare cards like the 1989 Upper Deck Griffey rookie, we've got you covered. So dont worry about having lost out to some jerk from 35 years ago. The card is nothing but a comic. Either was, the 1984 Topps set is chock full of classic cards, and you know it would be a blast to tear through this puppy. 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth, 1949 Leaf Jackie Robinson and 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle and I want to know who would make your hobby post-2000 Mount Rushmore in the comments section! There are many reasons why this card is considered iconic, but inexpensive. There were ten regular Elite insert cards of players, each with 10,000 printed. Different card numbers, sometimes a different photo. The 1984 Fleer set has basically the same lineup as the Topps set from that year, except with fewer cards overall (less special subsets, mostly). 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card #482, 13. A baseball card fetched the most expensive price ever for a sports memorabilia item on Sunday. PSA 10 card is currently selling on eBay for $22,200 in 2021. Web168 likes, 6 comments - Certified Sports Guaranty (@csgcards) on Instagram: "All junk wax is not created equal! Same same! Baseball card values: What are Junk Wax Era cards Oh, and Reggie Jackson, Robin Yount, Gwynn, and Boggs. Hitters entering their prime years (ages 26 and 27) often portend a breakout season in fantasy, which also makes them good buys before the season in collecting. Or recessless schooldays? Oh, and they have fuzzy perforated edges. And besides, this eBay lot offers up two of the Pete Rose cards on the front of 1985 Donruss rack packs. Ripken's card was part of the 1982 Topps Traded set released later in the year after the regular 1982 set had already been issued. Man, is there anything better than a Topps test issue? Even now, 35 years later and after enough scandal and strife to choke a horse, Petes RC is a hobby staple. Topps released the card as part of their Finest set, which featured cards printed on a special chromium cardstock. The Most Expensive Ken Griffey Jr. SAVE $10 OFF your 1st purchase when you sign up to receive our weekly sales special email! Top 30 Most Valuable Football Cards From the Junk Wax Era Not to mention the first round of Rated Rookies and the Darryl Strawberry rookie card. Looking back at their careers, its pretty easy to say that Schmidt will give you more peak value and more long-term value than Mex. And, can you believe the opening bid is only $10 a box. What if someone came before you and searched through the packs to get the good stuff? Man, those were good days. When they do not perform well, you want to punch a wall! 1990 Topps Tiffany Frank Thomas rookie card #414, 11. Check out this video for details! Its amazing! Speedsters can help fantasy players a lot, but its all about power and WAR in collecting. Anyway, this eBay lot gives you a pretty good shot at all these guys and plenty more its a complete unopened box. As the older generation of baseball writers move on, allowing room for those who love analytics and arent as hardened against PED use, well probably see plenty of the steroid stars on this list get enshrined. 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn rookie card #482, 12. Nothing compelling enough to pull you away from your Godzilla action figure, though, so you toss the cards in the pile of Christmas Crap (TM). Why, thats not anywhere close to $14.40! In a recent auction, a lot of eight unopened 1952 Topps baseball wax packs were sold for $873,300. Check out the full eBay listing here (affiliate link). And, you know, busting all these packs would make you feel like a Kardboard King even if the cards arent worth the (thick) paper theyre printed on. I mean, the 1987 Topps woodies were everywhere 1987 Donruss was scarce but seemed to exist in pockets. Damon might never make it into the Hall of Fame, but this guy was a huge fan favorite with two storied franchises (playing four of his 18 seasons with the Red Sox, and then four more with the Yankees). Of course, you could only answer the big question by opening the packs is there a Bob Dernier pin lurking within? However, pulling a Jeter that is in good enough shape to grade out as a Gem Mint 10 can be very tough. Would one of them have influenced the other to use/avoid steroids? And these packs wont even send you to the dentist. As soon as you pick it up, the contents inside slide shift, just a little, and you know whats inside a folded up rack pack of baseball cards! PSA Graded Cards, 1980 Topps Pat Kelly Gave You Some Options - Wax Pack Gods, Baltimore Orioles Stadium History: 31 Facts, 1986 ProCards Pittsfield Cubs Rafael Palmeiro Left Room for Interpretation Wax Pack Gods, 1998 Upper Deck Final Tribute Captured Eddie Murray in His Second Home Wax Pack Gods, Players with 3000 Hits and 500 Home Runs Wax Pack Gods, Card Traders Near Me: Where to Find Them! There are 24 packs per box and 12 cards per pack, making the odds of hitting a Jeter pretty good for any brave baseball card collector willing to shell out up to $15,000 to rip open a box. Its one of the most valuable baseball cards of this era, and what makes it so special is that the 1993 SP Upper Deck release was one of the early super premium card sets and featured rare die-cut Platinum Power inserts. by ; 28 kwietnia 2023 And, well, deckled. Among collectors, its fairly common knowledge that there are certain individual baseball cards that are worth a fortune, such as the iconic 1909 T206 Honus Wagner, the legendary 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth, or the glorious 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. Its gorgeous! Herein, youll find 94 unopened packs in total, ranging from four1976 Fleer Football Action Team Sticker wax packs to six 1993 Bowman Football Jumbo packs, with a few 2013 football packs tacked onto the end. These iconic players dominated the court from Michael, Read More 15 Most Valuable Basketball Cards 1990s for InvestmentContinue, Learn everything you need to know about Pokmon card grading with our guide. All of which is to say that this eBay lot will take you back to those rollicking wax-ripping days of your childhood, thusly broadly defined. 10. A Google search will deliver several articles and videos on Junk Wax Era cards that have value. $7.95 FLAT SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS UNDER $175, The Most Valuable Baseball Card Boxes Ever, How To Clean Sports Cards (And What Not To Do), The History of the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Card, Top NBA Rookie Prospects Going Into the 2022/23 Season. Measuring standard card size and packaged with gum for 25 cents, Star Stickers were like another whole parallel (125 cards) but one that you could stick on stuff. The 1986 Fleer issue may not be en fuegomore than 30 years later, but it sure would be fun to crack open the 15 cello packs in this eBay lot to see if you can find your own Joe Orsulak RC prize. And the box itself is a great display piece. Thin cardstock, terrible photography, more errors than a Dick Stuart highlight reel, slightly self-indulgent card backs. Cards Especially one from the 1970s? PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $14,000 on August 2022. Back in 1986, though, clouds had much more limited applicability . Maybe inspiring the imagination with their funky shapes. Can you feel those old dreams stirring? Was it even save back then? The card's popularity has also produced many counterfeit versions, so collectors must be careful when buying and verifying the card's authenticity before purchasing. If you continue to use this site, we'll assume you're OK with that. So they took 30 of their favorite 1984 cards, blew them up to 5 x 7, plopped them into plastic wax packs and called them super. I mean, who knows how close we came to never having the chance to pull the San Diego Chicken card that might lie inside? The good news is, its got your name on it. The only question here is would you eat this stuff? Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network and Amazon Associates. PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $3,280 on March 2023. WebRecently, I came across an advertisement by a company called 49er Headquarters, who, by 1993, seemed to be holding a decent amount of rare and/or hard to find Pro Set items: Or maybe it was the folks at Mrs. Butterworths. Weve seen pitchers with harder stuff (Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan) and pitchers with better singular seasons (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw). Super cool, right? Cowabunga! Better grab yourTums. One unopened 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter X hobby box was recently listed on the secondary market for $14,000, making these some of the most expensive baseball cards ever. Try 104 packs across 52 different products, spanning baseball, basketball, and football from 1988-99, with all but one falling before 1996. I always loved previews of what was to come, so I thought Id start sharing those with you here! Which Was Your Favorite Old-Time Baseball Cards Publica 1987 Topps Baseball Cards 25 Most Valuable R 1978 Topps Baseball Cards The Ultimate Guide, 1987 those who had access to 1987 Fleer baseball cards, 1981 Topps Baseball Cards Complete Your Set U-Pick (#'s 201-400) Nm-Mint, 1981 Topps Baseball Cards Complete Your Set U-Pick (#'s 401-600) Nm-Mint, 1981 Topps Baseball Cards Complete Your Set U-Pick (#'s 1-200) Nm-Mint, 1981 Topps Baseball Cards Complete Your Set U-Pick (#'s 601-726) Nm-Mint, Change-Ups, Spirals, and Swishes Droolworthy Cards for August 24, 2018, Flash Market Report What Old Baseball Cards Sold Big This Week? Or popcornless movies? I believe my 1984 set was made from those cards. Buying and flipping unopened baseball card boxes is fairly common in the modern collecting era. cards 2023 Giant Sports Cards Maddux was the best pitcher of the past 50 years. Can you imagine if his rookie season came on a staff already stacked with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz? Yep, before The Kid ever took the Kingdome field, Mike Cramer and the Pacific Trading Card Company treated the hobby to the *drumroll* Ken Griffey Jr. And in case youve forgotten or dont want to read my original post on the subject, let me clarify: its an unholy sight to which no Cincinnati Reds fan hell, no Philadelphia Phillies fan should have ever been subjected. While there are other cards from the Junk Wax Era that still have some tangible worth, the above list is populated with rookie cards of current and future Hall of Famers, as well as those who, unfortunately, will be forever linked to baseball's ugly Steroid Era. The 1990 Topps Tiffany Frank Thomas rookie card was printed in much smaller numbers than the regular Topps card, making it a rare and valuable item. Its called the Junk Wax Era, and its generally thought of as covering the years 1986 to 1993. And he hit like he was using a piccolo for a bat. 1988 Topps Big Kal Daniels Had Big Expectations. In 1991, the junk wax era was in full gear. Kevin Mitchell makes one appearance, as do Nolan Ryan, John Kruk, and Jose Canseco. PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $8,000 on March 2023. 3 Unhappy Hobby Things Some Collectors Do, Ranking the Top 5 NBA Rookies From Each of the Past 5 Years, 8 Baseball Rookie Cards Were Hoping To See in Topps Series 2. PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $1,150 on March 2023. PSA 10 graded card was last sold for $276,000 on August 2022. The Cloud is all the rage these days, and anybody whos anybody has at least one something running there, or aspires to. At the same time, collectors were having trouble filling their one-of-everything desires because 1984 Donruss was downright scarce and it was a really nice looking set for a change. For the first several years I collected, I harbored this dream about worlddomination and it all hinged on Topps vending cases. See, a single vending case contained 24 vending boxes, each with 500 brand new, perfect cards (probably not perfect, but thats how it seemed). Just a few keystrokes, and were there. The main cards in the set Three wax packs inside of a cellophane rack pack. 1994 Alex Rodriguez SP Foil Rookie Card #15, 5. Fast forward 40+ years, and someone has uncovered your forgotten treasure and thrown it up on eBay for sale. I mean, just look at those gorgeous Topps rack packs, with Tom Seaver showing and Rick Sutcliffe showing and Fergie Jenkins showing and. 8. Overall, Id rate these boxes 3.75/5 stars. How Junky was the Junk Wax Era? - Sports Collectors Daily And again and again and again until I had retired at age 15. Its those latter multi-cardcars that make a cameo in this eBay lot (affiliatelink) and its sister lot (affiliate link) four Rose cards showing sixteen Rose cards on the top of four 1986 Topps cello packs. But there is a second tier of cards that helped drive the hobby to new heights, even if in a more supporting role. Think I got the Yaz/Bench card, but dont remember the others for sure. The 1984 Topps Don Mattingly rookie card fits that bill perfectly it wasnt the main attraction when Donnie Baseball was making his name during that fabled summer of 1984, but it became a hobby favorite in a flash and has maintained that status for nearly 35 years. As this column continues to evolve, were taking suggestions from readers and commenters on how to make it more helpful, entertaining and informative! Whether youre a longtime Shaq fan, Read More 10 Most Valuable Shaquille ONeal Rookie CardsContinue, Knowing the exact value of your cards can help you save money with any new purchases or trades, Read More Pikachu Pokmon Card Value Its Worth More Than You Can Imagine!Continue, There are many valuable 1990s basketball cards on the market. Baseball cards have been around for more than a century, and the hobby has seen a spike in collecting in the last few years. 10 Greatest Junk Wax Era Baseball Card Hobby Boxes By 1986, the hobby was fully engulfed in the flames of rookie card mania thanks to the exploits of young phenoms like Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Eric Davis, Don Mattingly, and that summer of 86, Jose Canseco and Wally Joyner. As far as anyone knows, there are no sealed wax boxes of the 1952 Topps release. Add steroids and controversy to the overproduction stigma, and many of the rookie cards of this period pale in comparison to those from a decade earlier or even a decade later, in many cases. OK, so this is not really *wax* in the strict sense, but wax is really a state of mind right? In the third panel is Buddy Schultz. Even I, as jaded and homerish as I am, can admit the 1985 Donruss Pete Rose Expos card doesnt look all that bad from an aesthetic point of view. ), Danny Cox, and Gary Pettis. Start hoarding away the latest baseball hobby boxes and take advantage of free shipping on orders over $175 and same-business day shipping at Giant Sports Cards. *Valid on any order $100+. The most valuable baseball cards in that series include the great Nolan Ryan and cool coin inserts that included Brooks Robinson, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays. Ranking the 13 best sets of the Junk Wax Era of baseball cards | Sporting News KAN MIN 1:10p -250 BAL DET 3:40p -127 CHC MIA 3:40p -120 PIT WAS 4:05p Today, though, how can you not get all warm and giddy at the prospect of nine American League cards and nine National League cards and a stick of gum inside a four-decade-old wrapper??? In the summer of 1984, Don Mattingly came out of nowhere to win the American League batting title, snatching it away from New York Yankees teammate Dave Winfield. Try a week on us. Hes upside down, too. After all, 1981 had been a rough year for the first-time cardmaker, from losing their right to sell gum with their cards to, well, the cards themselves. And, among the 66 luminous luminaries who were Major League Leaders, youll find high-luminosity guys like Mike Smithson, Walt Terrell (Hoosier! Its crazy to think he also played at least one season with Kansas City, Oakland, Detroit, Tampa Bay and Cleveland. Still, one sealed Topps Desert Shield wax box recently sold for $7800, making these some of the most valuable baseball cards of the junk wax era. In any case, this lot falls three packs short of a full box, but you do get the display box. And when they were all done, Topps darn near fell into the pond and drowned while looking at their own reflection in the neighborhood cardboard pond. I was blown away with the quality. Since this was on the low end of production runs, its a little unfair to have this rank alongside these other junk wax cards, but here it is. Let me know if you enjoy this sort of post so I know whether I should continue with new updates. A 1989 rookie card for Ken Griffey Jr. in mint condition sold for $1,400 in 2020, nearly double its price from the year before, according to the Wall Street Journal . Its probably seen a hard life, or its just aged, like I have. You ever had a batch of dry, hard pancakes and thought to yourself, Self, these pancakes taste like cardboard!? ), 3. 1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken Jr. Is This A New Junk Wax Era? - CardLines.com The problem was that it was the early 1990s, right in the middle of what became known among baseball card collectors as the junk wax era. The hobby had no guarantee there would even be a 1982 Donruss baseball card set. 12 Most Iconic Baseball Rookie Cards From the Junk Wax Era (1986-93). Round, enameled, bright colored borders, full color photos, baseballs biggest stars these babies are great! Cool thanks for reading and letting me know! It must have been a relief or at least a surprise when collectors found these beautiful (yes they are!) This is the one that changed everything the one that made Donruss a real baseball card company the one that cemented our forever fascination with rookie cards. Web1990 score football series 2 most valuable cards. Yep, and hes looking pretty svelt there, too. I mean, is it actually safe to chew gum from, say, 1987? You can tick off the movers and shakers of this hobby in your sleep T206 Honus Wagner, 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan, 1984 Donruss Don Mattingly, 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. Bonds (whose HOF fate is up to the Era Committee now), of course, is the best of the bunch, and this card was just on the early cusp of the junk wax era. The Junk Wax Era roughly covers the period of 1986 to 1993, which is when card companies were overproducing cards, and leagues were over-licensing to anyone who wanted in on the gold rush. My rules for making this list: they must be base cards, not inserts. In 1983, though Donruss and Fleer started to figure things out and issued their best sets to date. But Maddux won four Cy Young Awards and dominated the 90s, more than half of which came when offenses were exploding. Because so many baseball cards were printed between roughly 1987 and 1993, the values plummeted significantly.. I mean, theyre black-and-white, sure, but big. It may be time to head back to school, but that doesnt mean you cant have fun with it. Its the most ever paid for any sports item, card or memorabilia, according to ESPN. Those that buy and hold hobby boxes or entire hobby cases of the newest sports card releases are often rewarded. FREE UPS SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS $175+. By entering your email address you agree to receive email versions of the Wax Pack Gods newsletter. These auctions are over, but the listings are still fun to peruse. Thanks for sharing some fun memories! RARE does not usually apply to baseball cards of the Junk Wax era. SP was a high-end product from Upper Deck. The two hobbies are ridiculously similar in that you are investing in players you believe will perform well, and when they do, thats good for you. 15 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 80's and 90's Gems Collecting baseball cards in 1984 was a pretty heady experience. Or that you could buy them on the cheap more than 30 years later. Imagine its Christmas morning in 1978, and the living room is littered with wrapping paper and baubles and toys that will be forgotten about before you head back to school in January. Then you have Gorman Thomas, whose whole demeanor screamed beer league but who slugged like Dave Kingman for the Milwaukee Brewers, including the 1982 Harveys Wallbangers team. While the 1985 Donruss set may not have one signature card that defined a whole hobby era, like the 84D Mattingly above, this set is loaded with big-name rookies . Yanni Stathopoulos, a gifted writer at FutureArtFair.com, specializes in art and collectible investments. Look Ive already told you how I feel about Pete Rose in a Montreal Expos uniform. Most of the boxes Ive bought in the past year, from card shops or eBay, have been priced in the $5 to $20 range and have been firmly from the heart of the Junk One recently sold for more than $6.6 million, becoming the most expensive trading card ever . Couple that happy occurrence with the general hobby explosion and the nascent rookie card craze, and you had a phenomenon that couldnt be stopped. For arguments sake, were going to use pricing based on PSAs Price Guide. Granted, most of those dudes fell short of Hall of Fame standards, but theyre still standards among 1980s rookie cards. That has to be good right? The SP Foil set was a limited edition run, with only 5,000 copies of the Rodriguez card printed. Somehow, my little corner of the world was blessed with a goodly supply of 1987 Donruss, and my keen 15-year-old wax-sniffing nose sussed them out at every turn. Far too many were printed, theyre littered with quasi-errors and print issues, and rare chase cards are numbered in the thousands. Even more luckily, I convinced my parents to float me a loan for all the burnt orange packs I could find. Mattingly was a fan favorite and helped lead the Yankees to several successful seasons in the 1980s. ), 1989 was not a great year for Fleers Quality Control Manager. The Mantle card, which was graded at 9.5 by the card (Thats a very early-1990s thing to say look it up.). Unfortunately, the (over)production runs keep this beautiful card from being more valuable. The SP card has a foil surface, which makes it tough to find in gem-mint condition; its like trying to find a freshly cleaned restroom on a road trip. And, at this moment, what could be more tantalizing than and unopened wax pack box of 1978 Topps football cards? Donruss went to the Topps archives and basically dusted off the 1957 design, updated it with some wavy lines for the 1980s, added a Don Mattingly rookie card that would blow up the hobby as we knew it, reduced print runs, and called it a day. We expected more and better in 1984, and, for the most part, the major manufacturers delivered. You can buy them for pennies or less under circumstances like this. But not quite, and they wanted to spread that word. Just like the Clemens from the box My, thats a very smart blouse you have on today!. Not only is this Draft Pick card an all-time classic it even turned into a pretty awesome Vladimir Guerrero Jr. RC in 2019 Topps Archives. Instead, the Big Unit took his talents to USC for a few years and the Expos eventually drafted him in the 1985 MLB Draft. We'll respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.. 1987 Topps Glossy Send-Ins Gary Gaetti Cause or Effect? The next time youre lamenting how todays safety-first regulations and advertising are robbing us of everything fun, come back to this eBay listing (affiliate link) and remind yourself the joy-robbing started no later than the mid-1980s. Its a moot point for me, because how could I ever even dream of opening those beautiful, perfect boxes?? Its like a Golden Corral buffet everything seems not that good, but the fried shrimp and the banana pudding aint bad at all! ), Junk wax baseball cards didnt get their name because theyre rare and valuable. And if its been awhile since your last Benny Ayala fix, this one has you covered there, too. These cards are ranked by PSA 10 values. As Jeter's career took off, so did the value of his rookie card. But theres one package left a smallish rectangular one that could be a watch or maybe maybe something better? Fuzzy up the photos just a bit because the sharpness of the 1983s was too much for the human eye to withstand. A baseball field, a baseball, and a photo of the players first Topps card. It was the best card back of the junk era. @nathanphifer: When youre 10 years old, opening a pack of cards is almost a spiritual experience. The intrigue of what is going to greet you when you peel back that wax packaging is second to none. Jose Cruz was actually six feet tall but felt Patek-ish because he crouched like a tiger. 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter X Hobby Box Unlike retail boxes, hobby boxes are sold directly to dealers and distributors, and collectors must acquire these outside of traditional retail Too bad for them Topps stepped on the gas an issued one of the greatest, sunniest sets of all time. Did you know the Atlanta Braves drafted Randy Johnson in the 1982 MLB Draft? Another oddball set from 1984, Topps Supers were exact replicas of the base card for each of the 30 players included in the set except huge. I picked merch a lot. That Yaz/Bench beauty is also the centerpiece of this eBay lot, an unopened 1984 Donruss Rack Pack with the Living Legends right there on top, in the middle. Its the stuff from which collections and lifetime cardboard connections are made! 1984 Fleer Update Kirby Puckett RC #93. Pitchers with 300 Wins and Their Baseball Cards! Rookie Card #98T, 8. But 1987 Fleer baseball was about as plentiful as summer days in Pittsburgh without a Barry Bonds scowl. 1990 Pro Set Hockey. Also, a better Hall of Fame candidate than Jack Morris. The 35 Best Hockey Cards from 1990-91 - Puck Junk Still, its pretty cool to see an unopened box of these things, like this lot offers up 37 years old and as fresh as the day they drove off the showroom floor. Or a mid-career card of a Hall of Famer? There were several hobby retailers who sold complete sets, but you could also buy them in individual paper packages containing three buttons each. Its all fiction. red and yellow Donruss wax packs on store shelves in the spring of 1982. And thats what this eBay lot is about more Junk Wax product than just about any other listing out there. That card was already popular among collectors when Pete headed back to the Cincinnati Reds in August 1984 as player-manager, but it was then we all realized hed be taking aim at Ty Cobbs all-time hits record on the Riverfront. And, sure, the Buy-It-Now price is set at $1100, but when was the last time you saw one of these? The hobby was never the same, for better or for worse. In this case (no, just a box, actually), we a box 24 full packs of 1990 Topps! Of the sealed boxes that were sent overseas, some were opened, some were tossed, and apparently some were used as kindling for fires. Most Valuable 30 Standout Baseball Cards from the Junk Wax Era If there were a Mount Rushmore of baseball cards, this Junior card might earn that Teddy Roosevelt spot just because it represented the era when more people collected cards than any other time in history. Its an age-old problem in this hobby you find a pile of unopened baseball card packs and you want to buy one and tear into it in the hopes that youll find something great like a Greg Gross rookie or Glenn Hubbards snake. This card was part of a special set released by Fleer in 1984, featuring players who had made their debut during the season. And this eBay lot lets you relive all that with an unopened box of 100 packs of 1981 Topps stickers. 1990 Upper Deck Hockey. 1986 Topps Traded (Buy on eBay) 7. But there the packs were, with a god-awful Babe Ruth drawing but tremendous waxy promise. No one realized they lived through the Junk Wax Era, until the bubble burst and prices plummeted. It is quite a cautionary tale. Just because its known as the Junk Wax Era doesnt mean all the cards are worthless. Recently, some of these cards have been surging in value. We were just coming off a year (1983) in which Topps issued one of their all-time classic sets and when Donruss, and especially Fleer, started to get their acts together after two years of misfires. (Take it from someone who bought a lot of baseball cards during those years there were all kinds of options at the gas stations.