[khodgson5]

I recently bought an unopened pack collection that contained a 1975 baseball regular sized cello pack graded as a PSA 9. There is a #1 Hank Aaron showing on the back. My question is would it be more valuable to open up the pack and have the Aaron graded separately. This would also be a chance to potentially pull other high grade valuable cards inside as well. Or should I just keep it enclosed in the case. From what I've see on Ebay a mint 9 Aaron would go for around $500. Most of the packs I saw even with stars visible didn't go for that high. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks for your time.

[y2hood]

Surprisingly there are a handful of sets that year that have Hank Aaron #1. I'm going to assume you mean Topps. If so, 205 copies of that card are graded and only 7 of them are 8.5 or higher. Only 2 of them were higher than 8.5. Point is, while not impossible, the odds are clearly not in your favor for the card to score high coming out of the pack.

Quickly glancing at the 679 card checklist I see a few key vets, Rose, Ryan, etc... that might be worth it if I was in your shoes. The only KEY rookies I see BV wise are George Brett and Robin Yount.

Just remember in them days, the cards were hand cut and quality control was nill. Then there's the potential for near 40 year old gum stains. Point I'm trying to make is it's a major gamble, BUT so is most of this hobby. Part of the fun.

If you do bust it open, please please please share your results.