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Tanner is Growing a Wax 'Stache...err...Stash! (Continuously Updated)

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mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
Last year, my wife heavily hinted that the waxed stache needed to go, so I've decided grow another wax stash instead ... wax boxes that were released during my childhood.* *I'll be periodically posting my newest pickups with memories, perhaps some customs based upon that specific year, video reviews, etc.* It should be good fun and I hope you enjoy going down memory lane with me!

Why*am I doing this?
When I began collecting again as an adult, I (like many here) wanted to rekindle that childhood spark of collecting.* I did this by attempting to assemble a run of sets from 1980 to 1992/3 or so.* Somewhere along the way, I lost my excitement for doing this, and I sold everything.* I think I finally figured it out, though.* Buying sets was never too terribly exciting.* I loved them, but there was no mystery.* It was like, you bought the set and then you were done.* No reason for packs, no mystery, etc.* Wax on the other hand, gave you mystery, the thrill of the hunt and a reason to connect with friends for trading.* We didn't have much to chase compared to nowadays, but it was just pure unadulterated fun.

Like much of life, collecting isn't about the destination; it is about the journey.* *Having wax boxes take me back to a time when I was most excited about collecting as a child.* Opening packs to see what was inside.* Did you catch that?* The excitement was not*the cards themselves - it was opening the packs to see what cards were there.* This is ALL about the artwork, memories, tales and nostalgia of what has been wrapped around the cards from our youth.

To be blunt, this ...

88donruss.jpg


Is not NEARLY as*cool*as this:

88donrussboxandpacks.png


The bright colors, the memories of the artwork at the card shop, the player endorsement.* Just, wow.* The set itself is virtually worthless, but the wrappers and boxes we threw out as kids, though plentiful, are what make the memories exciting for me.

What will this collection be of?* *Just junk wax?
To be honest, I don't want to JUST focus on the "junk wax era".* I consider this to be 1987 to 1992, by the way.* I'm actually hoping to go from my birth year, 1980 to 1992 or 1993.* I'm not sure which just yet.* There are some monsters from 1993 I may want to avoid (I'm looking at you, SP & Finest!)* I'd like to get as many close to mint examples of wax boxes (and perhaps cello / racks as well!) that are authenticated as being pulled from a sealed case.* While I don't have memories of ripping, say, 1984 Fleer, I DO have memories of seeing them at card shops and *wanting* to open them.

Why From a Sealed Case?
The term "From a Sealed Case", or FASC, is well known among wax collectors.* It can assure you of a number of things.* In particular ...
1) You are assured that they*have been untouched.* Some of these boxes will be*within 25-40 years old. That is a LONG time for a box to sit by its lonesome.* One box could have lived for years on a dealer's shelf with its lip tucked in behind the packs for all kinds of kids to have rummaged through the packs. It could have survived dozens of times relocating here and there, ultimately winding up in storage with junk packed on top of it before Darrell Sheets buys the storage unit it is in, then tosses it to his kid declaring "that's a 30 dollar bill right there."

2) Wax is notorious for having been tampered with.* Wax packs are super easy to open and re-seal - it is very difficult for novices to detect if they*have been tampered with.* In fact, many boxes were packed out in sequence, so those "in the know" could open one pack, learn the order of things and dig down to the 4th pack on the 3rd row and pull the star of the set, then just refill that box with 2 other random packs.

Shoot, even the Cello packs were easy to mess with.* Check out my "custom" 1986 Topps Cello pack with Canseco on the front.* It looks great, however, you couldn't find Canseco in cello packs as he was only in the traded set.

0611162.jpg


3)*I want to have an example of these just how I remember them in the 80's and 90's.

4)* This is the best way to pull a PSA 10.* I personally don't send cards out to be graded, but I DO like the idea of having a good chance of having PSA 10 cards in the boxes.

To contradict myself, I will likely be getting open boxes and packs from time to time, because this quest is about the nostalgia I have wrapped up into the boxes/packs and not just the cards themselves.*

Why Write About This Stuff?
For me, writing about what I get/create and the stories behind them, has become just as big a part of the hobby as actually collecting, and the same goes with the feedback & communication comes from you.* This is going to be my outlet to pour out my passion for*the wax of my youth.

What about Canseco?
I'll still be collecting him, as passionately as ever.* I am super excited to passionately write about something other than him if for no other reason than for you to not have to hear me drone on and on about my cardboard-man crush.* Be warned though, he will make a cameo here and there just like he already has above!* :)

So, with all that said, stay tuned!* I'll update this thread as I can.* I would love to hear your stories on each as we go.* For instance, if I'm writing about 1988 Score, and it reminds you of going to the ER because your brother threw a pack of Score that hit you in the eye, awesome.* Or if your dog peed on your 1985 Topps Orel Hershiser?* Let's hear it!

I do hope you will come along and enjoy the ride.

If anyone has any for sale, please let me know! The boxes must be in beautiful condition, and preferably BBCE/FASC.
 
Last edited:

Austin

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
5,706
41
Dallas, Texas
I thought about doing this before, but then the shipping charges changed my mind.
When it comes to buying junk wax, it usually costs more to ship a box of 36 packs than the wax box itself costs.

I'm a set builder and collector anyway, so when I look through my binders of sets, it reminds me of opening packs, trading and building sets as a kid.

I look forward to reading your stories and memories about each set. I never get tired reading about the '80s cards I grew up with.
 

matfanofold

Active member
Aug 10, 2008
7,645
1
Thank you for sharing! This new chapter in your collecting really brings back memories for me. Although I appreciate reading and seeing your custom works and Jose collections, this really hits home with me.

I began collecting cards around 1982, and did so non stop until about 5 years ago as my interests finally stalled out. It had taken many turns from player collections of Dwight Gooden, to Albert Pujols, putting together a near complete 1951 Bowman psa7+ set, amassing over 400 t-206 cards, topps set runs from 1961 to 1986, and so on....

My focus always changed and I always sold off without regret. However, your recent focus has me thinking back to the late 80's when I was collecting factory boxes. I had some amazing stuff that I could never dream of owning again including a 1972 topps hi number series box (that I wound up opening and selling for a mint as almost all cards were perfectly clean and centered), a 1986 Fleer Basketball box ( which I busted and sold when Jordan's started to take off, think $50 not $500 lol), and dozens of others from the mid 70's to late 80's like 86 topps football, 1984 donruss, 1981 topps football....

In the end I cracked them all and sold out way too early, but if I ever get back in to collecting, buying old wax as you are doing will be a certain focus.

Thanks again for sharing!
 

mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
Dang! Totally missed these responses.

All that must have cost the a dogs leg. :benson: Sorry, couldn't help myself.
LOL! When we got her, we assumed she was a rescue. As it turns out, it was a lady who ended up paying $5,000 to have it amputated ... all because of a broken toe that later got infected!

mouschi are you going after O-Pee-Chee, Leaf or 1983 Topps Michigan Test boxes or 1990 Fleer Canadian?
Man ... I am teetering. I have some OPC and Leaf. The Michigan test is tempting, and the 90 Fleer Canadian? Maybe ... that is all up in the air. It is a MUCH deeper pool than I had thought to start out with :)

How much for the horse? Err....dog?
Well ... if she keeps acting up, you can have her :) Just don't make fun of her missing leg - she doesn't like that too much. (Kidding people ... we wouldn't give her up!)

Thank you for sharing! This new chapter in your collecting really brings back memories for me. Although I appreciate reading and seeing your custom works and Jose collections, this really hits home with me.

I began collecting cards around 1982, and did so non stop until about 5 years ago as my interests finally stalled out. It had taken many turns from player collections of Dwight Gooden, to Albert Pujols, putting together a near complete 1951 Bowman psa7+ set, amassing over 400 t-206 cards, topps set runs from 1961 to 1986, and so on....

My focus always changed and I always sold off without regret. However, your recent focus has me thinking back to the late 80's when I was collecting factory boxes. I had some amazing stuff that I could never dream of owning again including a 1972 topps hi number series box (that I wound up opening and selling for a mint as almost all cards were perfectly clean and centered), a 1986 Fleer Basketball box ( which I busted and sold when Jordan's started to take off, think $50 not $500 lol), and dozens of others from the mid 70's to late 80's like 86 topps football, 1984 donruss, 1981 topps football....

In the end I cracked them all and sold out way too early, but if I ever get back in to collecting, buying old wax as you are doing will be a certain focus.

Thanks again for sharing!
Thanks for reading and thank you for sharing as well!
 

mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
I don't know what it was, but one day I started reminiscing about wax.* This led me to do some research on wax boxes.* Much like PSA/BGS*can magically transform*something of relatively little value (like ... well ... ANY 80's key cards) and gives them value simply by assigning a numerical grade to them.* This helps buys to know they have a beautiful example ... no ... specimen of something they may have treasured as a kid.

While I'm not huge on graded cards, I am huge on beautiful wax.* This is where my journey begins, with 1985 Donruss.

20180515_143702.jpg


Quick, what's the first thing*that comes to mind when you think of Donruss?* Answer:* Rated Rookie!* While 1984 was the rookie year of the rated rookie, 1985 was the rookie year of the rated rookie logo we all know and love!* Growing up, 1985 Donruss always seemed a bit out of reach, because it was simply too expensive.* When you are used to shelling out 50 cents for a pack of cards, $10 a pop is a BIG ask.* To this day, I don't think I've ever opened a single pack of 1985 Donruss!* Someone opening up a box of this might be surprised to find how colorful the wrappings truly are.

1985donrusspacks.png


How beautiful are those?!* I will never know, because I will not open my box, but hey - it is cool to at least know they are in there :)* The cards themselves do not present as loud and colorful.* Instead, they are mostly black and VERY condition sensitive.* To me, the entire design just screams something from Knight Rider or Tron.* I love it!

I actually did a mash up of the 1985 Donruss design with a colorful feel to it for a Canseco card, and I had Jose sign it in red ink.

061520.jpg


If you look*closely, you will see the Donruss logo says "Tanner's" instead of Donruss.* Look even further ... notice the logo?* That's right!* It says "Mouschi's".* For the entire story on Mouschi's, you can click here.

My closest memory of 1985 Donruss was walking into a shop and seeing a 1985 Leaf Clemens & Puckett.* I*bought them because they were quite a bit cheaper than their Donruss counterparts, but felt like it was almost a cheap imitation of the real thing, due to the strange looking green leaf in the upper left corner.

leafdonruss.png


I ended up picking up a box of 1985 Leaf as well.* It too*is in beautiful condition, and has a few differences from the Donruss box.* Of course, you will notice some french language on the box itself, but you will also see that it says 35 cents.* The Donruss version is blank.* I wonder why!* Did Canada*require prices to be printed on the box?* Who knows.* The most notable difference though, is that the Leaf box is about 2/3 as tall as the Donruss box.

1985leaf.jpg


With as much as I love my 1985 Donruss box, I just might love the 1985 Leaf box more, just because it feels a bit more exotic :)* Here is a video review of my 1985 Donruss box!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kroIX_dnouk

http://tanmanbaseballfan.com/2018/05/1985-donruss-wax-box-sealed-case.html
 

mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
I made a separate post about this already, but figured I'd keep this thread consistent and post here too. I am actually posting something right after, so I figured now would be a good time to post this!

If you are a child of the 80's, you know what 1987 Topps is.* It was*absolutely loaded with key rookies, but it was produced in such high numbers,*I probably don't have enough space here to write out all of the zeroes.

You may have heard that my dad has been in and out of the hospital for the past half year.* It has been very tough on us all, but no one can really understand what he has been through except for him.* Last night, I decided to take the family to visit him and have a little family fun:

20180531_192850.jpg


36 packs of wood bordered glory that hasn't seen the light of day in thirty one years.* The man behind the box?* That's dad.* This man, along with my mom, faithfully took me to baseball card shops every weekend for years.* The first time they took me was with their friend's son in 1987.* I had NO idea about baseball cards at the time, but I was game.* My parent's friend's son bought a pack of 1987 Topps and I asked if I could get one also.* Sure enough, mom & dad let me have one.

1987toppswax.png


He pulled a 1987 Topps Todd Worrell.* Me?* Some guy named Jose Canseco :)* The kid wanted to straight up trade ROY winners, but based upon his enthusiasm, I figured I'd hold off on letting Jose go.* A few years later, 9 year old Tanner found the Canseco rookie cup card while rummaging through a drawer, and the rest is history.* This is the reason the*Rookie Cup Canseco means so much to me.* So much, in fact, I have well over 50 variations of the card itself including these three customs I've made:

87tcustoms.jpg


The first one has an embedded wax wrapper and gum from a pack of 1987 Topps.* It is "slabbed" in a one touch and sealed with more wax pack wrapping.* The middle is a Simpsons version of the card I came up with and last but not least, is*a custom made completely out of wood.* It just makes sense to have the wood bordered card made out of ... well ... wood!

I wanted to bring some joy to dad, and, well ... let's face it:* Baseball cards*are my love language.* My wife, son, mom and dad all got to ripping.* First, with the ritual of scratching the pack under the hat brim three times (something we did when I was much younger.)* It was*great being able to tell everyone what cards to look for.* That the first pack-pulled bash brothers Topps cards in A's jerseys were in this.* The Bo Jackson Future Stars card, the*75 pound version of Barry Bonds rookie card ... the list goes on.

We reminisced about the funny nicknames like Walt "Three Blind" Weiss (though not in 1987 Topps) and Sid "Coffee and" Bream.

My son pulled a Barry Bonds, my wife pulled a Mark McGwire, I pulled a Bo Jackson and my mom pulled THE Jose Canseco - she is the one shielding herself from being in a picture in the bottom right corner :)* My dad?* He pulled nothing.

20180531_195212.jpg


This is par for the course for him, as he has never really had much luck with wax.* He talked about the time 30 years ago when we were at a shop and he spent $7 on a pack of 1987 Fleer, only to get nothing.* The dealer opened one and got a good card.* Dad paid $7*for another ... and still got nothing.* I literally just talked about that very instance a few weeks ago, but was amazed that he remembered.

In the end, we were left with a bunch of great wood bordered cards.* Many were off center, but it sure did make for a memorable evening.

20180531_200707.jpg


As we left, I told dad we pulled not one but two McGwires so one was going to stay with him.* He said "Thanks, but ... what about Canseco?"* How can I refuse my own father a rookie cup Canseco?* He ended up keeping both the bash brothers cards :)

20180531_211109.jpg


We all had a great bonding time together, and there were smiles all around - all because of a box of 1987 Topps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-b--hTlehU

http://tanmanbaseballfan.com/2018/06/1987-topps-review-memories.html
 

mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
I'll just leave this right here ...

:eek::eek::eek:

wax.jpg


(Not mine!)
 

mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
Transformers!* Robots in disguise!

Weren't transformers the coolest?* I loved them.**I never caught on with the new movies, but man let me tell you - the toys were awesome.

s-l300.jpg


Perhaps that is one of the reasons why these next baseball cards I'm about to show are so interesting to me.* My latest wax excursion has been so, so, SO much more about the packs, boxes and displays, than the cards themselves.* This next haul really takes the cake for me.* I grabbed a 1986, 1987 and 1989 Donruss counter top display case.* I don't know why I hadn't seen these before (at least as an adult) but let me tell you ... these things are AWESOME.* Check it out!* This ugly brown box (boooo)

20180608_171401.jpg


Becomes this:

20180608_171518.jpg


Pardon the voice in the background of my wife criticizing me for taking pictures with the pantry door open.* :)

The colors, the display, the case itself - everything speaks to me.* These came with 216 packs, so*there are probably numerous Griffey rated rookies within.

The 1987 is a different animal:

20180608_175602.jpg


With 4 boxes worth of packs, the bottom 2 compartments are actually*packs of jumbo cards with all star pop-ups.* Remember those?* The box itself was a touch more difficult than I would have liked for it to have been to setup.* But good golly, miss molly.* Look at the colors!* The colors!

Last but not least, my home boy Jose's claim to cardboard fame:* 1986 Donruss.

Untitled-2.jpg


Junk wax eye candy at its finest!* Okay,*so 1986 isn't considered junk wax, but "junk wax eye candy" has a ring to it, doesn't it?* The yellow, blue and red all work together wonderfully.* A gorgeous 32 year old case with 4 boxes worth of regular packs and bunches of jumbo card packs (read: I'm too lazy to see how many there actually are in the case).* To top it off, I set my PSA 10 Canseco to show off with it - The card in the grade that all other cards in the entombed packs strive to be.

These "transformer" baseball cards truly took me back, and they are a joy to have on display - even if I don't open a single pack!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b02gtC0YBs

http://tanmanbaseballfan.com/2018/06/baseball-cards-became-transformers.html
 

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