Let’s see one of your RIPPED old wax boxes – I’ll start ...

[ObanMontecristo]

There’s already a thread for people who collect sealed wax, but what about the people who like to open and rip OLD wax? This thread is to showcase rips from older sealed wax.... it doesn’t necessarily need to be vintage or high-dollar, and you don’t have to hit a 1/1 or a thousand dollar card…. just something that is (1) not too current/recent (i.e., pre-2020) and (2) offers a fun and interesting look back at our hobby.

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I’ll start with a 2016 Topps Series 1 jumbo box I recently opened. Why this one? I just thought it would be a fun rip, since it’s now 8 years old and I realized it has RCs of 3 top Phillies (my favorite team), in Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Aaron Nola. It also has RCs of a couple other MVP candidates from the last 2 years, in Corey Seager and Ketel Marte. So even though we’re not talking high dollar cards, at a minimum, those would be fun RCs to throw in the collection. So mission accomplished on hitting all 5 of those base cards (with an extra Schwarber):


As is still the case today, each jumbo box back in 2016 promised one autograph and 2 relics. The auto in my box isn’t worth much, but Stephen Piscotty was a decent rookie back in 2016 and has had an interesting career, including his trade back to Oakland in 2018 so he could be with his mom, who had ALS. Piscotty hasn’t been in the majors since 2022, but he’s still kicking around in the minors for the A’s, and is a guy I’ve always rooted for.


As for relics, the highlight of this box was a “Berger’s Best” Albert Pujols bat piece #/99. Also got one of the base “Berger’s Best” insert cards of the 2001 Pujols rookie card to pair with it. The Pujols bat is a nice card to throw in the old PC, which I'll dust off again in a few years when he makes the HOF. I don’t remember the no-hitter pin manufactured relics, but got one of the Big Unit. So relics of 2 HOFers, not bad….


Parallels in my box were mainly rainbow foils and a few Golds #/2016, the most notable of which was Yadier Molina. The big parallel hit was a Black Jose Fernandez #/65. Back in 2016, that would have been a really solid hit of a 23-year-old pitcher with a career 2.58 ERA over 4 seasons, who won a ROY and already had two top-10 CY finishes. Unfortunately he was killed in a boat crash in September 2016, so this was basically his last card and we’re left only to wonder what might have been. Both cards are very interesting to me, so I'm happy to add both to my PC.


Remember when Topps put out “silver framed” parallels of the base cards? This one is serial #/d 16, so this was also probably a pretty decent hit back in the day, and it’s of Hanley Ramirez, another guy I haven’t thought about in a while. This card brought me back to when I was a kid, collecting cards, reading the backs and seeing the players’ stats, what teams they played for, etc. Hanley's stats are an interesting read, I forgot how amazing his numbers were his first 5 years. Guy was a stud. And he was still producing in 2016 – not to the same level as he did in 2006-2010, but he ended up hitting .286 that year, with an .866 OPS, 30 HR and 111 RBI, probably his last really good season. He goes on the HOF ballot in 2025, so it'll be interesting to see if he gets any votes. Another fun card I’ll stick in the PC.


Finally, I never really had a high opinion of the foil-stamped Topps 65th Anniversary “buyback” cards, but I had to mention the 1992 rookies card with Chipper Jones (and a couple other solid SS prospects at the time), which was a nice little “bonus hit". I collected cards back in 1992, and definitely remember this being one of the better cards to look for in that set. This buyback is foil-stamped blue, which I think was rarer than the other colors (silver and red), but I can’t remember. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if this turned out to be the most valuable card I hit in the box.


* * * * *
But all in all, this wasn’t necessarily about hitting high dollar cards for me, it was about the fun of ripping an old box, finding a few nice cards to throw in my collection, and re-visiting a set (and a time) I hadn’t thought about in a while. If anyone else enjoys ripping older boxes and has some interesting cards to show or stories to share, post ‘em on this thread!

PS- bonus hit was a SP photo variation of Ian Kinsler

[Lonewolf]

This thread pleases me

2016 is the year I got back into the hobby, so the 2016 flagship wax is nostalgic.

I wish I had something to contribute...somebody else rip some old wax they have lying around doing nothing!

[seanbros55]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

This thread pleases me

2016 is the year I got back into the hobby, so the 2016 flagship wax is nostalgic.

I wish I had something to contribute...somebody else rip some old wax they have lying around doing nothing!

Same. Nice one OP!

[bmann33]

Nice write up-thanks for sharing. I wasted so much money on Optic that year, I opened hardly any flagship so it was cool to see a lot of stuff I didn’t know existed in these boxes.

[PuddleMonkey]

I opened 4 packs of '98 Score tonight and got some sort of Epix card that may be an insert. I didn't even know I had these packs sitting in an old box of cards.

[Buckeye1999]

Oban, thank you for starting this thread! Love it! The recap, facts, etc. along with the photos make it even better.


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[JMStang]

Very cool and fun read, thanks! Beckett has a similar article every Wednesday called Cheap Wax Wednesday.

https://www.beckett.com/news/author/shanesalmonson/


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[NYRE2PECT]

Berger's Best...I hadn't thought of those for a bit.

[Twalk1975]

My local LCS has a lot of 2019 Series 1, so I bought some of that recently. It's got a pretty good checklist with rookie cup cards of Ohtani, Soto, and Acuna, plus some other names like Judge etc. Pack odds are just so much better than anything current. I've been getting at least one, and sometimes two short prints in every box. Maybe four or five gold /2019, and all the rainbow foils and 150th Anniversary cards. Even hit two Indys and a black. I can get four 2019 hobby's for the price of a 2024 Chrome jumbo. Some highlights...



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[ObanMontecristo]

Love that Ranger Suarez Indy!!

[Twalk1975]

Originally Posted by ObanMontecristo

Love that Ranger Suarez Indy!!

I was really happy with that one as he doesn't really seem to have many RCs and it's such a cool card. Glad to see him pitching again.

[cardsin47]

Cool idea for a Thread OP……

[TBTC Baseball]

I have a 2001 Topps Series 2 box that is likely bricked packs. I've thought about vaccuum sealing some packs, and putting them in a hot water bath (sous vide style) and seeing if that extended, controlled heat, might help separate them. This may be the impetus for it.

[ObanMontecristo]

Originally Posted by cardsin47

Cool idea for a Thread OP……

Thanks! I got the idea as I was opening the 2016 Flagship box, reminiscing about when I opened some of those boxes back in the day, and now having hindsight about the cards and the different stories about some of the players.

To me, a big part of collecting is enjoying the history of the game and the hobby. These cards tell stories. I’ve been having fun for a little while now, ripping boxes that were like 5-10 years old or more… sometimes with friends around the fire pit on a weekend. Just wish I thought of posting some of those results sooner!

[ObanMontecristo]

Wish I had posted this when I ripped it last year…a 2018 Topps Update jumbo box. What a fun break that was, going back to this box 5 years after release! Most of these cards are now scattered across my collection, but I was glad to have saved a few pictures, so consider this a 'delayed' post….

Obviously, when you think 2018 Update, you think of Ohtani, Soto, and Acuna rookies, and I was super happy to get TWO of almost every one in this box, with an Ohtani “Salute” insert to boot!


This was definitely a box for Francisco Lindor fans, as he was the hit for my auto and 1 of the 2 relics. An Ohtani auto certainly would have been nice, but I must admit that the Lindor ASG patch auto #1/10 was a pretty sweet card. I’ve been digging around my collection trying to find this one again and unfortunately, I think I sold it off to a Lindor fan, but I definitely still wish I had kept that one for my collection, as he’ll probably be a HOFer someday.


This box also yielded a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Photo Variation. When I went to put this one in my PC, I was surprised to find that I had kept another (different) Gurriel photo variation from this set, so I had unwittingly collected the full Base, SP and SSP run of his Update RCs…. Gotta love it.


As far as parallels, I hit a black Reynaldo Lopez (meh), a Gold Mookie Betts AS (better), and a Vintage #/99 RC of Tyler O’Neil (now we’re talking). I also sold the last one off to an O’Neill collector who would enjoy it more than me. That would have been a pretty nice hit back in 2018, but he’s obviously had some mixed results since then. Hopefully the buyer is enjoying it with O’Neill now having some decent success in Boston this year (22 HR and an .875 OPS).


Hope to see others post the results of their rips too!

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by ObanMontecristo

Wish I had posted this when I ripped it last year…a 2018 Topps Update jumbo box. What a fun break that was, going back to this box 5 years after release! Most of these cards are now scattered across my collection, but I was glad to have saved a few pictures, so consider this a 'delayed' post….

Obviously, when you think 2018 Update, you think of Ohtani, Soto, and Acuna rookies, and I was super happy to get TWO of almost every one in this box, with an Ohtani “Salute” insert to boot!
Attachment 556643

This was definitely a box for Francisco Lindor fans, as he was the hit for my auto and 1 of the 2 relics. An Ohtani auto certainly would have been nice, but I must admit that the Lindor ASG patch auto #1/10 was a pretty sweet card. I’ve been digging around my collection trying to find this one again and unfortunately, I think I sold it off to a Lindor fan, but I definitely still wish I had kept that one for my collection, as he’ll probably be a HOFer someday.
Attachment 556646

This box also yielded a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Photo Variation. When I went to put this one in my PC, I was surprised to find that I had kept another (different) Gurriel photo variation from this set, so I had unwittingly collected the full Base, SP and SSP run of his Update RCs…. Gotta love it.
Attachment 556645

As far as parallels, I hit a black Reynaldo Lopez (meh), a Gold Mookie Betts AS (better), and a Vintage #/99 RC of Tyler O’Neil (now we’re talking). I also sold the last one off to an O’Neill collector who would enjoy it more than me. That would have been a pretty nice hit back in 2018, but he’s obviously had some mixed results since then. Hopefully the buyer is enjoying it with O’Neill now having some decent success in Boston this year (22 HR and an .875 OPS).
Attachment 556647

Hope to see others post the results of their rips too!

Thanks for the post! Too bad the black and the gold weren't Soto, Acuna, or Ohtani

[DynaEtch]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

I opened 4 packs of '98 Score tonight and got some sort of Epix card that may be an insert. I didn't even know I had these packs sitting in an old box of cards.

Wow seems like a pretty good hit out of 4 packs? It’s an Emerald Epix which is the highest color tier epix. Maybe a $75 card or so I dunno. There’s a Barry Larkin super collector on here right? Although I’m assuming he has it.

Sweet pull though…beautiful card always liked the epix’s.

[lemmer]

This thread is awesome.

Cool to see those flagship sp image variations. I don’t collect them seriously but I’ve pulled a several over the years and it’s super fun when you see the card and know it’s an sp based on the photo.

I planning to rip a few old boxes as I reorganize my collection. I’ll definitely post here.

[dirtywax]

Brilliant thread.

[ScooterD]

I did one of these a couple years ago https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=965538- the difference was that I had been collecting sealed sets, and I had some really rare ones!

Here’s the link to the old thread - please excuse the old pics from photobucket

[soey10]

Originally Posted by ScooterD

I did one of these a couple years ago https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=965538- the difference was that I had been collecting sealed sets, and I had some really rare ones!

Here’s the link to the old thread - please excuse the old pics from photobucket

Love the old thread. Was curious if you ended up grading the cards and what the outcome was.


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[Bunny Hop]

Looking forward to contributing here. Already lots of the fun stuff.

[ScooterD]

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=992269

Looks like I did another one of these a while ago. These 2002 Bowman packs were from a trip to the HOF in Cooperstown in April 2016 - So the cards had been sealed for 14 years at that point.

My memory isn’t great, but I think I paid 7.50 per pack

[towerymt]

Originally Posted by Twalk1975

My local LCS has a lot of 2019 Series 1, so I bought some of that recently. It's got a pretty good checklist with rookie cup cards of Ohtani, Soto, and Acuna, plus some other names like Judge etc. Pack odds are just so much better than anything current. I've been getting at least one, and sometimes two short prints in every box. Maybe four or five gold /2019, and all the rainbow foils and 150th Anniversary cards. Even hit two Indys and a black. I can get four 2019 hobby's for the price of a 2024 Chrome jumbo. Some highlights...

March 3, 2020 I bought a jumbo case of '19 S1 for $414 shipped (no silver packs). I was chasing the vlad jr mystery redemption.

Didn't hit the vlad, but did hit the eloy redemption:


Best card (for me) was this gold Soto that gem'd:


Hit '84 autos of Taylor Ward and Adolis Garcia -- both sold when each got hot



Ended up just buying the card I was chasing. Always the better option, but the rip was fun, so no regrets

[Slette]

Commenting in here so I can follow this thread. These are the type of breaks I still enjoy seeing, and wish I could find halfway affordable unopened stuff to contribute.