Looking forward to building an awesome community of collectors ready to talk about vintage unopened products in the Mantel Vintage Unopened Group! I'm so excited for the opportunity to hear your ideas about how to make this the best hangout spot for waxheads on the net! Feel free to message me anytime!
First post in is the #1 pack in my PC. If the world were ending tomorrow, I'm still not opening. The best part about chasing unicorns is the adventure, and the relationships built along the way. The pursuit of this 1962 Topps Mars Attacks wax pack (at the time the only authentic example known) has all the best elements of collecting.
It was sold at auction in early 2014 as a raw pack, part of a legendary Mars Attacks collection. I had just found out my daughter was coming and was newly married, so cards were not exactly on my mind. It was also raw and too far away for me to go inspect in person, so I did not bid. I ALWAYS wondered about it, so I inquired with the auction house that sold around 2018 to see if it still existed. At that time, the house reached out to their buyer and he didn’t respond. They told me he rarely sold anything and I was pretty sure the buyer a collecting friend who had probably opened it (he likes to shred the good stuff and is a big fan of MA)
So fast forward to 2021 and I made a deal with the same collecting friend for a box he was selling. He lives locally to me so we met for lunch. During a great chat over delicious sandwiches, I asked him about the Mars Attacks pack. He said he didn’t buy it and didn’t know who did. Maybe it still exists somewhere?
A few more months go by and I'm talking with another really good friend that now works for the auction house that originally sold the pack and we’re talking about our collection goals. Of course the MA pack comes up and so I mention the story up to that point.
He was able to research who bought the pack and tells me "this guy never sells anything," but is also not really an unopened collector, so why not inquire again? He sends the guy a “hey I know someone who would really like to buy this” email and the guy responds! The rest, as they say, is history...
Happy hunting! Welcome to Vintage Unopened!
