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Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles

Baseball and bubble-gum.  It seems like the two have been linked together for eternity.  Goudey and Fleer produced cards to sell alongside their gum products years before Topps came along.  But most of us remember Topps packs, with a slab of pink chewing gum, as being the gum cards of our youth.  Well, Topps didn't only make cards to be sold in packs with their gum products.

Bazooka Issued Some Big Guns

Bazooka (which is owned by the Topps Company) released cards promoting both baseball, football and hockey starting with the very scarce 1959 Bazooka Baseball Set (which contains a Mickey Mantle that has sold for over $35,000), 1959 Bazooka Football Set (which contains a Jim Brown that has sold for over $5000) and the 1971 Bazooka Hockey Set (which contains a Bobby Orr that has sold for over $2000).  Much like Post Cereal issues from 1961-1963, the cards were on the back of the boxes and the borders were a series of slashes or dots.  The intention was that the cards could be kept as a panel or cut into individual cards by bisecting the narrow borders between the cards.  Unfortunately, the borders created a very narrow separation and often left one card with all or most of the border while the other had little or none.

On the Back of the Box

The 1961 Bazooka Baseball set consists of 36 different cards printed on the backs of Bazooka bubble-gum boxes. The set was issued as as series of 12 different three-card panels that measured 2-3/4" by 5-1/2" when cut around the borders. These small cards, when carefully cut from the panels, measure approximately 1 13/16" x 2 3/4". These blank-backed cards are very similar in style to Bazooka's 1960 release, and feature full-color photos of each athlete surrounded by a white border with the player's name, team name and position appearing at the bottom border. The respective card number is also printed at the very bottom noting "No. X of 36 CARDS."  Hall of Famers and superstars are scattered throughout this issue with players such as Ernie Banks, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Frank Robinson and Warren Spahn.

One Panel Makes Three Cards

Panel #1, containing cards #1-3 features Mickey Mantle, Ron Santo and Art Mahaffey and is probably the most desired of the panels from this issue. One panel recently sold for over $3000 in a PSA 10 while a panel containing Willie Mays sold for over $1300 in PSA 10.

Most Bazooka style panel cards with lines separating the the cards will be graded "Authentic" unless those lines are visible on each side of the card(s). This means a steady hand is necessary to cut between the line.  Surprisingly, many of the stars that get numeric grades will outsell the entire panel.  A Mickey Mantle single recently sold for over $3800 in PSA 10 and a Don Drysdale PSA 10 eclipsed $1100 while a PSA 10 panel containing Drysdale sold for just under $300.00.

So, Who is in the Set?

Collectors have the option to get the single card of the player, a panel containing the player or both.  Here is the checklist of the 36 cards included in the 1961 Bazooka Set:

Absent from this incredible checklist are such notable names as Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and Sandy Koufax.  

Sales of complete sets in full panel or full box form are not very common, however, in 2013 a complete panel set sold for over $2,200 prior to us procuring this collection.  

Bazooka Buyers

Just Collect is always looking to purchase 1959 through 1971 Bazooka panels and singles, Post Cereal panels, Strip Cards from 1909-1936 and many other panels and sheet collectibles in all conditions.  Please, contact us today if you have any that you are looking to sell

Schedule an Appointment to Meet Just Collect at a Show Near You

Just Collect travels to several shows on a regular basis. In the New York area, we often attend the White Plains Show at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. If you're in the New England area, you can make an appointment to meet with one of our specialists when we're in the area for the Shriner's Show at the Aleppo Auditorium in Wilmington, MA. We also visit the Metro-DC area when we attend the CSA Show in Chantilly, VA. If you're in the South Jersey or Delaware area, you can also schedule appointments while we're in the Philadelphia area when we do The Philly Show in Valley Forge, PA.

We set up at The National Sports Collectors Convention every year and this year, it will be at the IX Center in Cleveland, OH and it has been in Chicago, Atlantic City and Baltimore in recent years. Additionally, we travel to the Sports Card and Memorabilia Expo in Mississauga, Ontario for those of you in the Toronto area that want to meet with us in Canada.

We would love to meet with you and schedule a private appointment to assess and value your collection while we are in your area, so please check out our show and travel schedule to see when Just Collect will be in your area!

Our Buying Philosophy

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the past decade. Although we are known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage basketball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, also!

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 soul into building their collection. So when you're ready to sell, Just Collect understands the feelings that you're going through and we 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.

Won't They Be Worth More if I Grade Them Myself

We discuss all of the selling options with everyone that we meet with. In most cases, selling the collection on their own will put the most money on the bottom line, but it will also take an large commitment of time and energy and one that most are not ready or able to undertake. Another misconception is that grading the collection will return more money. When I hear people say, "You're just going to grade them and get ten times the money," I almost cringe. Grading a collection can be a money losing proposition, especially if you don't know what you're doing. And most times, we grade very few, if any cards, from average collections that we buy.

We value a collection based upon the condition and the value. If a card is worth $100 in a PSA 7 NM, we're going to value it at $100 whether it is ungraded or graded. You can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars grading your cards, but we're still valuing them the same and paying the same regardless of how much you've invested in grading them.

We Are Always Buying

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss your collection and 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.

Don't hesitate to check out our Google Reviews left by many of the great people that have considered selling collections to Just Collect.

The "1961 Bazooka Baseball Set" Video: