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PSA Referral Leads to Just Collect Purchasing 1952 Wheaties Collection

PSA Had Collector Reach out to Just Collect for Our Knowledge - and We Purchased the Whole Collection!

January 13, 2026

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When a collector had a question about 1952 Wheaties cards, they asked PSA, the top sports card grading company in the world. PSA then knew who to ask - they referred the owner of the cards right here to us at Just Collect! We then proudly purchased this incredible collection of 1952 Wheaties cards including multiple Hall of Famers like George Mikan, Stan Musial, and Otto Graham.

Just Collect is one of the biggest buyers and sellers of vintage collections in the hobby. The retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections. 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. PSA, the top card grading company, knows this and is exactly why they had Cole come to our store in Summit, NJ. with a collection of 1952 Wheaties cards.

1952 WHEATIES COLLECTION

The Breakfast of Champions! We're sure you've had a bowl or two of Wheaties before; we certainly have! In 1952, Wheaties placed a panel of 8 cards on a 9.5" square. Collectors would cut out the square and then cut the cards individually, making each card 2" x 2 3/4". Since the cards are from a box of cereal, each card has a blank back rather than stats or bios. Matching the box color, each card has an orange background and deep blue ink for the player images and text. You'll find baseball, football, basketball, golf, and tennis athletes. In total, there are 30 athletes an there are multiple designs. For example, the set has 10 baseball players with both a portrait and an action card tallying 20 baseball cards in the set.

Cole, the grandson of the original owner of the cards, had the key names from the checklist in the collection! As you look at the first photo below, TEN cards of George Mikan are here. Mikan was a pioneer in the game of basketball. Before the NBA was formed, Mikan played in the National Basketball League (NBL) for the Chicago American Gears from 1946-47. From 1947-54 and 1956, Mikan played for the Minneapolis Lakers of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and what you know now as the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mikan won 7 championships in 9 seasons! An MVP, multiple-time scoring champion, and member of both the College and Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, basketball card collectors are always on the hunt for vintage Mikan cards. Below are 8 portraits and 2 action cards from the 1952 Wheaties collection.

All the key baseball players from the set are in the second photo! In this group is: Roy Campanella (1 action and 1 portrait), Phil Rizzuto (2 action and 1 portrait), and Stan Musial (2 action and 2 portrait). Campanella won 3 MVP awards with his Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951, 1953, and 1955. Along with that MVP in 1955, Campy won the World Series. In 1969, the Dodgers great was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. You may recognize Phil Rizzuto as the longtime broadcaster for the New York Yankees as he called games for 40 years! Before getting behind the microphone, Rizzuto was a Hall of Fame player (inducted in 1994). The 1950 MVP won 7 World Series championships and made 5 All-Star teams. Stan The Man Musial won 3 MVP awards himself with those coming in 1943, 1946, and 1948. The St. Louis Cardinals legend also won the World Series three times, won SEVEN batting titles, and was a 24-time All-Star before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969.

The last photo is of 8 Otto Graham cards! The former Cleveland Browns is in both the College and Pro football Hall of Fame. The gridiron legend won 3 MVP awards (1951, 1953, and 1955), a trio of NFL Championships (1950, 1954, and 1955), and lead the league in multiple passing categories over different seasons. To this day, Graham still owns a couple of football records despite not suiting up since 1955!

We have seen collections with one of each card - the action and the portrait. Complete sets have surfaced. Having all of these duplicate cards of the Hall of Famers is a real treasure!

Photos of the 1952 Wheaties collection:

APPRAISAL AND PURCHASE

Cole stopped by our store in Summit, NJ., and spoke with our vintage card specialist, Dan. Cole's grandfather had this collection of 1952 Wheaties cards, and initially asked PSA about them. PSA referred Cole to us, knowing we buy and sell vintage collections every day. Cole and his grandfather allowed Dan to review each card carefully and then provide an estimate of the retail value as well as an offer to buy the whole collection. Cole wanted to speak with his grandfather first as these were his cards. Grandpa was very happy with our offer and chose to sell all of the Hall of Famers! Grandpa wanted to hold onto a few of the common players as a memento from his youth. These cards are 75 years old! We're sure they bring back great memories of the days when I Love Lucy was on TV, Mr. Potato Head was the best Christmas gift, and can you believe the Detroit Lions were NFL champions that year? We paid Cole and his grandpa how they wanted to be paid via company check. When you choose Just Collect, we can pay you in cash, company check, or wire transfer.

We thank Cole, his grandfather, and PSA for allowing us to purchase this special collection.

If you're interested in selling a collection but can't make it in-person to our store in Summit, NJ., we offer many ways to evaluate and purchase collections! We set up at shows and conventions, travel to you for high-end collections, and offer a shipping options with our fully-insured, two-day FedEx account. Read below to see how you can get your today!

Love this story? Check out other blogs featuring incredible collections 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 may ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.

Travel to Us

If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.

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.