[soul4ever2]

I recently happened upon a set of cards at a yardsale and after reviewing what was in the boxes I decided to buy. At the time I did not realize that one of the boxes contained 38(!) unopened 10-packs of ToppsGold cards from 1992. These are the genuine article, not the Toppsgold winners though they appear to come in the same see-through plastic wrapping. I can only figure that these packs were pulled by a dealer from factory sets and then sold individually. How they all ended up in one person's possession I haven't a clue.

Anyway, I'm having a heck of a time finding a value for these things (and Beckett does not appear to have one...) so I'm asking anyone who would know (or care to venture a guess, of course) as to what their value may be. Two of the cards are visible in each pack and I have one pack that definitely has the #40 Cal Ripken Gold.

While they are nice I'm not the biggest fan of the 1992 cards. I'd like to hear your opinions on whether I should open the packs and hope for the best (there's always a chance for more Ripkens or a Nolan Ryan) or whether I should find someone interested in the packs as they are. I'm planning to sell but I'd like to ensure that I can get the most out of these to fuel my other hobbies.

Thanks!

[DrMitchJ]

Good luck! Would love to see a picture before guessing about the cards.

[djohn]

Well if you aren't planning on keeping them then the decision is simply open the packs to sell the individual cards (hoping for a few big names) or sell them as sealed packs. The Ripken is the best possible card in terms of book value, so there is probably a market for a sealed pack with the Ripken showing. Considering these cards aren't extremely sought after or all that rare, I would probably try to sell as sealed packs. The sealed packs are rarer and more scarce than any of the singles, plus the majority of the packs will be filled with commons which will be tough to sell.

[Phillies_Joe]

Like djohn said....if not keeping them, better off selling packs un-opened.

I've seen an unopened box with a retail price of $298 recently, but can't remember where or if they were from 1992 or not nor if they are what you have (it was Topps Gold though....series 1 #1-300). Good luck and congrats on a great find!

[alfredoleal2001]

sealed for sure if youre looking to sell, youll be filled with 92 commons if you open them

[soul4ever2]

Thanks for all the advice. As requested I included a link to a few pictures (forgive the blurry one - I am not the world's best photographer)

Baseball Cards

The last image is of a strange yellow coagulated substance that I found on one of the packs. I'm not sure what it is but it doesn't look like it made its way inside the packaging. There are a few cards that have slight discoloured brown spots on them though it seems like a relatively rare case. I'd like to know if this is a common occurrence (moisture?). Thankfully, the cards that are affected all appear to be commons and are only located on the top or bottom of the packs.

Anyway, this set includes a good number of common Golds and some minor stars but visible are also the following:

Cal Ripken Jr. (#40)
Mike Mussina (x2)
Eddie Taubensee
Roger Clemens (All Star)
Ozzie Smith
Ryne Sandberg (All Star)
Curt Schilling

What would you say is the value of the lot it includes the indicated cards (in good condition - none of that brown spot stuff) and if there are still 304 unknown Golds?

[sesfan01]

Congrats on your find! I would agree with the other posters, in that you will do best by selling as sealed packs. If you have a lcs in your area you may want to see if they willl buy them all from you.

[djohn]

Here is one thing to consider regarding selling the cards...complete factory Topps Gold sets, which include a Brien Taylor autograph, typically only sell for around $40-$50 (including S&H). Even if you had perfect collation, you would only end up with about half the set and no Brien Taylor auto (as it was a factory gold set exclusive). Even if you got all the star players, your best result selling as a lot would be to get the same as a complete factory set (i.e. $40). However if you sell the individual packs separately you will probably get $1-$2 each plus shipping, and a more for the packs with stars showing (Ripken, Ozzie, Clemens, and Sandberg). So financially you will be better off selling the individual packs.

[soul4ever2]

I do understand the math behind simply buying a factory Gold box as a decent alternative in this case and that it impacts the potential value of this lot. I got the impression that people were hesitant to crack those open at this stage in the hopes that the value of the cards will increase in time and having mint, straight out of the box cards would be more worthwhile in another decade or so. I certainly could be wrong about that though...

I have to admit that $2 a pack sounds a little underwhelming. Does it change the calculus at all if I instead consider trading? I wouldn't mind finding some older (and rarer) cards for my troubles.

[djohn]

These cards were hot over 20 years ago (before the Internet made everyone realize just how many of the gold cards were out there), but in the 2 decades since they have cooled significantly. I don't think another decade going by will all of a sudden make them more desirable. You could probably find some traders that wouldn't mind picking up a pack or two. However I would estimate the trade value (i.e. book value) for the unopened packs around $5-$10 each (obviously a little more for the packs with stars showing). The pack with the Ripken showing is the best pack, but to give you an idea on how much it might sell for you can check out the following auction. It was a Gold Winner pack with Ripken showing on the back, so you should be able to get more for the regular (non-winner) version, but I would still expect it to sell for $10 or less.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1992-Topps-Baseb...19fea032c4