Flash Market Report — What Old Baseball Cards Sold Big this Week? (7/8/2018)

It’s Sunday … time to relax … time to read the paper and snuggle up to some coffee and donuts … time for church, if that’s your thing.

Here at Wax Pack Gods, Sunday means it’s time to check in on the vintage card market to see what sorts of big-ticket items changed hands this past week.

And, as always, the eBay crowd didn’t disappoint.

Read through the listings below and you’re sure to be amazed, tantalized, energized, and — doubtless — driven to envy.

No matter what, though, you should be encouraged that the hobby is still alive and well, as evidenced by these amazing lots that sold during the week ending July 8, 2018.

(Note that these listings contain affiliate links, which means if you click over to eBay and buy something, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.)

1964 Topps PSA 10 Gordy Coleman

Gordy Coleman was a fine player.

He started at first base for the Cincinnati Reds throughout much of the early-to-mid 1960s and helped lead the team to a World Series appearance in 1961.

That season, Coleman hit 26 home runs and followed up with another 28 in 1962.

But the strength of this 1964 Topps card (#577) does not lie solely — or even mostly — with Coleman’s own merits.

No, this card is special because it’s from a high-number series issued 54 years ago (!) and because it graded out at a perfect 10 by PSA.

In case you’re wondering, there are only two PSA 10 Colemans in existence as of this writing even though 183 of the Gordy cards have been sent for grading.

For that condition scarcity, some lucky buyer plunked down north of $3200 and was doubtless happy to do it.

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

1966 Topps Baseball Wax Pack 2nd Series

For many years, before Nolan Ryan rounded out his Hall of Fame career, the 1966 Topps Jim Palmer rookie cards was right at the top of the heap for 1960s pitcher rookie cards, with the 1965 Topps Steve Carlton as its trusty companion.

That began to change when Palmer retired in 1983 and the late-career heroics — and numbers — of Ryan, Carlton, Tom Seaver, and others pushed the Baltimore Orioles great out of the limelight.

But the Palmer rookie is still there, in all its glory, and it taunts condition-seekers: out of more than 2800 of the cards graded by PSA, none have rated a 10.

So what does the Palmer rookie have to do with this lot on eBay? Simple, this is a 2nd Series wax pack, which means it gives you a shot at not only Palmer, but also Tug McGraw, Boog Powell, the Alou brothers, Lou Brock, and others.

For this hunk of 52-year-old cardboard, 22 bidders ran the price to just over a grand.

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

1968 Topps 3-D Roberto Clemente (PSA 9)

Of all the dozens of funky test and parallel issues that Topps produced throughout the 1960s, the 1968 Topps 3-D set is one of the most elusive and iconic.

It’s also darn handsome, and this “Bob” Clemente card would look right at home sliding out of a modern pack.

Vibrant colors, tall aspect ratio, and simple but effective 3-D schemes really pop the player out from his background, making these especially popular among player collectors.

But the problem has always been scarcity, and this Clemente in PSA 9 is one of only eight to ever receive that grade (an additional six have landed a PSA 10).

Add set popularity to Clemente’s legend and overall scarcity of the card, and you’re left with a specimen that eBay reports gaveled down for $30,000.

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

1974 Topps Baseball Complete Master Set PSA Graded

The 1974 set was the first one Topps ever issued all at once as opposed to in series, but that didn’t stop the old gum company from providing collectors some excitement.

In particular, buzz before the season had the San Diego Padres leaving for Washington, D.C., and Topps bit hard. Their “Washington Nat’l League” cards have been a legendary gaffe in the hobby for more than 40 years now and are some of the most sought-after variations in the game.

This master set contains all 660 base cards, plus all the San Diego/Washington variations, for a total of 678 cards.

And every one of them is graded by PSA, with all but one ranked an 8, 9, 0r 10.

Wow!

What would something like that be worth?

Well, according to the winning bidder of this lot … just under $13,000.

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

1975 Topps Mini Partial Set (348) – PSA 8

Speaking of Topps test issues (see the Bob Clemente 3-D card above), not many have stirred the imagination and debate more than the 1975 Topps Mini set.

Issued mostly in Michigan in the heart of the Big Red Machine years, Topps Minis are identical to the base cards, except scaled down to 2-1/4” by 3-1/8″.

While scarcer than the normal sized cards, the Minis have been up and down the multiplier scale over the years, but there is no denying that high-grade versions are hard to come by.

For example, 138,000 cards from the base set have graded out at PSA 8, while just 54,000 of the Minis cleared that bar.

And 348 of those NM-MT beauties were offered up in this eBay lot, which includes copious superstars and Hall of Famers.

When 25 bidders finally finished their business, this partial set sold for a bit more than $2000.

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

(Check out our other posts about card values here.)