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This collection has it all! Basketball, baseball, football, coins, and even cards of The Beatles! From a complete 1961 Fleer basketball set to multiple vintage Topps baseball sets, Just Collect has proudly purchased a collection including Wilt Chamberlain, Mickey Mantle, Jim Brown, and more!

Mitch began collecting cards in the 1960's. Growing up in Passaic, NJ, he was captain of the baseball team and loved playing. As a kid, Mitch's dad would stop by the candy stores after work and pick up nickel packs of baseball cards to bring home for him. Unlike other kids who traded, flipped, or used cards in their bike spokes, Mitch kept his cards! The packs added up, and eventually, Mitch had quite the baseball collection. While the collection is almost all baseball cards, a complete set of 1961 Fleer basketball cards was in Mitch's collection and today has no memory of how he obtained it! 

THE COLLECTION

The 1961 Fleer basketball set is among the most iconic on our hobby! Today, we see multiple new basketball card releases during a season with many variations. However, there was a time when zero basketball cards were released for YEARS. The first basketball set was released in 1948 under Bowman and then there were no sets released until 1957 from Topps. A long gap continued until Fleer gave us the 1961. With the instant gratification available in 2026, imagine waiting years to get a new basketball card. 

Each 1961 Fleer card is 2.5" x 3.5". Player images are in black and white while the backgrounds have vibrant colors. A total of 66 cards make up the complete set, and while there are plenty of well-known players, there are three key cards and each is a rookie:

• Wilt Chamberlain #18

• Oscar Robertson #36

• Jerry West #43
  

The most valuable card is Wilt Chamberlain. When Chamberlain retired, he owned 4 NBA MVP awards (1960, 1966, 1967, and 1968) and won 2 championships (1967, 1972). Oscar Robertson won the MVP in 1964, a title in 1971, and led the league in assists six times! Jerry West is famously known as The Logo. When you look at an NBA logo, you're looking at the silhouette of West. A league leader in scoring, assists, and a champion as a player in 1972, West went on to win 8 championships as an executive. West was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame as both a player and an executive! 

The first two photos below show the 1961 Fleer cards.

Multiple legendary baseball players are featured over several Topps baseball sets in the collection. Stars in the collection include:

• Mickey Mantle

• Hank Aaron

• Roberto Clemente

• Jackie Robinson

• Willie Mays
  

• Sandy Koufax

We could fill this entire blog up with stats from those greats! Mantle won 7 World Series titles with his New York Yankees and 3 MVP awards. Hank Aaron retired as the all-time home run king with 755 round trippers. Clemente had 3,000 career hits with the Pirates. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and won an MVP, Rookie of the Year, and a World Series for the Dodgers. Sandy Koufax may have been the best pitcher of all-time; he won 4 World Series, 3 Cy Young awards, and pitched 4 no-hitters in a career that lasted just 12 years for the Dodgers. Mays is considered the best all-around player; he hit over .300, had 600+ home runs, 3,000+ hits, stole over 300 bases, and won 12 Gold Glove awards!

As you look at the photos below, you'll find stars from the following sets:

• 1956 Topps
• 1959 Topps
• 1960 Topps
• 1961 Topps
• 1962 Topps
• 1963 Topps
• 1964 Topps

The 1964 set is still in the binder. Remember putting your sets in 9-pocket pages and 3-ring binders? This is a good way to safely store your baseball cards.

1964 Philadelphia football cards are in the collection, too. The Philadelphia Gum Company entered the market with a 198-card set. The key card here is Jim Brown, #30. You can see Brown as the first card in the right side of the binder. Brown won three MVP awards (1957, 1958, and 1965) and a championship in 1964. The Browns legend led the league in rushing 8 times and touchdowns 5 times!

Fun 1964 Topps Coins are in the collection. These 1-1/2" metal circles look like a coin. A total of 164 coins complete a set with 44 of those being All-Star players. 

We round out the collection with 1964 Beatles Color! Who didn't love John, Paul, George, and Ringo? The Fab Four are shown in full color at a time when most people still had a black and white TV. Remember TVs that sat on the floor and you had to manually change the dial between 6, 10, and 13?

Photos of the collection:

APPRAISAL AND PURCHASE

About six months ago, Mitch decided it was time to sell his card collection. He stopped into a local card shop and quickly realized they were not equipped to handle the volume of what he owned. The retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections like Mitch's. This is where we are happy to help you! We have purchased thousands upon thousands of collections and bought and sold over 50 MILLION dollars in cards.

Mitch looked around on the Internet and found a few other businesses, but Just Collect stood out to Mitch.  He noticed we often buy large, vintage collections. Mitch also researched our appraisal and buying process, liking what he read! From there, Mitch submitted a . Our Vice President, John, has been with us at Just Collect for 18 years, and he personally responded to Mitch's appraisal form.

John worked with Mitch every step of the way, and obtained photos of the top cards in the collection. John explained the grading process, the value of cards, and how he came to our initial offer to purchase the collection. Mitch then came to our store in Summit, NJ., where he met our owner, Leighton. Both John and Leighton verified the cards and came to an agreement to purchase the entire collection! Mitch was pleased with the ease and consistency of the process. Leighton is also a HUGE collector, and has been in the hobby for 38 years. He, John, and all of us at Just Collect treat your cards the way we treat our own. 

After the agreement, we then paid Mitch how he wanted to be paid. When you choose to sell your collection to Just Collect, we can pay you in cash, company check, or wire transfer. 

Do you have a collection you're interested in selling? Read below to see how you can receive a free appraisal! We also have amazing stories about previous collections we have purchased at Just Collect.

INCREDIBLE COLLECTIONS PURCHASED

Check out blogs featuring incredible collections Just Collect proudly purchased such as:

• The Oregon Farm Collection with a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle discovered in an old barn!
• Two 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie cards - a pair of rookies from the Great One!
• 1990's Precious Metal Gem basketball cards include some of the rarest, most sought-after cards in modern history.
• The Aaron Judge Collection with high-end one of one cards and multiple rookie autos.
• Topps Venezuela Collection including a scarce Willie Mays card.

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WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 2009 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.

We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:

We offer many ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.

• Come to convention

We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending. Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.

• Meet in-person

If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.

• Meet in New York City

If you're near New York City and would like to meet in a public place, our owner, Leighton, would be happy to meet you; read all the information here.

• SHIP your collection

If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back shipping fees paid by us! We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.

OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!

Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.

CONTACT US ANY TIME

Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time!

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