1952 Topps Wrappers and Display Boxes

Collectors of 1952 Topps baseball series need not stop with just the cards.  1952 Topps wrappers and display boxes are also highly collectable, available for purchase, and an essential addition to the serious 1952 Topps collection.

1952 Topps wrappers come in both penny (single card) and nickel (six card) sizes.  Fewer penny-sized wrappers were produced, making them more sought.  Both wrappers are printed in red and green, with the familiar Topps baseball logo containing the words TOPPS BASEBALL PICTURE CARDS (or, in the case of the penny packs, “CARD”).

The penny pack includes the words “1¢ GIANT CARD PLUS BUBBLE GUM.”  The border of the wrapper includes the Topps company name, location, and origin of manufacture and printing (USA).  The penny wrappers are rare and can sell for hundreds of dollars.  Rarer still are unopened penny packs; one in PSA 7 sold at auction in 2010 for $3,231.

Nickel wrappers may be the most accessible of all 1952 Topps wrappers and display boxes.  They may also evoke more nostalgia, as they can contain marketing language about the new 1952 series:

Topps Giant Baseball Picture Cards brings you for the very first time, full-color photographs of Big Leaguers --- in the New Big Size! Each card includes the player’s autograph, biography and official lifetime statistical record. Never offered before, this giant size, prize collection will be cherished through the years by every lover of the great American pastime.

1952 Topps nickel-pack wrappers also contained free offers for giveaways like pennants and team emblems.  Variations of these wrappers exist.  Nickel wrappers are occasionally offered on eBay for a few hundred dollars; graded wrappers in excellent condition are also highly collectible.

1952 Topps display boxes are also coveted by collectors.  Penny packs came in two-piece paperboard boxes containing 120 packs each.  The boxes contained similar graphics as the penny packs, along with one side advertising Topps products (Bazooka gum) as “Year ‘Round Profit Makers.”  The nickel packs were sold from 24-count boxes with similar graphics.  These boxes occasionally are offered at auction and for sale on eBay.

1952 Topps wrappers and display boxes are a key addition for the serious 1952 Topps baseball collector.